Throughput vs Bandwidth | difference between Throughput and Bandwidth
This page compares Throughput vs Bandwidth describes difference between Throughput and Bandwidth.
Bandwidth
• It is measure of the maximum amount of data which can pass through a channel (wired or wireless) in a
fixed interval of time.
The wired medium can be DSL, ADSL, fiber optic etc. Wireless medium can be WLAN, satellite link, GSM,
CDMA, LTE (4G), 5G etc.
• It indicates total capacity of the transmission medium.
• In analog world, it refers to range of frequencies within a given band used for transmission of a signal.
• In analog domain it can be expressed in MHz/KHz/Hz. In digital domain, it can be
expressed in Mbps/Kbps/bps (bits per second).
• Analogy#1: Total water carrying capacity of a pipe under full force or maximum flow rate condition.
• Analogy#2: Total number of vehicles which can pass through 4 lane highway under heavy traffic
condition (i.e. rush hour).

Throughput
• It is measure of actual amount of data which can pass through a channel (wired or wireless) in fixed interval of time.
• It indicates actual capacity of the transmission medium under practical conditions. It is usually less than bandwidth.
• In general, any network throughput is calculated by dividing the file size to be uploaded/downloaded by
the amount of time taken in seconds. To measure throughput, the common method is to
upload/download large file and note down the time taken to complete the file transfer. Now take
the ratio of file size with time taken for transfer to calculate throughput.
• It can be expressed in Mbps, Kbps, bps (bits per second).
• Throughput is divided into two types uplink (or upstream) and downlink (or downstream) based on direction of
data flow. The data flow from your computer to ISP (Internet Service Provider) is known as uplink and
from ISP to your PC it is known as downlink.
• The throughput can be measured by softwares such as IPerf, netperf, Netcps, JDSU QT600, bwping etc.
• Analogy#1: Actual water coming out of the pipe under less force or low flow rate condition.
• Analogy#2: Actual number of vehicles which can pass through 4 lane
highway under low traffic condition. This is usually less than the maximum throughput (i.e. bandwidth).
Let us summarize throughput vs bandwidth and derive difference between throughput and bandwidth as follows.
➤Both throughput and bandwidth are not same. Throughput is usually less than bandwidth.
➤Bandwidth refers to maximum amount of data which can pass through a channel or medium where as
throughput refers to actual amount of data which can pass through a channel.
➤For example your ISP claims that their broadband connection offers 50 Mbps but you actually get
20 Mbps. Here throughput is 20 Mbps, where as bandwidth is 50 Mbps (i.e. maximum throughput).
GSM, LTE, 5G Throughput related links
What is LTE Throughput GSM GPRS EGPRS throughput 5G throughput LTE throughput calculator 5G NR maximum throughput calculator
Networking related links
Basics of OSI and TCPIP layers Networking Gateway What is Router What is an IP address network switch network bridge Hub and Types of Hub What is MAC address
What is Difference between
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