2.4 GHz and 5 GHz are two of the most common wireless frequencies used for Internet networks. These two are not just numerically different frequencies and have some differences in how they work as well.
Mainly the difference between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz is the range and bandwidth or the speed as both of these have major differences in both. 2.4 GHz frequency has a great coverage area or says its range is more while the speed of data transmission is slow. 5 GHz frequency, on the other hand, has a small coverage area but the data transmission is fast on this frequency.
5 GHz frequency is faster and 2.4 GHz frequency has greater coverage area while the speed is slower as compared to 5 GHz.
The higher frequencies fail to cover a larger area due to the reason that they are not capable of penetrating through solid matters. Walls, floors, huge objects, etc are obstacles that higher frequencies can’t pass through so failing to cover a larger area.
The speed of this 5 GHz for transmitting data is faster while this fails for larger areas. The bandwidth decides the upload and download speed over the network and the higher the bandwidth the faster is the upload and download speed.
WiFi using technology and gadgets etc work on 2.4 GHz band frequency. The more is the number of devices using the same band Frequency in a space the more the quality of frequency degrades.
There is also a difference in the number of channels for devices in these two frequencies. 5 GHz frequency has 23 channels for use while 2.4 GHz band only provides 11 channels for use to devices. 5 GHz band has less overcrowding as compared to 2.4 GHz band due to the more number of channels.