5G vs. WiFi: Is 5G Stronger Than WiFi?
5G and WiFi 6 are both the latest standards in wireless technology. Wi-Fi 6 is a type of local area network (LAN) primarily used in indoor environments, while 5G is a type of wide area network (WAN) used both indoors and outdoors, typically over longer distances. Both 5G and WiFi 6 offer many benefits over their predecessors, including faster speeds, lower latency and increased capacity, but which one is stronger and which type of wireless technology is best for your business?
If your business requires low-latency connectivity for real-time applications, such as IoT, automation and remote monitoring, then 5G has clear benefits over WiFi. It’s also the best option for large premises or those with multiple sites, where seamless connectivity and mobility are required. WiFi may be a better option for smaller, indoor environments where mobility is not a concern.
Keep reading to learn more about how 5G compares to WiFi.
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5G vs. Wi-Fi 6
The two latest wireless standards, 5G New Radio (NR) and Wi-Fi 6, are both faster than their predecessors and capable of supporting a greater number of devices. The table below shows how these two forms of wireless technology compare.
| Factor | 5G NR | WiFi 6 |
| Use Cases | Broad use: IoT, AR/VR, remote surgery, autonomous vehicles, industry 4.0 | Best for local use: offices, homes, workplaces |
| Peak Speed | Up to 20 Gbps (theoretical) | Up to 9.6 Gbps (theoretical) |
| Real-World Speed | 300 Mbps on average | 600 Mbps to 4.8 Gbps |
| Latency (Target) | As low as 1 ms (URLLC) | Typically 20–30 ms |
| Real-World Latency | 1–5 ms | 20–30 ms |
| Coverage Range | Up to several kilometres, depending on the frequency band | Typically 15–50 metres, depending on the frequency |
| Frequency Bands | Low (sub-1 GHz), Mid (1–6 GHz), mmWave (24+ GHz) | 2.4 GHz (longer range), 5 GHz (faster, shorter range) |
| Devices | Up to 1 million devices/km² | Up to 1024 clients per AP |
How to Choose the Best Wireless Technology for Your Business?
The type of wireless technology that will be most suitable for your business will depend on the intended application, as well as a range of operational, technical and financial factors.
Here are some questions you should ask when deciding whether to employ 5G or WiFi for your business:
- What will be the primary use case for the network? For example, IoT, internal communication or public access?
- What bandwidth and speed do your operations require?
- Do your applications require real-time responsiveness? Do you have any critical low-latency requirements?
- How mobile are your operations? Do you require outdoor connectivity?
- What kind of scalability do you anticipate? Do you want to future-proof your business?
- What is your current infrastructure setup, and how much money do you have to invest?
Below, we break down some of the key deciding factors in more detail to help you understand the difference between 5G and WiFi and choose the right wireless technology for your business.
Use Cases
5G is designed to fulfil Quality of Service (QoS) requirements for a much wider range of use cases than WiFi. 5G can support critical IoT, M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication, eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband), Network Slicing and Time Sensitive Networking (TSN).
WiFi is designed to excel in local environments, such as office buildings, workplaces homes, but 5G can serve more diverse environments, including:
- Industrial automation
- Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR)
- Remote surgery
- Autonomous vehicles
- Large-scale IoT implementation
Bandwidth and Speed
5G offers higher theoretical peak speeds and greater bandwidth capacity than Wi-Fi 6. However, in real-world scenarios, this performance will depend on a wide range of factors, such a network congestion and interference, and is often significantly lower than theoretical speeds:
- 5G offers theoretical speeds of up to 20 Gbps, but the average real-world speed offered is typically around 300 Mbps.
- WiFi 6 offers theoretical speeds of up to 9.6 Gbps and real-world speeds of between 600 Mbps and 4.8 Gbps.
Latency
5G networks are designed to offer very low latency, much lower than the latency offered by WiFi 6 networks. In fact, the core design of 5G is designed to prioritise low latency for real-time applications, such as remote patient care, autonomous vehicles and smart factories.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
- 5G offers a target latency of 1 millisecond for ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), while real-world performance is typically in the range of 1-5 milliseconds.
- WiFi 6 offers considerably lower latency than previous WiFi standards, but real-world latency is typically around 20-30 milliseconds.
Reliability
Generally, 5G offers improved reliability compared to WiFi 6, especially in areas with good 5G coverage and infrastructure. This is because 5G uses licensed spectrum while WiFi uses unlicensed spectrum. Using licensed spectrum helps to reduce interference and improve network resource management. This also allows for a new concept called network slicing, where multiple virtual networks can be created with a shared physical infrastructure. These networks (or ‘slices’) can be customised with different QoS parameters, such as latency, for different applications.
Range
5G offers significantly better range than WiFi 6. While WiFi 6 is most suitable for intense indoor coverage, 5G is much more suitable for mobile or field operations.
5G operates across multiple frequency bands to ensure an adequate balance of coverage and speed:
- Low-band (sub-1 GHz) offers long-range coverage and can effectively penetrate walls and buildings.
- Mid-band (1–6 GHz) strikes a balance between range and speed.
- mmWave (24+ GHz) delivers very high speeds but over very short distances and struggles with obstacles like walls and windows.
WiFi 6 is primarily designed for local area coverage and typically will only reach between 25 and 50 metres. WiFi networks also operate across two frequencies:
- 2.4 GHz offers a wider range, approximately 45 meters.
- 5 GHz has a shorter range of around 15 meters
Scalability
Although 5G and WiFi 6 are both designed with scalability in mind, 5G is the better option for massive scalability and a wide range of implementations and use cases. Here’s an overview of how scalable these two types of wireless technologies are:
- WiFi 6 includes technologies like OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and MU-MIMO, which help it to handle more devices and reduce latency and congestion. However, implementing WiFi across multiple sites or very large facilities can still be a challenge.
- 5G is built for scalability and can handle up to 1 million devices per square kilometre, making it ideal for large operations across multiple sites, such as large-scale IoT deployments or industry 4.0 applications.
If you’re looking to future-proof your business, investing in 5G networks means that your business will be better equipped to leverage new and emerging technologies to help you gain a competitive advantage.
Cost
The cost of deploying a WiFi network is typically lower than a 5G network, but the long-term value to your business will depend on needs and scalability. For small or localised indoor operations, WiFi 6 is typically the most cost-effective solution. However, for large-scale operations where mobility, scalability and low-latency are required for real-time applications such as IoT, AR and VR, 5G is worth the financial investment.
Key Insights: When to Choose 5G Over WiFi?
If your business demands ultra-low latency, high bandwidth, and reliable connectivity for IoT, automated or remote applications, 5G is the best solution. While WiFi is suitable for most indoor environments where mobility is not a concern, such as office buildings, 5G excels in large-scale deployments.
Here’s a more detailed overview of when to choose 5G over WiFi:
- Your operations are mobile, or spread across a large area or multiple sites.
- You use (or plan to adopt in the near future) real-time advanced technologies, such as IoT, automation, remote monitoring or AR/VR.
- You need to connect a significant number of devices across a large area, for example, smart manufacturing operations or logistics fleets.
- You’re looking to future-proof your business and want to take advantage of emerging and future technologies.
Limitations and Challenges of 5G
5G is now offered by all four of the UK’s main mobile network operators (MNOs), and between 61% and 79% of premises can now receive 5G outdoor coverage from at least one MNO in the UK (Connected Nations UK Report 2024). However, this means that there are still many premises that don’t have access to 5G, and coverage is likely much lower indoors than outdoors. Many modern building materials can block 5G signals, especially mmWaves, which are only effective over short distances, reducing indoor 5G connectivity. To learn more about the effect building materials can have on mobile connectivity, read our blog ‘How Building Materials Affect Mobile Phone Signal?’.
This can be frustrating for businesses that want to benefit from the fast speeds, low latency and high reliability of 5G networks compared to WiFi and want to implement advanced applications to enhance their operations. The good news is that poor indoor signal strength does not need to be a barrier to implementing 5G networks for your business. Installing a high-performance 5G signal boosting system is the best way to ensure strong 5G connectivity across your premises.
High-Performance 5G Mobile Phone Signal-Boosting Solutions by NetCov
At NetCov, we specialise in designing and installing high-quality 5G signal-boosting systems so businesses can benefit from 5G connectivity. We have worked with a wide range of industries to help them utilise 5G technology, including manufacturing, healthcare and hospitality.
We offer high-performance signal boosters that boost the signal of all UK networks, including Three, Vodafone, EE and O2. All our boosters are Ofcom-approved, so you can be sure your business is fully compliant with all UK legislation.
Contact our team today to find out more about whether 5G is right for your business or book your free consultation to get started.
5G vs. WiFi FAQs
5G New Radio (5G NR) is the latest global standard of 5G technology. It was developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to improve data speed, lower latency, and boost connectivity compared to 4G LTE. 5G NR can support a much broader range of applications, such as IoT deployment, than its predecessor and can connect to a much higher number of devices simultaneously.
WiFi 6, also known as 802.11ax, is the latest standard of wireless networking that offers significantly improved performance compared to its predecessor, WiFi 5. WiFi 6 provides a theoretical maximum speed of 9.6 Gbps, while WiFi 5 only provides a maximum speed of 3.5 Gbps. It can also handle a much higher number of devices simultaneously and uses new technologies, such as OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and MU-MIMO, to better distribute bandwidth and improve performance.
Whether 5G is better than WiFi will depend on the specific use case and application. 5G generally offers faster speeds and lower latency than WiFi, making it more suitable for intensive real-time applications or outdoor coverage. However, WiFi is designed for consistent performance in indoor environments.
Yes, when it comes to theoretical speeds, 5G is faster than WiFi. 5G can theoretically achieve speeds up to 20 Gbps, while Wi-Fi 6 can only reach up to 9.6 Gbps. However, real-world speeds are likely to be significantly lower than this and can vary based on network congestion and interference.