Cat6 vs Cat5e: Which Ethernet Cable Should You Use at Home?

If you are wiring a home office, adding a data point for the TV or having a house rewired, one question comes up straight away: Cat5e or Cat6? Both look almost identical, both plug into the same sockets and both are sold in huge boxes online. The differences matter more than the price tag suggests, because cable behind plaster is expensive to replace later.

What is the difference between Cat5e and Cat6?

Both are twisted-pair Ethernet cables with four pairs of wires. The categories describe how well the cable is built to carry high-speed data without picking up interference. Cat6 has tighter twists and often a plastic spline down the middle, which reduces crosstalk between the pairs.

Do you actually need more than gigabit at home?

Today, most UK broadband packages top out at around 1 Gbps, although full-fibre services offering several gigabits are appearing. Most laptops, TVs and consoles still have 1 Gbps network ports, and 2.5 Gbps ports are becoming common on newer routers, PCs and access points.

Cat5e can carry 2.5 Gbps over a normal home run, so it is not obsolete. Cat6 simply gives you a more comfortable route to 5 Gbps and, on shorter runs, 10 Gbps, if you ever need it for a NAS, a video editing workstation or a faster broadband package.

Why Cat6 is usually the sensible choice for new work

• The cable is the cheap part. The real cost of a cabling job is the time to run, terminate and test it. Paying a little more for the better cable adds almost nothing to the total.
• You only do it once. Cable run under floors, in lofts or chased into walls is a pain to replace. Fitting Cat6 means you will not be redoing it in five years.
• Better with interference. The tighter construction copes better near mains cabling and other noisy equipment.
• PoE friendly. Access points, cameras and VoIP phones are often powered over the same cable. Good Cat6 handles the extra heat and power loss well.

Solid copper or copper-clad aluminium?

This matters more than the category. Very cheap cable is often copper-clad aluminium (CCA). It has higher resistance, becomes brittle, breaks easily when terminated and can overheat when carrying PoE. It should not be used for fixed installations. Look for solid bare copper cable from a reputable supplier, and be wary of bargain boxes that look too good to be true.

Shielded or unshielded cable?

For most homes, standard unshielded twisted pair (UTP) is the right choice. Shielded cable only helps if it is installed and earthed correctly, and it can perform worse than UTP if it is not. It is worth considering where cable has to run alongside lots of mains wiring or in electrically noisy environments, and that is a conversation to have at the survey stage.

How long can a cable run be?

The Ethernet limit is 100 metres for the whole channel, which is up to 90 metres of fixed cable plus short patch leads at each end. That is plenty for any normal house, but it matters for long runs out to a garage, workshop or garden office.

Practical tips for a clean installation

• Keep data cables away from parallel runs of mains cable wherever possible, and cross them at right angles.
• Avoid tight bends and never crush cable with clips or staples.
• Label both ends of every run, and bring them back to a central patch panel and switch.
• Leave a small loop of spare cable at each end in case a socket needs re-terminating.
• Test every run with a cable tester, not just by plugging in a laptop.

If you are renovating, cabling before plastering costs far less than doing it afterwards. A planned layout also makes whole-home WiFi coverage much easier, because access points can be wired back to a central switch.

Where does cabling fit with WiFi?

Cabling and WiFi work best together. A wired backhaul between mesh units, or cabled access points in each part of the house, is far more reliable than a chain of wireless extenders. If you are weighing the options, our guides to extenders versus mesh WiFi and powerline adapters versus mesh explain where each approach fits, and home network infrastructure explained covers the bigger picture.

HomeIT Services designs and installs structured cabling and WiFi for homes across Essex. See home network and WiFi installation (and see what home WiFi installation costs), or get in touch about a survey in Southend-on-Sea, Chelmsford or elsewhere in Essex.