Commonality in usage, the similarity in appearance, and comparable purposes, these are the characteristics that are distinguishable in both RJ45 and CAT5 – the most common and highly popular wires used in networking. However, they are very much different. The most common difference between these wires is RJ45 (Registered Jack 45) is for the electrical interconnection to assess the connectors, while CAT5 (Category 5) is a kind of Ethernet cable.
RJ45 was used in telephone lines and the diameter is a lot bigger as it has to cater to numerous wires inside the cable. It commands how the cables should be wired together, or the intertwining of the wires. It used to the need of having an outlet made in the house for it to connect telephones or VoIP phones.
CAT5 design is to limit and prevent any crosstalk, as can be seen with the twisted and color coded wires in the cable, although remained without a shield. There are different kinds of CAT5, with a lower case letter after the number that indicates their additional capability, a good example is CAT5e as reduction of electrical noise. CAT5 is used for bandwidth size and speed, and is supply is available easily.
Following are key Difference Between RJ45 vs CAT5
| RJ 45 | Cat 5 | |
| Meaning | Electrical connection standard | Standard for ethernet |
| Acronym defined | Registered Jack(RJ) | Category5 |
| Longevity | Difficult to replace | Easily replaced |
| Agency responsible | Federal Communications Commission | Electronics Industry Associations |
