Difference Between Bit Rate and Baud Rate

Bit Rate and Baud Rate are the two terms that are mainly used in data communication. The number of bits (i.e., 0s and 1s) transmitted per unit time is known as the bit rate. In contrast, Baud rate is the number of signal units transmitted per unit time, which is required to represent those bits.

The key distinction between bit rate and baud rate is that a single change of state can transfer one bit, or slightly more or less, depending on the modulation technique used. As a result, the following equation expresses the relationship between the two:

When it comes to computer efficiency, the bit rate is more essential since we want to know how long each piece of information takes to process. However, when we are more concerned with how data is moved from one location to another, we emphasize the baud rate more. The less signal is needed, the more efficient the system is, and the less bandwidth is required to transmit more bits. A bus can accommodate a large number of people. 1000 passengers are transported if 1000 buses travel from point A to point B carrying only one passenger (the driver). However, if each bus transports twenty passengers (suppose), the total number of passengers transported is 20000. In this situation, buses determine traffic, not the number of passengers hence wider highways are required. Similarly, the required bandwidth is determined by the number of bauds, not the number of bits.

Bit Rate

The number of bit intervals per second is known as the bit rate. The time it takes to transport one single bit is referred to as the bit interval. In layman's terms, bit rate refers to the number of bits transferred every second, which is commonly stated in bits per second (bps). For example, Kilobits per second (Kbps), Megabits per second (Mbps), Gigabits per second (Gbps), etc.

Baud Rate

The number of times a signal can change on a transmission line per second is referred to as the baud rate. Typically, just two signal states are used on the transmission line, with the baud rate equal to the number of bits per second that can be transferred.

It can be illustrated with an example. For example, the 1500 baud rate indicates that the channel state can change up to 1500 times per second. The term "changing state" refers to a channel's ability to change state from 0 to 1 or 1 to 0 up to 1500 times per second (in the given case).

Difference Between Bit Rate and Baud Rate

Key Differences Between Bit Rate and Baud Rate

• The number of bits (0 and 1) transmitted per second is referred to as bit rate. On the other hand, Baud rate means the number of times a signal is travelling comprised of bits.
• Baud rate can determine the bandwidth of the channel or its required amount to send the signal while it is not possible through Bit rate.
• The following equation can be used express the bit rate:

Bit rate = Baud rate x then the number of bits per signal unit

The following equation, on the other hand, expresses the Baud rate:

Bit rate= Bit rate / the number of bits per signal unit.

Conclusion

Bit rate and Baud rate are two terms that are used interchangeably to describe the speed at which data is transmitted. On the other hand, the Bit rate is used to determine the number of bits transmitted per unit of time, whereas the Baud rate is used to determine the number of signal units transmitted per unit of time.