| LAN (Local Area Network) | MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) | WAN (Wide Area Network) |
| LAN Stands for Local Area Network. | MAN stands for Metropolitan Area Network. | WAN stands for Wide Area Network. |
| A LAN is a network of connected devices that exist within a specific location. | A public or private network is used to connect various locations including suburbs in metropolitan cities. | A WAN is any network that crosses metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries. |
| LANs may be found in homes, offices, educational institutions, or other areas. | A MAN is a network, which covers an entire city, but uses LAN topology. | Most networking professionals define a WAN as any network that uses routers and public network links (e.g. Telephone lines). |
| LAN is easy to set up. | MANs are formed by connecting multiple LANs. | Due to long distance transmission, the noise and errors are more in WAN. |
| Data transmits at a very fast rate. | Examples of a MAN are the cable TV network in a city. | The best example of WAN is the Internet. |
