| Wi-Fi Version Name | Phy Type | Year | Band | Backwards Compatibility | Max Data Rate | Modulation Scheme | Channel Width | Spatial Streams |
| 802.11 | 1997 | 2.4 GHz | 2 Mbps | DSSS/FHSS* | 22 MHz | 1 | ||
| 1 | 802.11b | 1999 | 2.4 GHz | 802.11 | 11 Mbps | HR-DSSS | 22 MHz | 1 |
| 2 | 802.11a | 1999 | 5 GHz | 54 Mbps | OFDM | 20 MHz | 1 | |
| 3 | 802.11g | 2003 | 2.4 GHz | 802.11, 802.11b | 54 Mbps | ERP-OFDM | 20 MHz | 1 |
| 4 | 802.11n | 2009 | 2.4 or 5 GHz | 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g | 300 Mbps | HT |
20/40 MHz |
1-3** |
| 5 | 802.11ac | 2014 | 5 GHz | 802.11a, 802.11n | 7 Gbps | VHT |
20, 40, 80, 160, 80+80 MHz |
1-8 |
| 6 | 802.11ax | 2019 | 2.4 or 5 GHz | 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g | 10 Gbps | OFDMA |
20, 40, 80, 160, 80+80 MHz |
1-8 |
*FHSS was rarely used in the original 802.11 standard, but it did exist.
**4 spatial streams are supported in the 802.11n standard, but it was almost never implemented.