Local Area Network (LAN):
LAN or Local Area Network is a group of network devices all of which are connected to the same network and can communicate with each over other the network. The LAN is under the control of the private owner instead of the public (ISP). It is usually for small areas such as a School, College, etc.
Wide Area Network (WAN):
Wide Area Network involves an area much greater than LAN such as a Country. As compared to LAN, WAN is much more expensive and cannot be owned by a single person or organization. A WAN may involve several LANs that are connected to each other. WAN can be accessible to the public or cannot be accessible to the public. WAN has lower speeds and depends on the ISP on the speeds that you are getting. An example of public WAN is the worldwide Internet. ISP or Internet Service Provider generally provide connectivity to WANs.
LANs generally have internet speeds much higher than WANs and are able to transmit data at much faster speeds because of the short distances that they have to cover. LANs are more secure and reliable than WANs because WANs have to transmit data over larger distances and involve 3rd-party service providers.
An advantage that WAN has over the LAN is that it is able to cover a much greater area and connect to many devices because it is made up of many different networks. But LAN is much easier to set up as they involve only a few things as compared to WAN and the expenses of WAN are much more as compared to LAN because of the ISP fees.
For small organizations and institutions, LAN is the best choice for fast, reliable, secure transfer of data and information across devices, however, on a larger-scale, it is impossible to set up a LAN at larger distances.