This chart ranks the ten metals that conduct heat best, measured in watts per metre-kelvin at room temperature. Silver leads, which is why the best conductors of heat are also the best conductors of electricity.
About: Metals With the Highest Thermal Conductivity
Overview of the data behind this chartAI Insight
Silver conducts heat best of all metals at 429 W/m-K, narrowly ahead of copper (401 W/m-K). Because silver is expensive, copper is the practical choice for most heat sinks and cookware, trading a small performance loss for far lower cost. Gold (318) and aluminium (237) round out the elite group, with aluminium prized for combining good conductivity with light weight. There is then a steady decline through beryllium, tungsten, magnesium and molybdenum. Nickel closes the list at 91 W/m-K, meaning silver conducts heat almost five times better than nickel. Notably, the order of the top four, silver, copper, gold, aluminium, is identical to their ranking for electrical conductivity, reflecting the shared role of free electrons in carrying both heat and charge.
Key Findings
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Metals With the Highest Thermal Conductivity
Data Insights
Numbers, trends & sources behind this chartCategory Rankings
Thermal Conductivity (W/m-K) · All Time| # | Category | All Time |
|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Silver | 0 |
| 🥈 | Copper | 0 |
| 🥉 | Gold | 0 |
| 4 | Aluminium | 0 |
| 5 | Beryllium | 0 |
| 6 | Tungsten | 0 |
| 7 | Magnesium | 0 |
| 8 | Molybdenum | 0 |
| 9 | Zinc | 0 |
| 10 | Nickel | 0 |
What This Data Shows
Auto-generated trend summaries per categoryFull Data Table
10 records across 1 yearData Sources & References
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