This chart ranks the ten metals that conduct electricity best, measured in megasiemens per metre at 20 degrees Celsius. Silver is the single best electrical conductor of any metal, followed closely by copper.

About: Metals With the Highest Electrical Conductivity

Overview of the data behind this chart

AI Insight

Silver is the best electrical conductor at 63.0 MS/m, just ahead of copper at 59.6 MS/m. Despite silver's slight edge, copper dominates real-world wiring because it is far cheaper and nearly as conductive. Gold (41.1) resists corrosion and so is favoured for connectors and contacts, while aluminium (35.5) offers about 60% of copper's conductivity at a fraction of the weight, making it standard for overhead power lines. Calcium is a surprising fifth at 29.8 MS/m. After that, conductivity falls sharply: tungsten and zinc sit near 17 MS/m and platinum closes the list at just 9.43 MS/m, roughly one-seventh of silver. The top four metals match the ranking for thermal conductivity, underscoring the shared electron physics behind both properties.

Data source: Electrical resistivity and conductivity data

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Silver leads with 63 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 30 · median: 24.

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Gap in All Time: Silver is 6.7× larger than Platinum.

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Metals With the Highest Electrical Conductivity

Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

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Data Points

10 categories · 1 year

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Top Value

Silver

Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) · All Time

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Metrics

Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)

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Period

All Time

Single year snapshot

Category Rankings

Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) · All Time

#	Category	All Time
🥇	Silver	63
🥈	Copper	59.60
🥉	Gold	41.10
4	Aluminium	35.50
5	Calcium	29.80
6	Tungsten	17.90
7	Zinc	16.90
8	Nickel	14.30
9	Iron	10.30
10	Platinum	9.43

Statistical Summary — Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) · All Time

Maximum

9.43

Minimum

Average

Median

What This Data Shows

Auto-generated trend summaries per category

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Silver

Recorded 63 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

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Copper

Recorded 59.60 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

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Gold

Recorded 41.10 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

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Aluminium

Recorded 35.50 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

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Calcium

Recorded 29.80 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

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Tungsten

Recorded 17.90 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

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Zinc

Recorded 16.90 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

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Nickel

Recorded 14.30 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

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Iron

Recorded 10.30 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

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Platinum

Recorded 9.43 Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C) in All Time.

Source

Full Data Table

10 records across 1 year

10 sourced

Category	Metric	All Time
Silver	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	63
Copper	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	59.60
Gold	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	41.10
Aluminium	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	35.50
Calcium	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	29.80
Tungsten	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	17.90
Zinc	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	16.90
Nickel	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	14.30
Iron	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	10.30
Platinum	Electrical Conductivity (MS/m at 20C)	9.43