Difference Between Register And Counter

Knowing the “difference between register and counter” is very important as both register and counter works in a different ways, and the structure and design are also different. Since, both have different concepts and also part of a sequential circuit, it is very important to understand the deeper meaning of each of them. Let’s get started without further ado.

Register	Counter
1. Registers are synchronous sequential circuits.	1. Counters are asynchronous as well as synchronous sequential circuits.
2. A register consists of a group of flip-flops and gates that affects their transition.	2. A counter is basically a register that goes through a predetermined sequence of states.
3. It is used to store the data.	3. It is used to control the operations over data.
4. External data input is given to the circuit to process further.	4.No external input data is given to the circuit. The only input given to the circuit is the clock pulse.
5. Register can store n-bits of data.	5. MOD value of the counter(N) is less than or equal to the 2n where n is the number of bits.
6. It acts as a storage device as well as a shift register. It is used in serial data transfer, Delays, and Arithmetics.	6. It is used as a frequency division, event counting, timing and control operations.
7. All registers are not counters.	7. All counters are registers.
8. Figure for shift register:	8. Figure for counter:
9. Examples: SISO,SIPO,PISO,PIPO	9. Examples: Up counter, Down counter, Up-Down counter.