Do you really need Cat6A or will Cat6 be fine? Here’s the practical breakdown. Cat5e: 1 Gbps max at 100 meters, 100 MHz bandwidth. Cat6: 1 Gbps at 100 meters, 250 MHz bandwidth, 10 Gbps at 55 meters. Cat6A: 10 Gbps at 100 meters, 500 MHz bandwidth. For 2024 and beyond, I don’t run Cat5e in new construction - the price difference is minimal and you can’t go back and upgrade cable after the walls are closed.
Cat6 vs Cat6A: Cat6A is physically larger (about 0.354" vs 0.235" diameter), which affects conduit fill calculations and bend radius. It’s also more expensive - roughly 30-50% more per foot. For most residential applications, Cat6 is completely adequate. Run Cat6A if the customer has or plans 10Gbps network equipment, is running a home lab or server room, or if they’re in a high-RF-interference environment.
One thing to not cheap out on: cable quality within each category varies enormously. A budget Cat6 from an unknown brand might not actually meet Cat6 specs. Belden, Commscope, and Southwire are the names I trust for structured cabling. Fluke test your runs on commercial jobs - the Fluke DSX or similar certification tester will tell you definitively whether your runs pass TIA-568 specs.