Difference between ArrayList and LinkedList in Java

ArrayList and LinkedList both implements List interface and maintains insertion order. Both are non synchronized classes.

However, there are many differences between ArrayList and LinkedList classes that are given below.

ArrayList	LinkedList
1) ArrayList internally uses a dynamic array to store the elements.	LinkedList internally uses a doubly linked list to store the elements.
2) Manipulation with ArrayList is slow because it internally uses an array. If any element is removed from the array, all the bits are shifted in memory.	Manipulation with LinkedList is faster than ArrayList because it uses a doubly linked list, so no bit shifting is required in memory.
3) An ArrayList class can act as a list only because it implements List only.	LinkedList class can act as a list and queue both because it implements List and Deque interfaces.
4) ArrayList is better for storing and accessing data.	LinkedList is better for manipulating data.

Example of ArrayList and LinkedList in Java

Let's see a simple example where we are using ArrayList and LinkedList both.

1. import java.util.*;    
2. class TestArrayLinked{    
3.  public static void main(String args[]){    
4.      
5.   List<String> al=new ArrayList<String>();//creating arraylist    
6.   al.add("Ravi");//adding object in arraylist    
7.   al.add("Vijay");    
8.   al.add("Ravi");    
9.   al.add("Ajay");    
10.     
11.   List<String> al2=new LinkedList<String>();//creating linkedlist    
12.   al2.add("James");//adding object in linkedlist    
13.   al2.add("Serena");    
14.   al2.add("Swati");    
15.   al2.add("Junaid");    
16.     
17.   System.out.println("arraylist: "+al);  
18.   System.out.println("linkedlist: "+al2);  
19.  }    
20. }    

Output:

arraylist: [Ravi,Vijay,Ravi,Ajay]
linkedlist: [James,Serena,Swati,Junaid]