Comparable vs Comparator

• Comparable defines the default (natural) ordering of a class
• Comparator defines custom ordering outside the class

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Core Difference

Point	Comparable	Comparator
Package	java.lang	java.util
Method	compareTo()	compare()
Where logic lives	Inside the class	Outside the class
Number of sort orders	One	Many
Modifies class	✅ Yes	❌ No
Use case	Natural order	Custom / multiple orders

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Comparable

Comparable is used when a class has a natural order.

Characteristics

• Sorting logic is part of the class
• Only one default sorting rule
• Used automatically by Collections.sort() and Arrays.sort()

String and all wrapper classes implement Comparable
Collections rely on Comparator or Comparable elements for sorting.

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Comparator

Comparator is used to define custom sorting logic.

Characteristics

• Sorting logic is external to the class
• Supports multiple sorting strategies
• Very flexible

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Comparable is used to define the natural ordering of a class, whereas Comparator is used to define custom ordering externally.

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