尽管8086和8088处理器的体系结构和指令集相同，但是它们之间仍然存在差异。
下表列出了2个微处理器之间的区别：
| S. No. | 8086 microprocessor | 8088 microprocessor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The data bus is of 16 bits. | The data bus is of 8 bits. |
| 2 | It has 3 available clock speeds (5 MHz, 8 MHz (8086-2) and 10 MHz (8086-1)). | It has 3 available clock speeds (5 MHz, 8 MHz) |
| 3 | The memory capacity is 512 kB. | The memory capacity is implemented as a single 1 MX 8 memory banks. |
| 4 | It has memory control pin (M/IO) signal. | It has complemented memory control pin (IO/M) signal of 8086. |
| 5 | It has Bank High Enable (BHE) signal. | It has Status Signal (SSO). |
| 6 | It can read or write either 8-bit or 16-bit word at the same time. | It can read only 8-bit word at the same time. |
| 7 | Input/Output voltage level is measured at 2.5 mA. | Input/Output voltage level is measured at 2.0 mA |
| 8 | It has 6 byte instruction queue. | It has 4 byte instruction queue as it can fetch only 1 byte at a time. |
| 9 | It draws a maximum supply current of 360 mA. | It draws a maximum supply current of 340 mA. |