Access ports

An access port is a connection on a switch that transmits data to and from a specific VLAN. Because an access port is only assigned to a single VLAN, it sends and receives frames that aren’t tagged and only have the access VLAN value. This doesn’t cause signal issues because the frames remain within the same VLAN. If it does happen to receive a tagged packet, it will simply avoid it. This is a simpler configuration, but not the most efficient choice if the network is even moderately complex. 

Trunk ports

Unlike an access port, a trunk port can transmit data from multiple VLANs. If you have a dozen VLANs on a particular switch, you don’t need additional cables or switches for each VLAN—just that single link. A trunk port allows you to send all those signals for each switch or router across a single trunk link. In contrast to an access port, a trunk port must use tagging in order to allow signals to get to the correct endpoint. Trunk ports typically offer higher bandwidth and lower latency than access ports.