There are several differences between a central bank and commercial banks are given below

1. The central bank is the custodian of the foreign exchange reserves of the country and is responsible to maintain the stability of foreign exchange rates while commercial banks only deal in foreign exchange only.
2. The central bank acts as a lender of the last resort and grants credit to the commercial banks at the time of emergency. The central bank also acts as the national clearing house for all commercial banks. The central bank is the only authority to control the credit created by the commercial banks. But such functions are not performed by the commercial banks.
3. The main objective of commercial banks is to earn profit or surplus whereas the purpose of the central bank is not to earn profit but to stimulate the economic growth of the country and to create a stable monetary system in the economy.
4. The central bank is the apex banking institution in the country, which controls and regulates the commercial and other banks in the country.
5. The central bank is generally owned and managed by the government while the commercial banks may be state or privately owned institutions.
6. The commercial banks deal with the public directly whereas the central bank does not deal directly with the public and deals with commercial banks,  other institutions, and the government of the country.
7. The central bank has the monopoly to issue notes in the country. It has got certain other functions such as lender of the last resort, banker’s bank, credit control, and control of foreign exchange, which are not performed by the commercial banks.