Is there a difference between drywall and gypsum board?

Are you asking because you're mixing up the names, or wondering if they're actually different products? Rigips is really just a brand - the manufacturer that established itself with it. Gipskartonplatte is the umbrella term for all boards made of gypsum with a cardboard coating, no matter which manufacturer. So you could say: all Rigips boards are gypsum boards, but not all gypsum boards are Rigips. In practice, most people just use the names interchangeably, even when they're buying a different brand.

The others are right, but one more thing: Rigips is definitely the most well-known brand, but you'll also find other manufacturers like Knauf or Lafarge making drywall - often just as good quality or even better. When you're buying, it matters less what the brand name is and more what type of board you're getting (standard, moisture-resistant, fire-rated), depending on where you're going to install them. Most tradespeople just say "Rigips" anyway because the brand is so dominant, but technically it's just a term for all drywall.

At home recently, I renovated a wall myself and actually stumbled over these terms too. Truth is: gypsum drywall is simply the correct product name, while Rigips is the brand name - kind of like how you say "Kleenex" when you mean a tissue. Rigips is just the biggest and most well-known manufacturer, so the name kind of worked its way into everyday language. But there are other brands like Knauf, Lafarge or Siniat that produce structurally equivalent panels.

What really matters is which type you need - standard, moisture-resistant, fire-rated or special variants. There's no real difference whether it says "Rigips" on it or another brand. On my project I mixed them, because I happened to stop by our building supply store and the Knauf panels were cheaper. Workmanship-wise it works flawlessly, and honestly you can't see the difference once it's all done anyway.

So: mixing up the names is totally normal, but there's no actual difference between the products themselves - just between different manufacturers and their different specializations (dry, wet, fire-resistant and so on).

The biggest mistake would be assuming that "Rigips" and "gypsum board" are two different products - they're not. Rigips is simply a brand that's become so dominant that lots of people use the brand name as a generic term. Like when someone says "I'm gonna grab a Kleenex" instead of tissue. It works in everyday conversation, but technically gypsum board is the correct term for the material itself.

Here's the tricky part that others have overlooked: it depends on what *type* of gypsum board you actually need. There are pretty significant differences - standard for regular rooms, then ones with better moisture resistance for bathrooms, fire-resistant varieties and so on. If you just grab whatever Rigips you can find because the brand is well-known, but you end up with the wrong type, that won't help you at all. Knauf, Lafarge and other manufacturers make the material just as well, sometimes even cheaper - you shouldn't get hung up on one brand.

TL;DR: Rigips is the brand, gypsum board is the product. The more important point is thinking about what you actually need - standard or special properties - before you buy anything.