Is "a load of" same as "a lot of?" What's the difference?

Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
There's no real difference between the two, so they mean the exact same thing! The only small difference might be the emphasis. "Load" has a little more emphasis than "lot" here, but that could also change depending on where the emphasis is in speech. Ex: There's a load of people waiting to see the show. = There are a lot of people waiting to see the show. Ex: I've been here loads of times before. = I've been here lots of times before.