Internet Speed Test

What is an internet speed test?

An internet speed test is a short benchmark that measures how much data your connection can move per second, and how quickly it responds. The test downloads and uploads a known volume of data to and from a test server, times the transfer, and converts the result into megabits per second (Mbps).

The same test also measures the round-trip time of a small packet (ping, in milliseconds) and how much that round-trip time varies from one packet to the next (jitter). Together those four numbers describe almost everything that matters about a residential or office connection.

How to run the test

Click "Start" above. The test runs in three phases — ping/jitter first, then download, then upload — and finishes in roughly 30 seconds. For repeatable results:

• Pause large downloads, cloud sync, and video calls before testing.
• Test from a device that is plugged into the router by ethernet where possible.
• Run the test two or three times and take the median, not the highest reading.
• If you're checking wifi specifically, test once a metre from the router and again from where you actually use the device.

What is a good internet speed?

"Good" depends entirely on what you do with the connection. A streaming-only household needs far less than a household with two people on video calls and a console downloading game patches. The numbers below are realistic floors for a smooth experience:

• Browsing & email: 5–10 Mbps download
• HD video streaming (one screen): 10–15 Mbps
• 4K video streaming: 25 Mbps per stream
• Video calls (HD): 4–6 Mbps each way
• Cloud gaming: 25–35 Mbps, low ping
• Busy family of four: 100 Mbps download, 20 Mbps upload

A reasonable rule of thumb is that you should expect at least 60–80% of the headline speed your ISP advertises. Anything materially below that — consistently — is worth raising with your provider.

Why is my speed lower than what I pay for?

The single most common reason is the wifi link, not the broadband line. Modern fibre packages can easily exceed what an older 2.4 GHz router can deliver, especially through walls or at distance. Plug a laptop directly into the router with an ethernet cable and retest — if the wired number jumps, the bottleneck is wifi.

Other common causes:

• Another device on the network is using bandwidth (a cloud backup, a console update, a 4K stream).
• Peak-time congestion on the ISP side — speeds dip in the evening for many providers.
• An older router that doesn't support modern wifi standards (Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6).
• A VPN is active — this almost always reduces measured speed.
• The test server is geographically distant, which inflates ping and can reduce throughput.

Why do different speed tests give different results?

Every speed test picks a server somewhere on the internet and measures the path to it. A closer server with a less-congested path will show a higher number than a distant one, even though your connection hasn't changed. ISP-hosted tests sometimes pin the test to the ISP's own network, which makes results look better than typical real-world traffic.

To get an honest read, run two or three different speed tests (a list of alternatives is at the bottom of this page), compare the results, and trust the median.

Download vs upload speed

Download speed is how quickly data moves from the internet to your device — loading websites, streaming video, downloading files. Upload speed is the reverse: how quickly your device sends data out, which matters for video calls, cloud backups, online gaming, live streaming, and posting photos or videos.

Most consumer broadband packages are asymmetric — far more download than upload. Symmetric fibre (the same speed in both directions) is now common in major cities and is worth paying for if you upload a lot of video, work from home on video calls, or back up large amounts of data to the cloud.

Testing on phone, tablet, laptop or desktop

This speed test works on every modern device with a browser — iPhone, Android, iPad, Mac, Windows, Linux, Chromebook. The test method is identical, but the result is not: a phone on the far side of the house over wifi will measure a lower speed than a desktop plugged into the router by ethernet, even though the broadband line is the same.

When comparing two devices, test them in the same physical location and on the same network, otherwise you're measuring wifi reach, not internet speed.

What is ping?

Ping is the round-trip time, in milliseconds (ms), for a small packet to travel from your device to a server and back. It measures responsiveness, not bandwidth. A 1 Gbps connection with a 200 ms ping will feel sluggish in interactive use; a 50 Mbps connection with a 15 ms ping will feel snappy.

Rough guide:

• Under 20 ms: excellent — competitive gaming, low-latency apps.
• 20–50 ms: very good — smooth for all normal use.
• 50–100 ms: usable for most things, noticeable on competitive games.
• Over 150 ms: sluggish — video calls and gaming will feel laggy.

The most reliable way to lower ping is to connect by ethernet cable and to move closer (network-wise) to the server you're communicating with.

What is jitter?

Jitter is the variation in ping from one packet to the next. If your ping is steadily 30 ms it doesn't matter much; if it bounces between 30 ms and 200 ms, voice calls will glitch and games will rubber-band. Jitter is measured in milliseconds, and lower is better — you want it under about 10 ms for smooth voice and video.

What is latency?

Latency is the broader term for delay across a network. Ping is one specific way of measuring it. The two words are often used interchangeably, but strictly speaking ping is the test and latency is what the test measures. Both are reported in milliseconds.

Improving a slow result

If your speed test result is well below what your subscription promises, work through these in order — the early steps are cheap and fix the majority of cases.

1. Restart the router. Power it off for 30 seconds, then back on. This clears a surprising number of issues.
2. Retest on ethernet. Plug a laptop directly into the router with a cable and retest. If the number jumps, the issue is wifi, not your line.
3. Move the router. Out of cupboards, away from microwaves and cordless phones, ideally in a central, raised position.
4. Reduce competing traffic. Pause cloud syncs, 4K streams and game downloads while testing.
5. Update router firmware. Most routers have a firmware page in their admin interface; vendors fix performance bugs frequently.
6. Check for an outage or peak-time congestion. Test at 3 am if you can — if the number is fine then, your ISP is congested at peak.
7. Talk to your ISP. If wired tests are consistently far below the advertised speed across multiple days, call them with the dates and numbers.

For a deeper walkthrough of every step, see our guide on how to increase internet speed.

Reading your result — quick reference

Metric	Good	OK	Investigate
Download	≥ 80% of plan	60–80%	< 60%
Upload	≥ 80% of plan	60–80%	< 60%
Ping	< 30 ms	30–80 ms	> 100 ms
Jitter	< 5 ms	5–15 ms	> 20 ms

Compare against the package you pay for, not against the maximum theoretical speed of your hardware.

How accurate is this test?

This test reports the bandwidth your browser actually achieved against the test server during the run, in real time. That is the best available measurement of practical internet speed for that device, at that location, at that moment. It will not necessarily match the theoretical maximum of your subscription, your router, or another device on the same network — and it isn't meant to. Run it three times, ten minutes apart, and you'll have a much better picture than any single number can give.

Other speed tests to cross-check with

It's good practice to confirm an unusual result against a second tool. These are well-known alternatives, each with their own server network:

1. Speedof.me — HTML5, no Flash dependency
2. Speedtest.net — Ookla's well-known test
3. Xfinity Speed Test — useful if you're on Comcast
4. TestMy.net — uses uncached files
5. Bandwidth Place
6. Fast.com — Netflix's test, biased toward streaming
7. SpeedSmart.net
8. Speakeasy Speed Test

Frequently asked questions

Does the test work on mobile data? Yes. It will measure your cellular connection the same way it measures wifi or wired. Note that mobile data can be heavily throttled by your carrier depending on plan and time of day.

Does a VPN affect the result? Yes, often significantly. A VPN adds an extra hop and encryption overhead. Disconnect the VPN if you want to measure the underlying connection.

Is the test free? Yes, completely. No sign-up, no account, no premium tier. We don't store or sell test results.

What does Mbps mean? Megabits per second. Note: bits, not bytes. 100 Mbps is about 12 MB per second of real file transfer once protocol overhead is accounted for.

Can I test from a phone browser? Yes — iPhone Safari, Chrome on Android, Firefox, Edge and Brave are all supported.