Internet Speed Test

It depends on your needs. For streaming video, 5-10 Mbps download is typical. Video calls need about 2.5 Mbps each direction. Gaming usually wants 15+ Mbps download with low ping. Check what speed tier you're paying for from your ISP and use this speed test to verify you're actually getting it.

Internet speed naturally fluctuates based on network congestion, wifi signal strength, and what else is using your connection. That's why ping and jitter matter—they show consistency, not just raw speed. Test multiple times at different times of day for a real picture of your broadband speed. Close other apps and devices before testing for your most accurate mbps measurement.

Download speed is how fast data comes to you (used for browsing, streaming, video calls). Upload speed is how fast you send data out (used for video calls, file uploads, streaming). Most people need faster download than upload, but if you work from home or stream content, upload speed matters more. This internet speed test measures both to give you the full picture.

Browser-based speed tests measure real-world performance between you and our test servers. Your results depend on connection quality, network conditions at test time, and server location. For the most accurate mbps test, run it multiple times and check for consistent results. If speeds are far below your ISP package claims, contact your provider or try moving closer to your wifi router.

Almost always it is the last few metres rather than the line itself. Wifi is the usual culprit: distance from the router, walls, and older 2.4 GHz-only devices can each cut throughput by half or more, so plug into an Ethernet cable and retest to see the true line speed. Other common causes are peak-hour congestion on a shared connection, another device streaming or backing up in the background, an old router that cannot forward more than a few hundred Mbps, and plans advertised as "up to" a speed rather than guaranteed. If a wired test at a quiet hour still comes in far under your tier, that is the evidence to take to your provider.

Jitter is how much your ping varies from moment to moment. Ping tells you the delay on one packet; jitter tells you how consistent that delay is across many. It matters because live audio and video have to play back at a steady rate — inconsistent arrival times are what produce robotic voices, frozen frames and stutter, even on a connection with plenty of Mbps. Under about 5 ms is excellent, under 20 ms is fine for calls and most gaming, and consistently over 30 ms is worth investigating. High jitter with a healthy download speed usually points at wifi interference or an overloaded router rather than your provider.

Netflix recommends about 15 Mbps for 4K (Ultra HD), 5 Mbps for 1080p and 3 Mbps for 720p, and other services are broadly similar — YouTube suggests around 20 Mbps for 4K, Disney+ about 25 Mbps. Those figures are per simultaneous stream, so a household running two 4K streams while someone else is on a video call wants roughly 40-50 Mbps of headroom, not 15. Steady speed matters more than peak here: 4K buffers because throughput dips mid-stream, so check that repeated tests stay consistent rather than chasing the highest single result.

Provider speed tests usually connect to a server inside the provider's own network, so the result reflects the link to their nearest node rather than the wider internet your traffic actually crosses. That number is genuinely useful for ruling out a fault on your line, but it tends to read higher than real-world performance. Running both is the informative move: if your provider's test is fast and an independent test is slow, the bottleneck is likely beyond their network or at peak-hour capacity; if both are slow, the problem is your line, router or wifi.

Yes, and often substantially. A VPN encrypts your traffic and routes it through an intermediate server, which adds distance and processing — expect a noticeable drop in download speed and a clear rise in ping, especially if the VPN server is in another country. Turn the VPN off before testing if you want to measure your actual connection, then test again with it on if you want to know what your day-to-day speed looks like while it is running.

It is completely free, needs no account, and installs nothing — the entire test runs in your browser on the device you are holding. There is no app to download for Android or iPhone and no software for Windows or Mac, which is why it works on locked-down work machines and smart TVs. Run it as often as you like.

Internet Speed Test is 100% free — no signup, no watermarks and no usage limits. It’s one of 200+ free tools we build and give away.

No. All sensor data is processed live on your device and never leaves it or gets stored.