How Much Internet Speed Do I Demand?

At a glance

Picking a new net programme can be a hurting. You want to brand certain you have plenty internet speed to avoid buffering and disjointed Zoom meetings, simply going with the fastest speed might be a waste of money.

Equally a general baseline, you want at to the lowest degree ten Mbps of download speed per person who could be online at the same fourth dimension, merely the actual amount of internet speed you lot need depends on how many devices are connected to the internet and how you employ the internet.

Here are the basic considerations for choosing an net plan:

  1. Bandwidth requirements
  2. Common internet speed options
  3. Upload speed vs. download speed
  4. Internet types

Go along reading to learn more about internet speed and how much of it y'all should pay for. And if you're looking for a new cyberspace service provider (ISP) that tin give yous faster cyberspace speeds, check out our listing of ISPs we recommend.

Detect cyberspace prices for your new home

How do I choose an internet speed?

This is going to be a flake of (easy) math. Only don't worry—you need to do this only one time to know how much internet speed you lot need.

What you need to practise is figure out the number of devices that volition potentially be online at the same time, along with the amount of bandwidth required to keep each connexion running smoothly.

Here's a chart to help yous figure out how many Mbps each of your internet connections might need. Or you tin can skip the math and get a personalized internet speed recommendation.

Bandwidth requirements for common online activities

Activity

Recommended bandwidth per example

Web browsing

3–v Mbps

Email

1–2 Mbps

Music streaming

one–2 Mbps

Checking social media

3–10 Mbps

Video streaming

5–25 Mbps

Video conferencing

five–x Mbps

Online gaming

five–25 Mbps

Smart home devices

1-x Mbps

The amount of bandwidth whatsoever online activity can use depends on a few factors. Checking social media could hateful a brief await on Twitter, or it could be endlessly scrolling through TikTok (which would use more bandwidth).

Too, video streaming resolution affects how much internet speed you lot utilise—standard definition Netflix has a minimum requirement of only iii Mbps, but streaming in 4K could hands use upwards 25 Mbps.

If you have multiple connections going at the same time, y'all also want to brand sure you have enough bandwidth for every connection to run smoothly simultaneously—otherwise your network will ho-hum down when multiple people get online.

For example, if you'd potentially take a smart TV streaming Netflix, a smartphone scrolling through Instagram, and a laptop looking upwardly the all-time takeout in your surface area at the same time, 20–thirty Mbps would piece of work. That's v–25 Mbps for streaming, iii–10 Mbps for Instagram, and 3–5 Mbps for web browsing.

Giving yourself a scrap of wiggle room isn't going to injure either. In our opinion, it's better to have a petty extra bandwidth than to go stuck with a petty less than you regularly need.

Cheque every internet plan in your surface area to find the speeds y'all demand.

This helpful video from Xfinity can assistance you visualize the bandwidth requirements for different tasks similar checking your email, streaming, and making video calls.

Mutual internet speeds

Fifty-fifty though every net provider has its own range of net plans, there are a few mutual speed ranges you might discover equally you shop.

25 Mbps—Good for well-nigh 2 people and up to 5 devices, depending on what you practice with them. With 25 Mbps, you could stream one prove in 4K if there are no other internet connections.

50 Mbps—Expert for two–4 people and 5–7 devices. A speed of 50 Mbps can handle 2–three video streams plus some extra online activity.

100 Mbps—Good for 4–6 people and up to 10 devices. Almost families would exist handsomely covered with a 100 Mbps internet connexion.

200–500 Mbps—Good for large families with several continued devices where everyone wants to watch a different movie or testify at the same fourth dimension.

i,000 Mbps—This is usually the fastest residential internet speed bachelor, and it'south good if you rely on incredibly fast internet speeds for online gaming, your job, or just because you desire the best of the best.

Internet speeds from our favorite providers

Company

Cost range

Download speeds

Learn more

Xfinity Xfinity

$19.99–$83.95/mo.* 50–1,200 Mbps

ATT AT&T

$55.00–$80.00/mo.** 25–940 Mbps

Spectrum Spectrum

$49.99–$89.99/mo.*** 200–ane,000 Mbps

Cox Cox

$29.99–$109.99/mo.**** 25–1,000 Mbps

Data as of 3/10/2022.

*Excludes Xfinity Gigabit Pro and Gigabit X3 plans. For the offset 12 months with a one-yr understanding.
**Excludes AT&T Internet 2000 and AT&T Cyberspace 5000 plans. For 12 mos., plus taxes & equip fee. $10/mo. equip. fee applies. Incl. 1TB information/mo.; overage charges apply. Ltd avail./areas.
***For the offset 12 months.
****For the first 12 months with a i-year agreement.

Upload speed and download speed

For most of this commodity, we've been talking nearly download speeds—the speeds that determine how fast y'all can receive data from the internet. But upload speed—the speed at which you can send data to the internet—is likewise important.

Many internet providers annunciate download speeds but keep upload speeds a little more hidden because they can be much slower than download speeds. That's fine for most because y'all don't usually send as much to the internet every bit you lot get from it.

Only for people who upload a lot of files, photos, or YouTube videos for work—or households where in that location are multiple video calls going on at the same time—you'll want to make sure your upload bandwidth tin can go on up.

Internet providers usually requite y'all 10% of your download speed as your upload speed. So if your internet plan says 100 Mbps, your upload speed would exist ten Mbps.

The exception to these asymmetrical speeds is usually fiber internet, which tends to be more generous with upload bandwidth than other types of net. With a fiber internet connection, you would usually get equally fast upload and download speeds.

How internet type affects speeds

Unlike types of net connections tin bear upon your speeds in a few dissimilar means, mainly in speed or distance limitations, network congestion, or loftier latency. Let's go through the main types of internet and how they affect speeds:

Fiber internet is the fastest type of cyberspace currently bachelor. Notably, fiber internet connections requite yous much faster upload speeds than other types of internet. Examples of cobweb internet providers are Google Fiber, Verizon Fios, and CenturyLink Fiber.

Cablevision internet is likewise a fast connection blazon with top speeds upwards to ane,000 Mbps. It doesn't take symmetric upload speeds, and cable connections tin can slow down when a lot of people in a neighborhood are on the aforementioned network at the aforementioned time. A few notable cable providers are Xfinity, Spectrum, and Cox.

DSL internet can handle acme speeds effectually 100 Mbps, simply it ordinarily performs slower than that because the wires carrying your internet information are older and more prone to interference over long distances. Examples of some DSL internet companies are CenturyLink and Frontier.

Satellite internet is usually the slowest blazon of internet due to its high latency. Think about it: all the information you send and receive has to go to space and back. Satellite internet providers are HughesNet and Viasat (and soon to be Starlink).

Frequently asked questions about internet speed

What is latency?

Latency is the fourth dimension it takes for any data—like a discussion file, a YouTube video, or an email—to get from its original source to its destination. If your latency is high, it means information is taking longer to transfer from the spider web to your phone or reckoner.

You can reduce latency by moving closer to your router or finding an optimal location for your router. Sometimes, restarting your router tin can too be helpful. If your router is former, you lot might even demand to replace it to solve latency issues.

What blazon of cyberspace is fastest?

Fiber net like Google Fiber and Verizon Fios is the fastest net type on the market. Fiber isn't bachelor in every area though, so you might have to settle for cable cyberspace. Luckily, cable internet is still pretty speedy compared to DSL internet and satellite internet.

How practice I examination my internet speed?

If you're paying for fast internet, but you still go a lot of lag and buffer when yous game online or stream video, brand sure you're getting your money's worth using this handy cyberspace speed test.

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Rebecca Armstrong

Written past

Rebecca Armstrong

Rebecca is a natural techie and the friend you turn to when your Wi-Fi randomly stops working. Since graduating from the University of Evansville with a degree in creative writing, Rebecca has leveraged her tech savvy to write hundreds of data-driven tech production and service reviews. In addition to HighSpeedInternet.com, her work has been featured on Top X Reviews, MacSources, Windows Cardinal, Android Central, Best Company, TechnoFAQ and iMore.