How Much Internet Speed Do I Need?

At a glance

Picking a new internet plan can be a pain. Yous desire to make sure you have enough internet speed to avoid buffering and disjointed Zoom meetings, but going with the fastest speed might exist a waste of money.

As a general baseline, you want at least 10 Mbps of download speed per person who could be online at the same time, merely the actual corporeality of internet speed you demand depends on how many devices are connected to the net and how you use the internet.

Here are the basic considerations for choosing an internet plan:

  1. Bandwidth requirements
  2. Common net speed options
  3. Upload speed vs. download speed
  4. Cyberspace types

Keep reading to learn more nigh cyberspace speed and how much of information technology you should pay for. And if y'all're looking for a new internet service provider (Isp) that tin can give you lot faster internet speeds, bank check out our list of ISPs we recommend.

Observe internet prices for your new home

How practice I choose an internet speed?

This is going to be a scrap of (piece of cake) math. But don't worry—yous need to do this only one time to know how much internet speed you demand.

What you demand to do is figure out the number of devices that will potentially exist online at the same fourth dimension, along with the amount of bandwidth required to continue each connection running smoothly.

Hither's a chart to help you figure out how many Mbps each of your cyberspace connections might need. Or you lot can skip the math and go a personalized cyberspace speed recommendation.

Bandwidth requirements for common online activities

Activeness

Recommended bandwidth per instance

Spider web browsing

3–v Mbps

E-mail

ane–2 Mbps

Music streaming

1–two Mbps

Checking social media

iii–10 Mbps

Video streaming

5–25 Mbps

Video conferencing

five–x Mbps

Online gaming

v–25 Mbps

Smart dwelling house devices

1-10 Mbps

The amount of bandwidth any online activeness can use depends on a few factors. Checking social media could hateful a brief look on Twitter, or information technology could be endlessly scrolling through TikTok (which would apply more bandwidth).

Too, video streaming resolution affects how much net speed you use—standard definition Netflix has a minimum requirement of only 3 Mbps, only streaming in 4K could easily use up 25 Mbps.

If you have multiple connections going at the same time, you also want to brand certain you have plenty bandwidth for every connexion to run smoothly simultaneously—otherwise your network will slow down when multiple people get online.

For example, if yous'd potentially have a smart TV streaming Netflix, a smartphone scrolling through Instagram, and a laptop looking upwards the best takeout in your area at the same time, xx–thirty Mbps would work. That'due south v–25 Mbps for streaming, 3–10 Mbps for Instagram, and iii–v Mbps for web browsing.

Giving yourself a bit of wiggle room isn't going to hurt either. In our stance, it's better to have a lilliputian extra bandwidth than to get stuck with a petty less than y'all regularly need.

Check every net plan in your area to observe the speeds you need.

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

Common net speeds

Even though every internet provider has its own range of internet plans, there are a few common speed ranges yous might find equally y'all shop.

25 Mbps—Good for about 2 people and upwardly to five devices, depending on what you do with them. With 25 Mbps, you could stream ane show in 4K if at that place are no other net connections.

50 Mbps—Adept for 2–4 people and 5–vii devices. A speed of fifty Mbps can handle ii–three video streams plus some actress online activity.

100 Mbps—Skillful for 4–6 people and upwardly to 10 devices. Nigh families would be amply covered with a 100 Mbps internet connection.

200–500 Mbps—Good for big families with several connected devices where everyone wants to watch a different picture show or show at the same time.

i,000 Mbps—This is normally the fastest residential internet speed bachelor, and it's good if you rely on incredibly fast cyberspace speeds for online gaming, your job, or merely considering you want the best of the best.

Net speeds from our favorite providers

Company

Price range

Download speeds

Learn more

Xfinity Xfinity

$19.99–$83.95/mo.* 50–i,200 Mbps

ATT AT&T

$55.00–$80.00/mo.** 25–940 Mbps

Spectrum Spectrum

$49.99–$89.99/mo.*** 200–one,000 Mbps

Cox Cox

$29.99–$109.99/mo.**** 25–ane,000 Mbps

Data as of 3/10/2022.

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

Upload speed and download speed

For most of this commodity, we've been talking about download speeds—the speeds that determine how fast you can receive data from the cyberspace. But upload speed—the speed at which you tin can send data to the cyberspace—is also important.

Many internet providers annunciate download speeds but keep upload speeds a little more subconscious considering they can exist much slower than download speeds. That's fine for most because you don't commonly ship as much to the internet as you get from it.

But for people who upload a lot of files, photos, or YouTube videos for work—or households where there are multiple video calls going on at the same fourth dimension—yous'll desire to make sure your upload bandwidth tin can keep upwards.

Internet providers usually requite you ten% of your download speed equally your upload speed. So if your internet plan says 100 Mbps, your upload speed would exist 10 Mbps.

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

How cyberspace type affects speeds

Dissimilar types of internet connections can affect your speeds in a few different ways, mainly in speed or distance limitations, network congestion, or high latency. Let's go through the primary types of internet and how they impact speeds:

Fiber internet is the fastest type of cyberspace currently available. Notably, fiber internet connections give you lot much faster upload speeds than other types of internet. Examples of fiber internet providers are Google Fiber, Verizon Fios, and CenturyLink Cobweb.

Cablevision cyberspace is also a fast connection type with top speeds up to i,000 Mbps. It doesn't have symmetric upload speeds, and cable connections can slow downward when a lot of people in a neighborhood are on the same network at the same time. A few notable cable providers are Xfinity, Spectrum, and Cox.

DSL internet can handle summit speeds effectually 100 Mbps, just information technology usually performs slower than that considering the wires conveying your internet information are older and more than prone to interference over long distances. Examples of some DSL internet companies are CenturyLink and Borderland.

Satellite net is usually the slowest blazon of internet due to its high latency. Think nigh it: all the information you lot send and receive has to get 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 information technology takes for any data—like a word file, a YouTube video, or an electronic mail—to become from its original source to its destination. If your latency is high, information technology ways information is taking longer to transfer from the web to your phone or computer.

You can reduce latency by moving closer to your router or finding an optimal location for your router. Sometimes, restarting your router tin can also be helpful. If your router is old, you might even need to supervene upon it to solve latency issues.

What type of net is fastest?

Fiber net like Google Fiber and Verizon Fios is the fastest internet type on the marketplace. Cobweb isn't available in every surface area though, so you lot might take to settle for cable cyberspace. Luckily, cable internet is however pretty speedy compared to DSL internet and satellite internet.

How do I test my internet speed?

If y'all're paying for fast internet, merely you still become 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 internet speed test.

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Rebecca Armstrong

Written by

Rebecca Armstrong

Rebecca is a natural techie and the friend y'all turn to when your Wi-Fi randomly stops working. Since graduating from the University of Evansville with a caste in creative writing, Rebecca has leveraged her tech savvy to write hundreds of data-driven tech production and service reviews. In improver to HighSpeedInternet.com, her work has been featured on Superlative Ten Reviews, MacSources, Windows Primal, Android Central, All-time Company, TechnoFAQ and iMore.