Getting started

How do I take a Speedtest?

To run a Speedtest®, head to Speedtest.net or download the app on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, CLI, and Apple TV.

How can I determine the quality of my connection?

Your internet connection’s speed is only part of the picture! To reliably use services such as streaming media, voice over IP or online gaming, your connection’s quality is also important. That’s why Speedtest.net as well as the Android and iOS apps measure ping in addition to download and upload speeds.

Also called latency, or lag, ping is the reaction time of your connection—it’s how quickly your device gets a response after you’ve sent out a request. Measured in milliseconds (ms).

During a Speedtest, we measure your Ping at three stages:

Upload: During the upload test we measure your ping to see how it is affected by upload activity on your network. A common situation for receiving high upload responsiveness is a household member recording a video on their phone, and automatically uploading it to the cloud.

Idle: We test your idle ping at the beginning of your Speedtest to measure the response of a request on your network as if it is not in use.

Download: During the download test we measure your ping to see how it is affected by download activity on your network. A common situation for receiving high download responsiveness might be a household member installing a large game.

Will changing the Speedtest server change my results?

Choosing a server on Speedtest.net simply affects which server you talk to during the test process.

For your other online activity, you’re talking to other servers. (For example, when you’re accessing Google you’re talking to Google’s servers.) Your ISP controls the path data travels over their network, which is called the routing.