How to understand the speed test results?

The three basic parameters describing the quality of the Internet are download, upload and ping.

Download - the speed at which data is downloaded from the Internet, expressed in megabits per second (Mb/s, Mbps). The rule is simple: the higher the speed, the better. SpeedGEO research shows that user satisfaction is directly related to download speeds and those who achieve speeds of 100 Mb/s and above are the most satisfied. However, for basic tasks such as web browsing, a speed of 1-2 Mb/s is enough, for watching HD video you need 5-6 Mb/s, and for 4K around 20-25 Mb/s. However, it is worth remembering that in households several people often use the Internet at the same time, which requires more bandwidth.

Upload - is the speed of data transfer to the Internet, also measured in megabits per second (Mb/s, Mbps). Here too, the higher the speed, the better for the user. In the era of remote work, the importance of uploading has increased significantly. Research shows that customers are most satisfied when their upload speeds exceed 30 Mb/s.

Ping - is the time, in milliseconds (ms), it takes to transfer data between the user's computer and a server on the Internet. Lower latency values ​​are better. Delays depend on the distance to the server and the number of intermediate routers. Our Ping Test tool measures latency to several different servers and connection stability can be assessed when the result graph is close to a straight line.

Ping is an often overlooked indicator of link quality. Although we usually judge the Internet based on download and upload speeds, ping becomes crucial in the context of increasing online interactivity, such as learning, remote work, gaming, and telemedicine. The most satisfied customers have a ping of around 10 ms, although 20 ms is also a good result for standard activities such as browsing websites or watching videos. A decent experience is provided with a ping time of up to 50 ms, after which problems begin with longer page loads and interrupted Internet connections.

When choosing an Internet access offer you can also test your ping in our Ping Test tool.