How to Test Your Internet Speed Accurately

You pay for a specific internet speed, but the number you see on a speed test often does not match your plan. Sometimes it is lower than expected; occasionally it is higher. Understanding why these numbers vary and how to test accurately helps you determine whether you are actually getting what you pay for.

What Speed Tests Actually Measure

An internet speed test measures four things:

• Download speed — how fast data flows from the internet to your device, measured in megabits per second (Mbps). This affects streaming, web browsing, and downloading files.
• Upload speed — how fast data flows from your device to the internet. Important for video calls, cloud backups, and uploading content.
• Ping (latency) — the round-trip time for a small packet of data to travel from your device to a server and back, measured in milliseconds (ms). Low ping is critical for online gaming, video calls, and anything real-time.
• Jitter — the variation in ping over time. Consistent ping (low jitter) means stable connections. High jitter causes audio dropouts in calls and rubber-banding in games.

You can measure all four with the CheckRig internet speed test.

Why Your Results Vary

Speed test results are not fixed — they fluctuate for several real reasons:

Network congestion. Your internet connection is shared infrastructure. During peak usage hours (typically 7–11 PM), more people in your area are streaming, gaming, and downloading, which reduces the bandwidth available to you. Testing at 3 AM will typically show faster speeds than testing at 8 PM.

Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet. Wi-Fi adds overhead, latency, and is affected by interference from walls, other devices, and neighboring networks. A speed test over Wi-Fi measures your wireless connection speed, not your internet speed. To accurately measure what your ISP delivers, use an Ethernet cable plugged directly into your router.

Server distance. Speed tests measure the connection between your device and a specific server. A test server in your city will show faster speeds than one across the country. Most speed test tools automatically select the closest server, but this can still vary.

Other devices on your network. If someone in your household is streaming 4K video while you run a speed test, your result will be lower because you are sharing the same pipe. For the most accurate reading, pause all other network activity.

How to Get the Most Accurate Results

1. Use a wired connection. Plug your computer directly into your router with an Ethernet cable. This eliminates Wi-Fi as a variable.
2. Close all other applications. Streaming services, cloud sync (Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive), system updates, and browser tabs all consume bandwidth in the background.
3. Disconnect other devices from the network if possible, or at least ensure they are not actively downloading or streaming.
4. Run the test multiple times. Take at least three readings over a few minutes and average them. A single test is a snapshot; multiple tests show a pattern.
5. Test at different times of day. Run a test in the morning, afternoon, and evening to see how your speeds change with network load.

Understanding Your Results

Download speed: For general browsing and standard definition streaming, 10–25 Mbps is sufficient. HD streaming needs 25–50 Mbps. 4K streaming requires at least 50 Mbps per stream. If multiple people in your household stream simultaneously, multiply accordingly.

Upload speed: Most ISP plans are asymmetric — download is much faster than upload. For video calls, you need at least 1.5–3 Mbps upload. Content creators uploading large files benefit from 10+ Mbps upload. If upload speed is consistently below what you need, check with your ISP about upgrading to a plan with higher upload capacity, or consider a fiber plan if available, which typically offers symmetric speeds.

Ping: Under 20ms is excellent. 20–50ms is good for most uses. 50–100ms is acceptable for casual gaming but noticeable in competitive titles. Above 100ms, real-time applications suffer noticeably.

Jitter: Under 5ms is excellent. 5–15ms is acceptable. Above 30ms, voice calls will have audible quality issues and online games will feel inconsistent.

When Your Speed Is Lower Than Expected

If your speed is consistently 20% or more below your plan speed on a wired connection with no other activity, take these steps:

1. Restart your modem and router. Unplug both for 30 seconds, plug the modem in first, wait for it to fully connect, then plug in the router.
2. Check the internet connection info to verify your ISP and connection type. An unexpected ISP name or connection type could indicate a routing issue.
3. Run tests at different times over several days to build a record of your actual speeds.
4. Contact your ISP with your test results. Having specific numbers, timestamps, and test conditions makes the conversation more productive than saying "my internet is slow."

Megabits vs. Megabytes

ISP plans and speed tests measure in megabits per second (Mbps). File downloads and storage measure in megabytes per second (MB/s). There are 8 bits in a byte, so a 100 Mbps connection delivers roughly 12.5 MB/s of actual file download speed. This is why your 100 Mbps plan does not download a 1 GB file in 10 seconds — it takes about 80 seconds. The units are different, not the speed.