How Much Internet Speed Do I Need?

To get started, we recommend taking an internet speed test to see what internet speeds you currently get.

Take the Reviews.org speed test below to get a quick readout of your internet's download speed, upload speed, and latency.

If your result shows downloads below below what you pay for, you can either try a few things at home to optimize your connection, or upgrade your plan for faster speeds. 

Okay, now that you've run a speed test, you know what you're currently working with. To give you an idea of what your internet speed should look like, here's what the download speeds look like from the fastest internet providers:

Internet providers offer speeds of up to 8,000Mbps on home internet plans nowadays. But most people get plans with speeds much slower than that, in the range of 100–200Mbps.

You don't need the fastest-possible speed to have reliable internet. But having fast speeds certainly helps—and you can get the best performance out of a fiber or cable internet plan.

To get an accurate picture of the fastest internet providers, we rank ISPs by an overall speed score. We calculate that score by combining 90% of a provider's average download speed with 10% of its average upload speed. Check out our fastest internet service providers report for more details on how we rank ISPs. 

Alright, now compare what you see in the table above with the results you got from the speed test. If your results aren't in the neighborhood as the ISPs listed above, it might be time to switch your provider, or upgrade your plan. 

With such a wide range of download speeds available, it's difficult to know how much is too much or not enough. How fast of an internet connection do you really need? Here’s a quick look at what you can do with other speeds and bandwidth commonly offered by internet service providers (ISPs).

Most average households don't need gigabit internet, which get 1Gbps (1,000Mbps) and higher download speeds. You can even get gigabit upload speeds, if you're on a fiber internet plan with symmetrical speeds. 

However, if you have lots of connected devices, a large household, or just want to have the fastest speeds possible, you can opt for a gigabit plan. In order to experience your advertised speeds, use a wired ethernet connection using equipment and devices that are capable of gigabit speeds.

Many of the best internet service providers offer speeds with at least 1Gbps, whereas some fiber providers can even get up to 8,000Mbps speed. If you go the gigabit route, our recommendation is getting just a 1 Gig plan (1Gbps or 1,000Mbps) from a fiber internet provider like Google Fiber. This is plenty of speed for even the heaviest internet users. Even if you did opt for a multigig speed of 2Gbps and higher, you need laptops and devices that are compatible with multigig speeds.

Not sure what providers or speeds are available in your neighborhood? You can easily check with our ZIP form below.

The more people using your internet, the more speed, or Mbps, you need to keep everyone happy.

Don’t forget to count yourself when you tally up everyone who connects to your internet. Other potential internet users can include your partner or spouse, children, housemates, and even frequent visitors, like friends, grandkids, or siblings.

Gamers in particular need an internet connection and router with low latency and good bandwidth. Some ISPs make more sense for gamers than others.

Like people, the more smart devices you have that use the internet, the more speed you need.

You might only have two or three people using your internet, but each person can have multiple devices connected to your Wi-Fi at one time so this may take some thinking. There are so many smart devices that use your wireless network in today’s world. It’s easy to forget how many you have at home, but this list of common connected devices might help jog your memory:

What do you do when you’re online? Do you game? Watch Hulu? Stream music on Spotify? Or maybe you’re a pretty casual internet user who just checks email and Facebook.

Each of these activities needs different speeds—otherwise you’ll run into laggy internet or that dreaded buffering icon. Here’s a quick look at the bare minimum internet speed you’ll need for a few common online activities.

A good internet speed comes down to what you're doing online. For example, if you're making a simple video call to your extended family, a good speed is somewhere between 5-25 Mbps. But, if you're trying to stream a 4K video, you're going to want at least 25 Mbps and likely much more.

Keep in mind that you do one of those online activities at a time. 

It’s more likely you’re a multitasking machine when it comes to doing things online. You’re streaming Wednesday on Netflix while you check email, download an HD video to watch later tonight, and hop into a Call of Duty match. And your roommate, kid, or partner is doing the same things at the same time that you are.

This is why most ISPs don’t offer internet plans with just 5 Mbps—they’re offering you 50, 100, or even 1,000 Mbps plans, so you can keep doing what you do best online.

Okay, now that you’ve got a general idea of who and what uses your internet and how they use it, it’s time to do some math. (Don’t worry, it’s just some simple addition.)

We’ll start by going over our recommended baseline speed per person and device.

We recommend giving each person who uses the internet in your home 50 Mbps. And for every device, you can allot 10 Mbps. (But if it’s a 4K device, bump that up to 25 Mbps.)

• People: 50 Mbps per person
• Devices (not 4K): 10 Mbps per device
• Devices (4K): 25 Mbps per 4K device

Okay, now let’s see how those recommended speeds add up with an example.

Let’s say we have a home with two adults and two children who all use the internet. Here’s a list of the internet speeds each person gets, plus the internet speeds each of their devices gets.

• People: 50 Mbps x 4 = 200 Mbps
• Desktop computer: 10 Mbps x 2 = 20 Mbps
• Laptop: 10 Mbps
• Tablet: 10 Mbps
• Mobile device: 10 Mbps x 3 = 30 Mbps
• Smart TV (4K): 25 Mbps x 2 = 50 Mbps
• Xbox gaming console: 10 Mbps
• Wi-Fi printer: 10 Mbps
• Home security system hub: 10 Mbps
• Home security camera: 10 Mbps x 2 = 20 Mbps
• Total: 370 Mbps

The recommended internet speed for this family is 370 Mbps. This recommendation assumes that every person and every wireless device is online at the same time.

That’s where online activities can factor in. If the family knows they usually stream 4K videos on one of their TVs about once a week and in the evening when no one’s on their computers, gaming on the Xbox, or using the printer, they can probably knock this speed down a bit to 200 Mbps.

If the family knows no one uses the computers and tablet for working or studying from home, they might even be able to get away with 100 or 150 Mbps.

That's all to say that 300 Mbps download speeds are a good download speed for most small to medium households to comfortably stream Netflix, game online, and enjoy a few connected devices.

Even though it’s not a definitive answer, adding up the speeds needed for the people and devices using your internet gives you a ballpark estimate of where your internet speeds need to be.

Next stop? Now that you have a good idea of what goes into choosing an internet provider and the things you need to consider, it's time to find an internet provider and plan that has good internet speed for your needs. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but we can help.

And to get even more specific, let’s look at the top internet providers in your area.

Enter your zip code, and we’ll pull up a full list of internet providers available in your area. Then you can easily check what plans they have for you and how much each plan costs. Easy peasy.

Finally, if you have specific internet needs—like you play an unusually large number of online games or spend an abnormal amount of time watching a streaming service—we have more specific recommendations that can help. Check out our top internet providers for online gaming and for streaming. We even have recommendations for business internet setups if you work from home.

Here are the top internet service providers available in the US (Xfinity, AT&T, Verizon, Spectrum, and Viasat) and their speeds.