Whether you are an avid gamer, Netflix buff or managing your professional work from home, to carry out these operations, you will need to have a reliable internet connection with good speed. Well, having a “good speed” internet connection may seem a simple task, it actually is not. The speed of your internet connection plays a crucial role in helping you carry out your different tasks.
While some operations may just need a couple of MBs speed, there are some tasks that may require you to have a speed in multiples of 100 MBps to accomplish. So, wondering as to how much internet speed you need for gaming, watching Netflix, or for working from home? Well, answers to all these questions can be found below in his guide.
General Internet Speed Recommendations for Home
How much speed do you need to have?
Depending on the activities you do using the internet at your home, you can determine the ideal home internet speeds you need to have. Generally, it is recommended to have an internet connection with 12-25 Mbps for families with multiple internet users or regular online streaming.
About fast internet speed
A Broadband or fast internet is referred to as an internet connection that offers at least 25 Mbps of download speed and at least 3 Mbps of upload speed. While in most cases, a 25 Mbps is capable of meeting the internet requirement of a family with average usage, however, the best download and upload speeds for you may vary depending on the internet is being used at your home by each individual. Although an internet connection with 25MBps download speed is sufficient when not all the family members are using it simultaneously if that is not the case and all members are consuming the bandwidth through their different devices, a 100 MBps connection might be better.
Maximum Internet Speed Available for Home
At present, the fastest internet speed or home is 2Gbps (2000 Mbps). This much speed is being offered by Xfinity for select areas only.
Figuring Out Your Current Internet Speed?
Measuring the current speed of your internet is easy as all you need to do is take an online speed test on a computer that is connected to your home Wi-Fi. Certain internet speed tests service providers not only provide upload and download speeds of your internet but also details of your ping time.
Ideal Internet Speeds for Streaming
Recommended Internet Speed for Streaming
If you are looking to stream videos in standard definition, you will need to have an internet connection with at least 3 Mbps. However, if you wish to stream content in 4K or Ultra HD on your devices, you will need a connection with at least 25 Mbps. Some of the streaming services such as Fubo may suggest minimum speeds of 40 Mbps to stream content uninterruptedly.
Taking Netflix for example, the minimum internet speed recommended for streaming content on Netflix is 3 Mbps, however, this recommendation may vary depending on the quality (SD, HD, or UHD, 4K)in which you wish to view.
- For standard-definition video streaming, a minimum of 3 Mbps is recommended.
- For high definition video streaming, a minimum of 5 Mbps is recommended.
- For 4K or HDR video streaming, a minimum of 25 Mbps speed is recommended.
On the other hand, considering the recommendation of Hulu, for the best video quality, 3 Mbps is suggested for on-demand viewing and 8 Mbps speed is recommended for Live TV viewing.
Similarly, for live TV streaming on DIRECTV NOW, a minimum internet speed of 2.5 Mbps is required. Other recommendations are as follows:
- For HD video streaming on a mobile device, it is recommended to have 2.5 to 7.5 Mbps speed.
- For streaming on a computer web browser at home, it is recommended to have at least 12 Mbps speeds.
Taking YouTube TV recommendation into consideration, it suggests an internet connection with at least 3 Mbps however, the speed may vary depending on the video quality you prefer.
- For standard-definition video streaming, a minimum of 3 Mbps is recommended.
- For HD video streaming on one device, a minimum of 7 Mbps is recommended.
- For HD video streaming on multiple devices, a minimum of 13 Mbps is recommended.
Ideal Internet Speed for Gaming
For online gaming, it is recommended to have an internet connection with minimum speeds of 4-8 Mbps, however, to experience consistently good gaming, it is best to have an internet speed of 10-25 Mbps.
NOTE: It is important to note that when you search for the best internet for gaming, make sure that you keep in mind that download speed is not the only factor to have good gaming experience. Although, the speed of your internet is important as it helps in the quick transfer of information from the gaming server to the device, ping time and latency factors also play a major role.
What’s a Good Ping Time for Online Gaming?
For gaming, ping time is considered to be more important than the download speed of the internet. While a ping time of 20 milliseconds or less is considered to be good, 20-100 milliseconds is recommended for a better gaming experience. Although, ping time can be improved with download and upload speeds, certain factors such as your local area connection and internet latency are known for interfering with your ping time more than the speed of your internet.
Best Type of Internet for Online Gaming
If you are looking for the best internet for gaming, it is suggested to go for cable internet or fiber-optic internet. This is because, both are known for providing low-latency internet connections, resulting in lower ping time.
How to Make your Internet Faster for Online Gaming?
In order to make your internet faster for online gaming at home, it is suggested to consider boosting your Wi-Fi signal to lower your latency. You can also consider resetting or moving your router to boost and stabilize your signal. Adding a Wi-Fi repeater or extender is also suggested to enhance internet signals for gaming devices located away from your router.
Recommended internet speeds for working from home
If you are looking to know how much internet speed is sufficient for working from home, well, it depends on the type of work you do. For frequent downloading and uploading large files, it is recommended to have an internet connection with a minimum speed of 40 Mbps.
- For basic email and computer programs, a minimum of 3-4 Mbps is recommended.
- For Skype group video calls, a minimum of 10+ Mbps is recommended.
- For large file transfers, a minimum of 40+ Mbps is recommended
To conclude the above, it can be said that no matter what type of internet you use at home, it is best that you always consider going for a bit faster speeds than what is recommended for online gaming, Netflix, Skype, or any other activity. As most of the internet speed provider’s plans perform slower than what they boast on paper, it is always ideal to go for a plan with a couple of more Mbps than what you are being recommended.