{"id":136161,"date":"2019-04-22T21:40:46","date_gmt":"2019-04-22T21:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=136161"},"modified":"2025-07-01T22:04:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T05:04:34","slug":"measure-internet-speed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/measure-internet-speed\/","title":{"rendered":"How to measure your internet speed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-136163\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/700_internet_speeds_ivmgvy.jpg\" alt=\"Internet speeds\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After paying an obnoxiously high price for <strong>fast internet speeds<\/strong>, you hop on your laptop only to be subjected to painfully slow speeds. What&#8217;s going on?<\/p>\n<p>Measuring the speed of our internet connection is important.\u00a0Whether we think that there&#8217;s a problem or we simply want to check how it is at that precise moment,<strong> speed rules.<\/strong> We scoured the internet and found the best tool for measuring your internet speed, and what the data means. Luckily, our internet was running pretty fast.<\/p>\n<h2>How to calculate it<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-136170\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/image\/upload\/q_auto:eco\/v1555968678\/internet_cables_czviqk.webp\" alt=\"internet cables\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To find out what speed we have in a specific moment, you must conduct a\u00a0speed test.\u00a0There are dozens of options, but Google has the easiest one to find. Google &#8220;internet speed test,&#8221; and just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?source=hp&amp;ei=X4rMXJmMM5aV0PEP1Lqv0A0&amp;q=internet+speed+test&amp;btnK=Google+Search&amp;oq=internet+speed+test&amp;gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.1183.3366..3512...0.0..0.139.2174.6j14......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..35i39j0i67j0i131j0i131i67.62RVgU4EI-Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">click the button at the top of this page.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Google speed test\u00a0works with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.measurementlab.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Measurement Lab <\/a>and transfers a data packet of fewer than 40 megabytes.<\/p>\n<p>The process lasts less than 30 seconds and we recommend<strong> closing programs that are slowing you down<\/strong>. In addition, the test works better\u00a0if the connection is via cable instead of Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n<p>If you really want to make your computer run faster, we would recommend MacPaw. Don&#8217;t be fooled by the name, <a href=\"https:\/\/macpaw.audw.net\/c\/310668\/94160\/1733\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MacPaw products are available for both Mac and PC.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>What does each value mean?<\/h2>\n<p>The speed test has two results:<strong>\u00a0the download and the upload<\/strong>.\u00a0The download refers to the speed data moves from the web to our computer.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-136168\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/image\/upload\/q_auto:eco\/v1555968634\/internet_speed_test_bk6ukp.webp\" alt=\"Internet speed test\" width=\"350\" height=\"506\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The upload, on the other hand, is the opposite process.\u00a0Our PC is responsible for\u00a0sending information\u00a0through the network to the servers that are performing this speed test.<\/p>\n<p>With the combination of both figures, you can get a decent idea of how fast your internet is performing.<\/p>\n<h2>What is latency?<\/h2>\n<p>Latency measures <strong>how quickly you get a response from the server<\/strong>. Low response times are important for real-time apps, like video calls and online gaming, according to Google.<\/p>\n<p>Latency is expressed in milliseconds since the values \u200b\u200bobtained are very small.\u00a0However, latency can make a big difference. If you&#8217;re into online gaming, poor latency means <strong>your game will be very laggy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Try a VPN!<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re looking for a decent VPN service to try out on your computer, we would recommend Express VPN. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkev.com\/?a_fid=softonic&amp;offer=3monthsfree&amp;data1=SoftonicArticles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">By clicking this link<\/a>, you can get 15 months of Express VPN for the price of 12!<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey\">\r\n<p class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__title\">More on Wi-Fi<\/p>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"4 myths and facts about Wi-Fi networks \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/4-myths-and-facts-about-wifi-networks\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/06\/wifi-1.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__text\">\r\n        <p>4 myths and facts about Wi-Fi networks \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"Which Wi-Fi extender is right for you? \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/which-wi-fi-extender-is-right-for-you\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__article sc-related-articles-grey__article--last\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/04\/716x3ocWqRL._SL1500_-148x300.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__text\">\r\n        <p>Which Wi-Fi extender is right for you? \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"How to boost your home Wi-Fi signal \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/how-to-boost-your-home-wifi-signal\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/wifi-casa-1024x576.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__text\">\r\n        <p>How to boost your home Wi-Fi signal \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"How to secure your Wi-Fi network \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/how-to-secure-your-wi-fi-network-part-1\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__article sc-related-articles-grey__article--last\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/11\/WiFi-Security.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-grey__text\">\r\n        <p>How to secure your Wi-Fi network \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tired of slow internet speeds? Launch this test to see where you&#8217;re lagging! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9181,"featured_media":136164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":1},"categories":[2441],"tags":[1787,1921,1960],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-136161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to","tag-internet","tag-lifehacks","tag-wi-fi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9181"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":326212,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136161\/revisions\/326212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136161"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=136161"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=136161"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=136161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}