Which internet speed test should you use to test your connection at home? – CNET

My Profile Forums Sign Out Join / Sign In CNET editors pick the products and services we write about. When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Which internet speed test should you use to test your connection at home? Curious to see what your actual internet speeds look like? An internet speed test is just what you need — here are the ones we recommend. March 19, 2021 4:15 p.m. PT Listen – 01:15 Faisal Khan/NurPhoto/Getty Images Lots of internet users assume that the speed on their home internet package is what they get on a consistent, daily basis — but that isn’t always the case . Speeds typically fluctuate throughout the day and can slow down during times of peak usage. And if your provider enforces data caps or throttles connections to maintain overall network performance, your speeds could come crashing down, too. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to keep an eye on your home’s internet speeds and that’s with an internet speed test. You’ve got lots of free options online to choose from and might even be able to run one from the same app that you used to set up your router . In most cases, running a test is as easy as pressing “Go.”
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A good speed test will make it easy to see the current download speeds, upload speeds and latency (or ping ) for whatever device you’re running the test on — but with so many options promising to do exactly that, which one should you trust?
Glad you asked — here are the ones we turn to first, and why: An all-around excellent speed test Screenshot by Ry Crist/CNET
One of our favorites is the Ookla speed test , which has a strong reputation for consistency, and for being one of the first speed tests on the web. Popularity aside, we like Ookla for having everything a basic user needs from a speed test: accuracy, the ability to view your speed test history (when you create an account), a wide array of servers to connect to, and even a handy app for speed testing from your Android or iOS device.
Ookla’s also done a good job of keeping up with the times by adding new features and capabilities over the years. Just recently, the service released a video-specific speed test that measures your network’s ability to handle 4K video streams. It also has apps that you can run on Windows, and on an Apple TV.
All of that said, Ookla does display banner ads while you run basic speed tests. That’s not surprising, but it might make a slight impact on your results depending on the strength of your connection at the time of the test.