Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Speedtest.now is completely free with no limits on how many tests you run. There are no paid plans and no features locked behind a paywall. Creating a free account unlocks result history, personal statistics, and competition entry — nothing more is ever required. Full answer — what's free and what an account adds →

No. You can run tests anonymously without creating an account. If you want to save your test history, track your results over time, or enter the weekly speed competition, you'll need to create a free account and verify your email address. Full answer — anonymous vs account comparison →

A standard test uses approximately 40–200 MB of data depending on your connection speed. Faster connections transfer more data in the same measurement window. If you're on a metered data plan, keep this in mind before running multiple back-to-back tests. Full breakdown by speed tier and test type →

Speedtest.now works in all modern browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. For the most accurate results, use a recent version of Chrome or Firefox on a desktop or laptop device. Mobile browsers may produce lower results due to device CPU limitations, not your actual connection speed. Full browser support matrix and why mobile underreports →

Many factors affect real-world speed: Wi-Fi signal strength, router hardware, background app activity, ISP congestion, and your device's network card. For the most accurate result, use a wired Ethernet connection and close all other applications. Full diagnosis guide — causes ranked by frequency →

It depends on your use case. Streaming HD video requires around 5 Mbps per stream; 4K requires 25 Mbps. Video calls need 3–8 Mbps. For a household with multiple simultaneous users, 100 Mbps is generally comfortable. Gigabit (1000 Mbps) plans are increasingly common in urban areas. Full speed requirements by use case and household size →

Under 20 ms is excellent and suitable for competitive gaming. 20–50 ms is good for general use and casual gaming. 50–100 ms is acceptable for most applications. Above 100 ms you'll notice lag in real-time applications like voice calls and gaming. Full ping guide — ranges, causes, and fixes →

Jitter is the variation in your ping over time — the standard deviation of your latency samples. A connection with consistent 30 ms ping and near-zero jitter is better than one that swings between 5 ms and 80 ms. High jitter causes choppy audio, broken video calls, and stuttering in real-time applications, even when average ping looks acceptable. Full jitter guide — causes, thresholds, and how to reduce it →

Packet loss is the percentage of data packets that fail to reach their destination. Even 1% packet loss makes voice calls choppy and causes TCP connections to slow down as they retransmit lost data. Above 5% packet loss makes real-time applications unusable. A healthy connection should show 0% packet loss under normal conditions. Full packet loss guide — causes, impact table, and fixes →

Some variation is normal, especially on Wi-Fi. Significant variation between consecutive wired tests (more than 20%) usually indicates network instability — check for other devices actively using the connection, ISP-side congestion, or hardware issues with your modem or router. Normal vs concerning variation — what to expect by connection type →

We store your test results (speeds, ping, jitter, packet loss), your detected ISP, a masked version of your IP address (first two octets only, e.g. 192.168.**.**), and your approximate country and city. For logged-in users we also store your account email and display name. We never store your full IP address and never sell your data. Full data inventory — every field, its purpose, and retention period →

Yes. Logged-in users can delete their test history from the dashboard. To request complete account deletion including all associated results, contact us via the contact page and we will process your request within 30 days. Full deletion guide — what gets removed and the timeline →

We use a single session cookie to keep you logged in if you have an account. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking pixels. Anonymous test sessions use a temporary cookie to associate your test results with your session for result display purposes only — this cookie expires at the end of your browser session. Full cookie policy — every cookie listed with purpose and expiry →

Every Monday a new competition week opens. Any verified test result submitted by a logged-in, email-verified user automatically enters the competition. At midnight UTC on Sunday, the highest download speed, highest upload speed, and lowest ping from that week are recorded in the Hall of Champions. Full competition rules — schedule, categories, quality checks →

Results must pass our fraud and anomaly detection pipeline before appearing. This can take a few minutes. If your result still hasn't appeared after 10 minutes, check that your account email is verified — unverified accounts are excluded from competition. Every reason a result might be missing — with fixes →

Yes. There is no rule preventing the same user from winning multiple weeks. However, each user can only have one entry per category per week — your best eligible result in each category counts, not every test you run. Full answer — why repeat wins are allowed →

A verified test is one that passes all automated quality checks: it must be submitted by a logged-in user with a verified email address, completed through a real browser session (not scripted), and must not trigger any of our anomaly detection rules. Results from VPNs, suspicious origins, or unusually high outlier values are automatically excluded. Full verification requirements — checklist and quality pipeline →