Am I getting the speed I pay for?
Run a speed test (for example Fast.com or Speedtest), then enter the result next to your plan. The checker tells you whether the result is normal for how you tested and what to try next.
What to do
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
How to read the result
The checker divides your test result by your plan speed. Plans are sold as a maximum, and a connection rarely delivers exactly the headline number. How close it should get depends on how you tested:
| Test method | On target | Somewhat below | Well below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethernet cable | 85% or more | 60–84% | under 60% |
| Wi-Fi | 60% or more | 35–59% | under 35% |
These thresholds are our rules of thumb, not a provider guarantee. Your contract or broadband label may state a typical or minimum speed; check it. A ping above 100 ms is flagged separately, because a slow response time hurts calls and games even when the Mbps figure looks fine.
If your download app shows MB/s rather than Mbps, multiply by 8 first (or use the MB/s to Mbps converter): 50 MB/s is 400 Mbps.
Why Wi-Fi results are lower
Wi-Fi shares one radio channel between every device, loses signal through walls and floors, and older routers and devices can't reach the speeds that faster plans deliver. A phone two rooms away from an older router can show a small fraction of a 500 Mbps plan while a laptop on a cable next to it gets nearly all of it. That's why the first fix is always the same: test on a cable. If the wired result is fine, the connection is fine and the problem is in the home network.
Why gigabit plans show about 940 Mbps
Every packet on Ethernet carries headers and framing along with your data. A standard 1,500-byte packet carries 1,448 bytes of data but occupies 1,538 bytes of time on the wire, so the most a 1 Gb link can deliver is 1,000 × 1,448 ÷ 1,538 ≈ 941 Mbps. Results around 940 Mbps on a gigabit plan mean it is working, and the checker says so.
Plans faster than 1 Gbps need 2.5 Gb (or faster) ports on the router, cable and computer. One 1 Gb link anywhere in the path caps the result near 940 Mbps, which the checker flags as a likely port limit rather than a problem with the plan.
Test properly before you call your provider
- Use a computer on an Ethernet cable, close to the router.
- Pause downloads, backups, game updates and streaming on every device.
- Run two different speed tests, three times each, and use the typical result.
- Repeat at a quiet time (early morning) and a busy time (evening). A big evening drop points to congestion on the provider's network.
Speed tests don't all measure the same way, which is why two of them rarely agree exactly; how internet speed is measured explains the differences. If ping is high or jumps when the line is busy, read latency vs bandwidth. If the result is fine but you want to know whether the plan suits your household, use what can my speed handle.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my internet slower than what I pay for?
Most often it's Wi-Fi: distance, walls, an older router or a busy channel. Test on an Ethernet cable first. If the wired result is also well below your plan across several days and times, contact your provider with the results.
What percentage of my internet speed should I get?
On a wired test, 85% of the plan or more is on target by our rule of thumb. On Wi-Fi, 60% or more is reasonable, and the result depends heavily on your router, device and distance.
Why does my speed test say 940 Mbps on a 1 Gbps plan?
That is normal. Ethernet headers and framing take a share of every packet, which leaves about 941 Mbps of measurable throughput on a 1 Gb link.
Why do different speed tests give different results?
They use different servers, different numbers of connections and different test lengths, and your line is shared with everything else running at the time. Run each test several times and compare typical results, not single runs.