If your Internet connection seems slow, the first step is to benchmark it using an Internet speed test. An Internet speed test can give you a fairly accurate indication of how muchbandwidth is available to you at the current time.
Internet speed tests are great for proving that you are, or are not, getting the bandwidth from your ISP that you're paying for.
Test your bandwidth with one or more of these free Internet speed test sites and then share your results:
Note: The best Internet speed test would be one between you and any given website you're using. That said, testing your Internet speed with any of the services below should give ageneral idea of the kind of bandwidth you have available.
Speedtest.net Internet Speed Test
All things considered, Speedtest.net is the best Internet speed test available. It's fast, free, and has available to it a huge list of worldwide test locations, making for more accurate results than average. The nearest server is automatically calculated based on your IP address.
Speedtest.net also keeps a log of all the Internet speed tests that you perform and creates an attractive results graphic you can share online.
Speedtest.net is operated by Ookla, a major provider of speed test technology to other Internet speed test sites. See more about Ookla at the bottom of the page.
Mobile apps for both iPhone and Android are also available from Speedtest.net, allowing you to test your Internet speed from your phone to their servers!
speedof.meISP-Hosted Internet Speed Tests
Testing your Internet speed between you and your Internet Service Provider is probably the best way to go if you're planning on making an argument to your ISP about your slow Internet connection.
Here are several "official" ISP-hosted Internet speed tests:
- AT&T Speed Test
- CenturyLink Broadband Speed Test (Quest)
- Charter Speedtest
- Cox Data Transfer Test
- FrontierNet Network Speed Test
- FGCI Speed Test
- Knology Speed Test
- Midcontinent Speed Test
- Sprint Network Speed Test
- SureWest Internet Speed Test
- Time Warner Cable Speed Test
- Verizon FiOS Speedtest
- XFINITY Speed Test (Comcast)
- Zoom Internet Speed Test (Armstrong)
speedof.me is an Internet speed test service that works via HTML5 instead of Flash or Java. On most computers, this makes speedof.me faster to load and less of a burden on system resources.
speedof.me utilizes 31 servers around the world and your Internet speed test is run from the quickest and most reliable one at the given time.
HTML5 support also means that speedof.me works well in the browsers available on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, some of which, like Safari on the iPhone, that don't support Flash.
Consumer Broadband Test
The Consumer Broadband Test is an Internet speed test setup by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at Broadband.gov.
I suppose you could call this broadband test the "official" US Internet speed test but that would be a bit of a stretch. The Consumer Broadband Test is just hosted by the FCC. Bandwidth testing is actually performed, randomly I might add, by either Ookla (see the last entry in this list) or M-Lab.
While it's not clear in the information provided by the FCC, I'm assuming the closest possible server is chosen automatically for the speed test.
Speakeasy Speed Test
Speakeasy's bandwidth test lets test your Internet speed back and forth from a short list of server locations that you can choose manually.
Speakeasy might be to your liking then if you're interested for some reason in testing your Internet speed between yourself and a specific area of the US verses the closest server possible.
Ookla provides the engine and servers for Speakeasy, making it very similar to Speedtest.net, but I've included it here due to its popularity.
Bandwidth Place Speed Test
Bandwidth Place is yet another Internet speed test option. It's unclear if there are multiple servers in use to help give you more accurate results but I'd guess there's only one.
Like speedof.me above, Bandwidth Place works via HTML5, meaning it would be a great choice for an Internet speed test from your mobile browser.
I wouldn't use Bandwidth Place as my only test but it might be a good choice if you'd like to confirm results you're getting with a better service like Speedtest.net or Speakeasy.
AuditMyPC.com Speed Test
Another good Internet speed test site is this one hosted at AuditMyPC.com. While there are no multiple server locations to choose from, the test is quick and the results very easy to read.
Like most other bandwidth speed test sites available, this site tests both download bandwidth and upload bandwidth.
CNET Bandwidth Meter Online Speed Test
The CNET Bandwidth Meter Online Speed Test is an Internet speed test that functions like most others.
This isn't my favorite Internet speed test considering that there's only one predefined testing location and no upload test. But hey, the graphics are kind of cool.
Very good article.
ReplyDeleteI too like to share my knowledge . You can get accurate Upload and Download speed results by doing extended speed scan in the site ScanmySpeed.com . It works on all browsers since it does not use Flash, Java or any external programs/add-ons to run these speed tests . It uses JavaScript which will be present in all browsers so no additional plugins needed.
Many thanks for providing this information.
ReplyDeleteBroadband Speed Test
Broadband
This is a very nice helpful site for internet speed test.
ReplyDelete