Do you think your internet is slow and are you curious how fast it really is? Are you getting the speed you are actually paying your internet provider for?
If you have these thoughts it is wise to do a good internet speed test on an independent website, so you know how your internet actually scores in terms of speed!
Slow internet
You are sitting at your PC and want to download a large file. At the moment you click on it, it starts smoothly, but after a few seconds the speed and thus the download time drops dramatically. You start to get extremely annoyed as it takes longer and longer and thus your frustration increases with every second.
Another example is when you are streaming a movie or series via Netflix or another streaming service and you keep getting paused for a few seconds because the stream has to buffer. Terribly annoying and nobody wants this!
Often this is the cause of slow Internet and your Internet connection cannot keep up. In that case it takes time to get all the data and you will notice this by the buffering, for example when streaming a movie or series.
Measure internet speed
To be sure that your internet speed is the problem and not for example a slow connection or a failure of your streaming service, we will perform an internet speed test (speedtest). During the speed test we will do a measurement to determine what your download and upload speed is with your current internet provider.
But, how does such an internet speed test work?
It works as follows:
Once you start the test on a speed test website, your computer will download a file from the speed test’s server. The time it takes and the download speed measured will be shown as the download speed.
For the upload it works the other way around. A file will be uploaded from your PC to the speedtest server. The time it takes your internet connection and the upload speed that is measured will be shown as the upload speed.
Internet speed test with Speedtest.co.uk
The best known and completely independent speedtest is speedtest.nl. Here you can easily perform a speed test via a clear interface.
You can also save the measurement on this website to compare it at a later stage with, for example, previous or future measurements. The disadvantage is that you have to create an account in order to save the measurements in your account.
Roadmap internet speed measurement via speedtest.nl
- Go to the website speedtest.nl
- Click on the big button “Start test”.
- The test then begins, once it is finished you get to see the download speed, upload speed and response time(ping) as a result!
Internet speed test via fast.com
Another good and completely independent speed test running in Netflix’s network is fast.com. Here you have no interaction at all, the test already works as soon as you simply surf to the website.
What’s great about this test is that it’s done from the Netflix network. That means that if your Netflix constantly has problems and buffers and you get a low and unstable speed, it’s probably because of your internet speed. If you get a good speed here, but your Netflix still buffers, then I would advise you to do the speedtest.nl speed test to check whether you get a good speed there too!
Internet speed test with fast.com
- You surf to fast.com
- The test will start immediately, so you don’t have to do anything else!
- Once the test is finished, you get to see the download speed, smaller in image the upload speed and the response time.
Internet speed test with fast.com](https://www.theory7.net/images/fast.com.png )
Internet speed testing via speedtest.net
Another option out there which we recommend is speedtest.net. Another good and completely independent speedtest that you can easily use.
Step internet speed measurement via speedtest.net
- You go to the website speedtest.net
- Then click on the big GO button.
- The speedtest will start and will perform a download and upload test, please wait patiently
- As soon as it is finished, you will get a nice overview with your download and internet speed.
Internet speed test via Ziggo
The internet provider Ziggo itself also has an internet speed test. This one looks further, but I doubt whether it is really independent and reliable. In fact, if you have Ziggo at home, you may have a higher speed than you actually experience on the Internet.
This may be because the test is performed internally within the own Ziggo network. You do not access the internet completely, but stay in the ‘internal network’ of Ziggo. Keep this in mind when you want to test a good internet speed.
Roadmap for measuring internet speed via Ziggo
- Go to ziggo.nl/speedtest.
- Then click on the big GO button
- The test will start, wait patiently
- Once the test has finished, you will see your download speed, your upload speed and the response time (ping).
