#Upload and download speed test upgrade
#Upload and download speed test download

#Upload and download speed test download

You might shave an hour off a large video game download but at the expense of spending hundreds of extra dollars a year.

#Upload and download speed test upgrade

In our discussion about download bandwidth, we heavily emphasized that it wasn't always worth it to upgrade to the fastest internet. Three people using the internet to video conference all day? Not a bad idea to have at least 15 Mbps download or more to cover that.īut there are situations where having a just-enough upload speed isn't ideal and it's worth considering upgrading to get more upload bandwidth or even switching ISPs, if possible, to get a symmetric connection in order to out from under a cruddy 100/5 cable connection. Just total up the number of people actively using the internet in your household as well as the internet activities they normally engage in. Even modest symmetric connections, like 100 Mbps download/100 Mbps upload, offer more than enough for the majority of people.īut if you do want to crunch the numbers, perhaps because you're stuck debating if upgrading from one asymmetric cable internet package to the next tier is worth it, you can do so fairly easily. If you're fortunate enough to have symmetric internet (where your download speed and upload speed are the same such as with most fiber internet packages) then there's a good chance you can just outright skip even bothering with any sort of calculations. Much like you can calculate how much download bandwidth your household might need, you can also do some simple calculations to figure out how much upload bandwidth you need.

You're not going to get 100-times the live streaming experience by having a connection with 100-times more bandwidth than the live stream to YouTube, Instagram, or Twitch demands.Ĭalculating Your Household's Bandwidth Needs

That's because much like there is an upper threshold to how much bandwidth you need to download, say, HD video, there is also an upper threshold to how much bandwidth you need to upload HD video. You're downloading more data than you're sending back.Īdditionally, you might note that 'Cloud-based Backup' is the only open-ended entry in the list. That's because how much data you need to download and upload for some experiences like video conferencing or online gaming is asymmetric. You might also notice that the recommended bandwidth for some of the entries varies between this upload speed list and the download speed list in the companion article. In the same way, when you're browsing the web or picking a Netflix show, you're just saying 'Hey, that one right over there,' and then the remote servers send the big bundle of data you requested your way. You send a request to the retailer and they ship you a big ol' box of stuff you ordered. Think of it like you're placing an online order for physical goods. Below are the upload speeds we would consider the absolute minimum for a smooth experience.

How much upload bandwidth do you actually need though? Let's start by looking at how much upload bandwidth common internet activities use. Most folks care more about getting a smooth streaming experience than how fast their email attachments upload.īut thanks to the number of people working from home as well as the increase in individuals creating content for platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and other services, the demand for upload bandwidth has increased significantly in just a few years. Historically, very few people paid attention to upload speeds because the vast majority of people using the internet at home were using it for activities focused on how fast they could get data to their devices (and not how fast they could send data out into the world). Related: How Much Download Speed Do You Really Need? Let's examine upload speed with a similar approach. We recently looked at how much download speed you really need, so if you're curious about that other side of the bandwidth equation, we recommend you check it out. How Much Bandwidth Common Activities Require