What Is a Good Internet Speed?
How many Mbps you actually need, by activity and household, in plain English.
Quick answer: for most households, around 100 Mbps download is a comfortable, future-proof target. One or two people can do fine on 25 Mbps; large or heavy-streaming households are happier at 200-500 Mbps.
Recommended speed by activity
| Activity | Recommended download |
|---|---|
| Browsing, email, music | 5-10 Mbps |
| HD video streaming | 10-15 Mbps |
| 4K video streaming | 25 Mbps |
| Video calls (HD) | 10-20 Mbps |
| Online gaming | 5-20 Mbps (low latency matters more) |
By household size
| Household | Comfortable plan |
|---|---|
| 1-2 people, light use | 25-50 Mbps |
| Family, multiple devices | 100-200 Mbps |
| Heavy 4K / work-from-home / gamers | 300-500+ Mbps |
Download is not the whole story
A good connection also needs decent upload (10 Mbps+ for calls and backups), low latency and low jitter. A 500 Mbps line with high latency can still feel laggy in games and calls. Run a speed test to see all four numbers, and compare them with what your plan promised.
Are you getting what you pay for?
Test a few times, ideally wired or next to the router. If you consistently see far less than your plan's advertised speed, it is worth checking your Wi-Fi, your equipment, or raising it with your provider. See why is my internet slow for the usual suspects.