How fast is your connection, really?

Eight parallel streams. 27 seconds. Bufferbloat grading, jitter, latency and consistency — not just download speed.

SwitcherMate Speed Check

Download

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Upload

Test interrupted — check your connection and try again

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Download

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Ping

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Upload

Bufferbloat

Measuring latency under load…

We measure your speed and approximate location (from IP). No personal data required. See what we collect →

By running this test you agree to our Privacy Notice.

🏥 Broadband Health Check

Monitor your connection and get a full report

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Six metrics

What this test measures

Download Speed

8 parallel TCP streams over 15 seconds. Accurate to 2,500 Mbps.

Upload Speed

Critical for video calls, cloud backups, and live streaming. Measured over 12 seconds.

Ping & Jitter

25 measurements using network-level RTT. High jitter causes choppy video calls even when average ping looks acceptable.

Bufferbloat Grade (A–F)

Measures latency under load. Grade F breaks video calls and causes lag even on fast connections. Most speed tests don't show you this.

Consistency Score (%)

What percentage of speed samples stay within 20% of your median. A steady 200 Mbps scores higher than a connection jumping between 450 and 50.

DNS Timing

How long your DNS resolver takes. Slow DNS makes every website feel sluggish even on a fast line.

How it stacks up

SwitcherMate vs Ookla vs Fast.com

Feature	SwitcherMate	Ookla	Fast.com
Parallel streams	8	8–16	8
Time-based test	✓	✓	✓
Accurate to 2,500 Mbps	✓	✓	~1,000 Mbps
Bufferbloat grading	✓ Free	Paid only	✗
Consistency score	✓ Free	Paid only	✗
DNS timing	✓	✗	✗
Health Check monitor	✓	✗	✗
Infrastructure	Cloudflare 300+ edge	Ookla global	Netflix CDN

Get accurate results

Before you run the test

Use ethernet, not Wi-Fi — connect directly to your router. Wi-Fi introduces contention that hides your true line speed.
Close other apps and tabs — streaming or downloads running in the background will eat bandwidth during the test.
Test at different times — your results can vary throughout the day. Run the test at morning and evening to get a complete picture of your connection.
Check the bufferbloat grade — Grade A or B means excellent quality. Grade C or below is worth investigating regardless of headline speed.

Questions

Frequently asked

The test measures real-world performance between your device and Cloudflare's edge at the moment you press start. It's a snapshot — not a permanent reading. Results vary with Wi-Fi contention, device capability, and network congestion. For the most reliable figure, use ethernet and test at different times of day.

Bufferbloat is when your router's buffers fill up under load, causing latency to spike. A connection with Grade F bufferbloat will stutter on video calls and lag in games — even if the headline download speed looks fine.

For a household streaming in 4K, working from home, and running multiple devices simultaneously, 500 Mbps is a solid baseline. But with full fibre now widely available at 1,000 Mbps and some providers offering plans up to 2,000 Mbps, there's rarely a reason to settle for less. Faster speeds mean lower latency, better upload for video calls, and headroom for every device in the house — all at the same time.

Under 20ms is excellent. 20–50ms is fine for most use cases. Above 100ms starts to affect real-time applications like gaming and video calls. Jitter matters as much as average ping — a consistent 30ms beats an unpredictable connection averaging 15ms.

The Health Check monitor runs automated tests at regular intervals and logs your results over time. This gives you a clear picture of how your connection performs consistently — useful if you're thinking about switching to a better deal.

Yes, completely free. Bufferbloat grading, consistency scoring, DNS timing and the full results breakdown are all available at no cost — no account required.

See what broadband is available at your address

8 parallel streams · 15-second download · 12-second upload · 25-sample median latency · Cloudflare edge · Privacy Notice