Accuracy check (50 Mbps)

Which speed test is best at 50 Mbps?

TL;DR

Based on our test results of 2020 we concluded that if your advertised download speed is 50 Mbps, it's best to use Google Fiber. To measure your actual internet speed (your true speed), you can use SpeedOf.me.

 

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Method of measurement
  3. Speed tests to test
  4. The measurements
  5. Conclusions
 

Introduction

In 2020 we tested 13 speed tests with an advertised speed of 50 Mbps.

We updated this page because further insights teached us that with an advertised speed of 50 Mbps, the following applies:

  1. A mainstream speed test will ideally measure 50.4 Mbps
  2. A speed test is considered mainstream if the measured value is greater than or equal to 50 Mbps and less than 51.5 Mbps
  3. The actual delivered speed (the true speed) is 56 Mbps
  4. If the speed test measures a speed higher than 54.5 Mbps and lower than or equal to 56 Mbps, then it is a realistic speed test

Based on these insights we are able to calculate an accuracy score.

 

Method of measurement

All tests have been done with Firefox on Linux. All speed tests are opened in a separate tab. The tests are done in rounds. Each speed test is tested once per lap. The first test is with Bandwidth Place, the second test is with Comparitech and so on. After testing the Xfinity xFi Speed Test (the last speed test to be tested), the second round begins with the same tests. There are a total of five test rounds.

 

Speed tests to test

We tested the following speed tests: Bandwidth Place, Comparitech, DSLReports, Fast, Fireprobe, Google Fiber, Internet Speed at a Glance, M-Lab, Samknows, SpeedOf.me, SpeedSmart and Speedtest, Xfinity Speed Test.

 

The measurements

  1. Bandwidth Place 48.31, 47.33, 48.31, 47.67 and 48.27 Mbps (Median: 48.27 Mbps, standard deviation: 0.45 Mbps, accuracy score: 20)
  2. Comparitech 54.81, 54.83, 53.90, 53.06 and 54.02 Mbps (Median: 54.02 Mbps, standard deviation: 0.74 Mbps, accuracy score: 50)
  3. DSLReports 49.6, 49.4. More tests were not possible. DSLReports reports that the instant download speed has dropped far below the running average :(
  4. Fast 40, 39, 41, 41 and 40 Mbps (Median: 40 Mbps, standard deviation: 0.84 Mbps, accuracy score: 20)
  5. Fireprobe 51.06, 50.70, 50.80, 49.77 and 48.09 Mbps (Median: 50.70 Mbps, standard deviation: 1.22 Mbps, accuracy score: 99) Mainstream
  6. Google Fiber 50.8, 50.6, 51.1, 50.7 and 50.5 Mbps (Median: 50.7 Mbps, standard deviation: 0.23 Mbps, accuracy score: 99) Mainstream
  7. Internet Speed at a Glance 50..100, 50..100, 50..100, 50..100 and 50..100 Mbps (Median: 50..100 Mbps, standard deviation: 50 Mbps, accuracy score: 20)
  8. M-Lab 50.81, 50.72, 48.70, 49.46 and 50.78 Mbps (Median: 50.72 Mbps, standard deviation: 0.86 Mbps, accuracy score: 99) Mainstream
  9. Samknows 50.9, 50.7, 46.3, 45.4 and 50.3 Mbps (Median: 50.3 Mbps, standard deviation: 2.65 Mbps, accuracy score: 100) Mainstream
  10. SpeedOf.me 56.23, 56.28, 56.18, 55.59 and 55.99 Mbps (Median: 56.18 Mbps, standard deviation: 0.28 Mbps, accuracy score: 100) Realistic
  11. SpeedSmart 56.61. SpeedSmart doesn't work fine within Firefox, other results given are unrealistic low.
  12. Speedtest 50.66, 49.69, 49.66, 50.02 and 49.69 Mbps (Median: 49.69 Mbps, standard deviation: 0.43 Mbps, accuracy score: 96) Mainstream
  13. Xfinity Speed Test 51.0, 50.8, 50.9, 50.9 and 51.0 Mbps (Median: 50.9 Mbps, standard deviation: 0.08 Mbps, accuracy score: 98) Mainstream
 

Conclusions

Based on this measurements we concluded that:

  1. There are 6 mainstream speed tests (Fireprobe, Google Fiber, M-Lab, SamKnows, Speedtest and Xfinity Speed Test)
  2. There is 1 realistic speed test (SpeedOf.me)
  3. Two speed tests (SamKnows and SpeedOf.me) have an accuracy score of 100
  4. Three speed tests (Fireprobe, Google Fiber and M-Lab) have an accuracy score of 99
  5. Of these five speed tests, Google Fiber is most consistent (Google Fiber has the smallest standard deviation)
  6. Of all speed tests tested, the Xfinity Speed Test has the smallest standard deviation

When your advertised download speed is 50 Mbps, there are plenty of good speed tests.

We recommend the Google Fiber speed test because it is accurate and consistent.

If you want to know your true internet speed, then use SpeedOf.me.