Ad-free speed tests

TL;DR

Showing unsolicited advertisements can be considered an invasion of the user's privacy.

A small majority of speed tests tested (16 out of 27) show no ads at all. Some well-known ad-free speed tests are Cloudflare, Fast, Google Fiber and Xfinity xFi Speed Test.

 

Contents

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

Introduction

In this test we investigate which speed tests do or do not show advertisements. This is because showing unsolicited advertisements can be considered an invasion of the user's privacy.

 

Method of measurement

For this test, we perform a speed test and indicate whether or not advertisements are present.

 

Speed tests to test

Because this is a relatively simple test -in contrast to the clutter free speed tests test- the unique speed tests as collected at ZOMDir will be tested.

Note that speed tests, which provide the user with different options for using cookies, are tested twice. Once with all cookies rejected and once with all cookies accepted.

 

The measurements

  1. Astound speedtest does not show ads
  2. Bandwidth Place with all cookies rejected, shows advertisements
  3. Bandwidth Place with all cookies accepted, shows advertisements
  4. Bredbandskollen with all cookies rejected, does not show ads
  5. Bredbandskollen with all cookies accepted, does not show ads
  6. Broadband Speed Checker with all cookies rejected, shows advertisements
  7. Broadband Speed Checker with all cookies accepted, shows advertisements
  8. Cloudflare does not show ads
  9. Comparitech does not show ads
  10. DSLReports shows advertisements
  11. Fast does not show ads
  12. Fireprobe shows advertisements
  13. Google Fiber does not show ads
  14. Internet Speed at a Glance does not show ads
  15. LibreSpeed does not show ads
  16. M-Lab does not show ads
  17. Meter.net with all cookies rejected, does not show ads
  18. Meter.net with all cookies accepted, shows advertisements
  19. N Perf does not show ads
  20. Ookla Speedtest with all cookies rejected, shows advertisements
  21. Ookla Speedtest with all cookies accepted, shows advertisements
  22. Open Speed Test with all cookies rejected, does not show ads
  23. Open Speed Test with all cookies accepted, shows advertisements
  24. SamKnows does not show ads
  25. SpeedCheck with all cookies rejected, shows advertisements
  26. SpeedCheck with all cookies accepted, shows advertisements
  27. SpeedOf.me shows advertisements
  28. SpeedOf.me API Sample Page does not show ads
  29. SpeedSmart does not show ads
  30. Speedtest4.PHP does not show ads
  31. TestMy.net with all cookies rejected (twice because there are two cookiebanners), does not show ads
  32. TestMy.net with all cookies accepted, shows advertisements
  33. Toast with all cookies rejected, does not show ads
  34. Toast with all cookies accepted, shows advertisements
  35. Which Broadband Speed Test with all cookies rejected, does not show ads
  36. Which Broadband Speed Test with all cookies accepted, does not show ads
  37. Xfinity xFi Speed Test with all cookies rejected, does not show ads
  38. Xfinity xFi Speed Test with all cookies accepted, does not show ads
 

Conclusions

Based on the above measurements, we conclude that for the tested speed tests:

  1. 16 speed tests does not show ads at all
  2. 4 speed tests does not show ads when all cookies are rejected
  3. 7 speed tests always show ads

Note that the Ookla Speedtest always shows advertisements, even if you refuse cookies.

An ad-free version of the Ookla Speedtest

A short animation of removing ads in Ookla's Speedtest In the past, Ookla offered the option to pay for an ad-free version of the Ookla Speedtest. In 2024 we can no longer find this option. If you want an ad-free Ookla Speedtest, you may want to consider a secure web browser.

The animation shown here comes from the Ookla Speedtest website, back in the days when paying for ad-free Speedtest was still an option.

Some well-known ad-free speed tests are Cloudflare, Fast, Google Fiber and Xfinity xFi Speed Test.