Ookla's Speedtest versus M-Lab

We compared Ookla's Speedtest ★★★☆☆ with M-Lab ★★★★★ and concluded that that M-Lab outperforms Ookla's Speedtest on several points.

A radar chart comparing Ookla's Speedtest with M-Lab on the aspects of accuracy, data usage, speed, security, privacy, usability, accessibility and informativeness

The radar chart above is based on the results of our standardized speed test test. The results speak for themselves.

Strengths of Ookla's Speedtest

The Ookla Speedtest is a well known speed test. A lot of ISPs recommend the use of Speedtest. Hence, we categorize Speedtest as the gold standard for speed tests.

In 2023 we tested Google versus Bing. We then came to the following conclusion: More than half of the links in results pages of the search engines Google and Bing structurally refer to Ookla-based speed tests/pages. We therefore assume that everyone is familiar with the Ookla Speedtest.

The Ookla Speedtest has many clones. There are too many to list. We have a special page for Ookla clones.

The Ookla Speedtest is popular because it was one of the first accurate speed tests. Ookla's Speedtest is one of the few speed tests with an accuracy score of 100 (out of 100).

Another strength of Ookla is the information provision. The progress of the test is clearly displayed and in addition to download, upload, ping and jitter are also measured.

Strengths of M-Lab

M-Lab is one of the few speed tests with an accuracy score of 100 (out of 100).

It's good to know that compared to most other speed tests, M-Lab scores quite well and fairly evenly on the different aspects we tested.

M-Lab scores high on the overall score list due to its high accuracy and thoroughness.

Our recommendation

Based on what we know about speed tests, if we had to choose between these two speed tests, we would choose M-Lab over Ookla's Speedtest. Both are accurate speed tests. However, M-Lab outperforms Ookla's Speedtest on several points.

Comparative evaluation of Ookla and NDT7

In the research paper A Comparative Analysis of Ookla Speedtest and Measurement Labs Network Diagnostic Test (NDT7) (2023) it is concluded that:

  1. (...) NDT7 and Ookla, not NDT7 or Ookla. Some readers may (mis)interpret our results as an endorsement or condemnation of a particular measurement tool but that is not our intention at all. (...)
  2. (...) Ookla and NDT7 report similar speeds under most in-lab conditions, with the exception of networks that experience high latency, where Ookla consistently reports higher throughput (...)
  3. (...) NDT7 reports lower speeds when the client-server latency is high (...)
  4. (...) Both NDT7 and Ookla provide a wealth of measurements, and each dataset offers valuable measurements from the edge of the Internet, as well as complementary coverage and perspective (...)
  5. (...) the tools are designed, implemented, and deployed differently, and therefore measure slightly different phenomena, resulting in divergent results under different network conditions and circumstances (...)
  6. (...) The (NDT7) client software version can impact the test accuracy (...)
  7. (...) For Ookla, the choice of test server can significantly affect the reported speed. Tests using certain Ookla servers systematically report speeds 10% lower than other servers (...)
  8. (...) NDT7 tests are more likely to under-report during peak hours. 43.4% of households observed a statistically significant decrease in NDT7-reported download speed tests during peak hours, whereas only 18.9% of these households saw the same for Ookla (...)

The most important conclusion is probably the following (...) for most in-lab and real-world cases, Ookla and NDT7 report similar speeds (...).