The history of speed tests in a nutshell

The first public speed tests became available in the late 1990s. The reason for this timing is simple. In the late 1990s people were able to replace their 56k modem with broadband internet. Modem users didn't need a speed test at all, they knew that their internet speed is limited by the capacity of the modem used.

With broadband internet, it was much more interesting to measure the internet speed that is delivered by your ISP.

The timeline below contains important milestones regarding speed tests.

1. 1996
   1. First speed test introduced: Testmy.net
2. 1999
   1. Second speed test introduced: Toast (Gone 2024)
3. 2000
   1. Third speed test introduced: DSLReports (Gone 2025)
   2. The domain name Speedtest.net has been claimed (not by Ookla)
4. 2001 - 2005
   1. Introduction of Meter.net
   2. Introduction of Bandwidth Place
   3. Introduction of MSN Speedtest (http://tech.msn.com/internet/speedtest.asp) Windows XP Annoyances - Google Books (nowadays broken)
   4. Introduction of Speakeasy (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest) Wayback Machine (nowadays an Ookla Speedtest clone)
   5. Introduction of TestMySpeed (http://www.testmyspeed.com) Getting Started with Computing Concepts - Google Books (nowadays an Ookla Speedtest clone)
   6. Introduction of Speedtest4.php
   7. Introduction of ADSL Guide (http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedtest.asp) The Rough Guide to the Internet - Google Books
   8. Introduction of Broadband Home Central (http://www.broadbandhomecentral.com/) Que's Official Internet Yellow Pages - Google Books (nowadays redirected)
   9. Introduction of PC Pitstop (http://www.pcpitstop.com/internet/default.asp) Que's Official Internet Yellow Pages - Google Books (nowadays broken)
   10. Introduction of Broadband Internet Speed test (Gone 2024)
5. 2006
   1. Ookla acquires the domain name speedtest.net, making Speedtest® publicly available
6. 2007
   1. The Ookla Speedtest is the most popular speed test
7. 2007 - 2009
   1. Introduction of Broadband Speed Checker
   2. Introduction of RCN (acquired by Astound)
   3. Introduction of M-Lab
8. 2011
   1. TestMy.net published the article Why Do My Results Differ From Speedtest.net / Ookla Speed Tests?. In this article, TestMy.net states that Ookla calculates speed by taking 90% of the maximum speed
   2. Ookla announced a new version of their Flash speed test with (...) new social features, more accurate speed tests, and a zoomable map that makes the United States look like a Christmas tree (...)
   3. The Internet Engineering Task Force standardized the WebSocket protocol
   4. Introduction of the first speed test based on the WebSocket protocol: SpeedOf.me
9. 2012
   1. The World Wide Web Consortium published the Navigation timing standard
10. 2013 - 2015
    1. Introduction of Open Speed Test
    2. Introduction of nPerf
    3. Introduction of Comparitech
    4. Introduction of Google Fiber
    5. Introduction of SpeedSmart
11. 2016
    1. Ookla releases beta.speedtest.net, where users can try out Ookla's new HTML5-based speed test
    2. Introduction of Fast
    3. Introduction of LibreSpeed
    4. Introduction of SamKnows Speed Test
    5. Introduction of Xfinity Speed Test
12. 2017
    1. Ookla offers the option to create a Speedtest Custom variant for free
    2. Adobe has deprecated the Flash player
    3. Introduction of Internet Speed at a Glance
    4. Introduction of Which Broadband Checker
13. 2018
    1. Ookla replaces the Flash-based speed test with new the HTML5-based speed test
    2. Introduction of Bredbandskollen
14. 2020
    1. Introduction of Cloudflare
    2. Introduction of Fireprobe
15. 2022
    1. Ookla ends the ability to create a Speedtest Custom variant for free
16. 2023
    1. Introduction of SamKnows RealSpeed
17. 2024
    1. Introduction of Down at a Glance and True Speed at a Glance

Some important years

2000

According to the Wayback Machine May 2000 the domain speedtest.net was already in use for an internet speed test in 2000.

2006

Ookla's Speedtest® launched in 2006 and quickly became very popular. Based on several older sources in Google Books like Windows XP Annoyances page 325 (2003) it is clear that before the launch of Ookla's Speedtest® the most popular speed tests were: Bandwidthplace (Bandwidthplace on Youtube September 2011) and DSLReports (DSLReports on Youtube May 2007).

2007

In 2007 a year after Ookla's Speedtest® started, this speed test was naturally recommended as the only speed test in PC Magazine (page 60).

(...) Services like Ookla's SpeedTest.net let you pick a server anywhere in the world to see just how fast your broadband really is (...)

September 2007 speedtest.net collected data from nearly 200 million unique speed tests according to a statement of dr. Scott Wallsten, senior fellow and director of communications policy studies, the progress and freedom foundation, Washinton DC for a hearing of the United States Senate (page 67).