TL;DR
The best 10 internet speed tests are:
- Google Fiber ★★★★★
- M-Lab ★★★★★
- Internet Speed at a Glance ★★★★☆
- SpeedOf.me ★★★★☆
- Cloudflare ★★★☆☆
- Ookla's speedtest.net ★★★☆☆
- TestMy.net ★★★☆☆
- SpeedSmart ★★★☆☆
- Meter.net ★★★☆☆
- Fast ★★★☆☆
This list is based on thorough research into the qualities of speed tests.
Think of it as a summary of studies like The best speed test, The most accurate speed test and Climate-friendly speed tests.
If you are looking for a speed test with a specific goal in mind, use the Interactive Speed Test Advisor. If you are looking for a speed test with certain features, use the Dynamic Speed Test Advisor.
1. Google Fiber
http://speed.googlefiber.net/ Google Fiber speed test (The original -) 0 5/5 stars ★★★★★ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
The combination of speed and accuracy makes Google Fiber the best speed test there is.
This speed test was developed for Google Fiber customers. Google Fiber is a Gigabit internet provider in the United States. However, anyone with an internet connection can use this speed test.
When you're not on the Google Fiber network, you'll get a warning that "Performing a speed test on your mobile network may result in data charges." Because Google Fiber is faster than most other speed tests, in practice the amount of data that is used will be less than these speed tests.
Google Fiber measures the most important features of your internet connection, namely download spped, upload speed and ping time. There is a clear indication when the speed test is finished, the measurement results are clearly displayed.
Fast and accurate
With on average 16 seconds to complete, Google Fiber is one of the fastest speed test there is. Besides that Google Fiber is a very accurate speed test.
No secure connection
It's hard to find anything negative about Google Fiber. Perhaps the only thing is that no secure connection is used.
2. M-Lab
https://speed.measurementlab.net/ M-Lab speed test 0 5/5 stars ★★★★★ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
M-Lab is a very accurate speed test, it is part of an open source research project. By using the M-Lab speed test you contribute to this research project. Measurement Lab (M-Lab) is a measurement platform that provides one of the largest collections of public data on Internet performance.
M-Lab has a clear privacy policy that you must accept before starting the speed test.
In short, M-Lab collects your IP address (personal data according to the GDPR ), What your browser leaks and your measurements.
Besides the download speed and the upload speed, also the test server, the latency and the retransmission percentage is shown as a result.
Note that M-Lab is the only speed test which measures the retransmission percentage.
10 seconds per test
This speed test tries to transfer as much data as it can in ten seconds (both up and down). As a result, the results are available within a fixed time.
On a narrow screen, scrolling is required to restart
On narrow screens you have to scroll up to restart the speed test. After a test the "Again" button is not visible. You have to scroll up to see the "Again" button.
3. Internet Speed at a Glance
https://speedtest.zomdir.com/ Internet Speed at a Glance 0 4/5 stars ★★★★☆ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
Internet Speed at a Glance is ideal for quickly checking internet problems.
Note that the Ultimate Speed Test Test and Internet Speed at a Glance are both part of the same ZOMDir project.
Reason enough to be critical of this speed test in this speed test study.
However, Internet Speed at a Glance was created for a reason. Namely, providing insight as quickly as possible as to whether the internet speed is acceptable. Since Internet Speed at a Glance is programmed as a Progressive Web App (PWA), it is possible to install it on your phone as a separate application. As a result, it can be quickly checked at all times whether the internet speed is acceptable.
Climate friendly
This is the fastest speed test there is. The webpage is less than one third in size compared to the average size of a webpage. Hence this speed test loads extremely fast. This small footprint makes this the most climate friendly speed test.
Result is a range
The measured speed test is not given exactly, but the range within which the measured speed falls.
4. SpeedOf.me
https://speedof.me/ SpeedOf.me 0 4/5 stars ★★★★☆ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
SpeedOf.me is the best speed test to get insight in your true internet speed.
SpeedOf.me was the first HTML5 speed test (it was created December 2011). In comparison, Ookla's HTML5-based speed test went out of beta just over six years later, in January 2018.
SpeedOf.me has a separate URL (https://speedof.me/m/) for mobile devices. Due to the use of speedometers this version has a more classic look.
Both versions give you the download speed, the max download speed, the upload speed, the max upload speed and the latency of your internet connection.
Insightful charts
SpeedOf.me starts with downloading small files and ends with downloading large files.
The download speed per file is shown in a neat graph. This makes it very clear how good (or bad) your internet connection is.
Slow
Inherent to SpeedOf.me's testing method is the long time it takes to complete the test.
The test starts with a file of 128kB, when it takes less than 8 seconds to complete, the second test starts.
Now the filesize is doubled to 256KB. Again, when it takes less than 8 seconds to complete, the next test starts.
The test ends when the largest file of 128MB is downloaded, or when it takes longer than 8 seconds to download the test file
With a true download speed of 112 Mbps, more than 20 seconds are required for the download test. (The complete test takes more than 45 seconds). Worst case takes the download speed circa 24 seconds (≈8 + <≈8 + 8+ seconds).
5. Cloudflare
https://speed.cloudflare.com/ Cloudflare speed test 0 3/5 stars ★★★☆☆ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
The Cloudflare speed test is by far the most informative speed test there is, albeit slow .
Like Fast and Internet Speed at a Glance, Cloudflare starts immediately when you visit the speed test page. Unlike Fast and Internet Speed at a Glance, Cloudflare gives a lot of information about your internet connection.
Insightful charts
Cloudflare presents the test results graphically in a clear way.
The download speed, upload speed, server location, latency -, packet loss -, download - and upload measurements are shown.
All measurement charts have a neat hint text and allow you to expand the chart to see the underlying numerical values.
Slowest speed test
Although the speed test starts automatically, Cloudflare is the slowest speed test of all the speed tests in this top 10.
6. Ookla's speedtest.net
https://www.speedtest.net/ Speedtest (Ookla's -) 0 3/5 stars ★★★☆☆ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
Ookla's speedtest.net is the gold standard for speed tests. This is because the vast majority of ISPs recommend this speed test or offer a clone of the Ookla Speedtest.
No wonder that the Ookla Speedtest is the most recommended speed test there is. However Ookla's speed test is not the best in any of the tests conducted for the Ultimate Speed Test Test. Because the speed test uses cookies, shows ads and is not too fast, the Ookla speed test scores less well than it could.
When you read Ookla's privacy statement it will become clear that Ookla uses speed test data to create market reports.
Note that due to the fact that Ookla provide full IP addresses to some ISPs, the data you provided is not guaranteed anonymous.
Widely available
The Ookla speed test is available for a lot of platforms like the World Wide Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Chrome, AppleTV and the CLI (Command Line Interface) of MacOS, Ubuntu/Debian, Fedora/Centos/Redhat and FreeBSD.
More important is probably that almost the vast majority of ISPs recommend this speed test or offer a clone of the Ookla Speedtest.
The web version is available in circa 15 languages.
Relative slow
The Ookla speed test is a relative slow speed test. It takes more than 30 seconds to complete this speed test.
7. TestMy.net
https://testmy.net/ TestMy.net 0 3/5 stars ★★★☆☆ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
TestMy.net is the oldest speed test there is, and still going strong.
TestMy.net has a quirky -some will say, an obsolete- interface. That makes it not the most user-friendly speed test. TestMy.net clearly lacks one clear call-to-action in the form of a big "Start" button.
At the other hand, TestMy.net gives you a lot options and a lot of interesting data.
In contrast to other speed tests, the size of the test file used during the test is clearly shown.
TestMy.net gives you access to their database where you might find a lot of speed test statistics. E.g. results per country.
A lot of options
TestMy.net has a lot of options. Perhaps the most important option is that you can indicate the size of the test file used during the speed test.
In addition, it is possible to indicate that you only want to measure the download speed.
Benefit of the doubt
TestMy.net did not perform well in previous tests. Given that others regularly recommend TestMy.net, and the fact that TestMy.net has interesting options, TestMy.net gets the benefit of the doubt.
8. SpeedSmart
https://speedsmart.net/ SpeedSmart 0 3/5 stars ★★★☆☆ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
SpeedSmart is one of the flawless speed tests of 2022.
The SpeedSmart speed test is a "boring" speed test. It does what you'd expect from a speed test, but... the speed test has nothing special that makes it stand out.
Nevertheless, the results of this speed test are impressive. Overall, this speed test is better than the competition on many fronts.
Always a good alternative
Regardless of which speed test you are used to. If you want to use a different speed test, SpeedSmart is a good choice.
Ambiguous results
The results of the SpeedSmart speed test are ambiguous. The results are often between values expected by mainstream speed tests like the Ookla speed test and realistic speed tests like SpeedOf.me.
This makes it difficult to properly interpret the result. However, one thing is certain. If the result is lower than the advertised speed, something is wrong.
9. Meter.net
https://www.meter.net/ Meter.net 0 3/5 stars ★★★☆☆ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
Meter.net is a speed test with an eye for detail.
Meter.net isn't often mentioned in other speed test reviews.
This could be because the home screen looks crowded and cluttered. While there's an obvious "Start" button, there's still so much to see. This gives the whole a restless impression.
Still, it's worth giving Meter.net a try. It's a sympathetic speed test made by a person (Adam Haken) rather than a company.
Sympathetic
The reason Meter.net is in this list of best speed tests is a combination of subjective reasons -it is a sympathetic speed test- and objective reasons -it is mentioned in the top 5 speed tests in the ultimate speed test test of 2022-.
Not special enough?
It's amazing how few others write about meter.net. Especially when you know that this speed test was already made in 2001.
If you look objectively at the results of this speed test, it's not doing that bad at all.
Apparently others don't think this speed test is special enough to mention.
10. Fast
https://fast.com/ Fast 0 3/5 stars ★★★☆☆ Hans van der Graaf Hans van der Graaf
The Fast speed test was revolutionary at launch.
The great user experience that Fast offers is the reason for calling this speed test. This despite the serious drawbacks.
Fast was the first speed test that starts immediately when you visit the speed test page. The focus is on what everyone wants to measure with a speed test, namely the download speed. This will be shown immediately.
Netflix
Fast is owned by Netflix. In fact, the Fast speed test uses test files that are on the Netflix servers. This speed test is therefore recommended by Netflix to investigate any internet problems when watching movies or series.
Drawbacks
The Fast speed test has some drawbacks. Oddly enough, the main one is that Fast takes a relatively long time to complete the test. Besides that Fast is not that accurate. It has a large standard deviation.