Speed test Guides
Updated 23 September 2026
Gigabit plans get sold for uses that need a hundred times less. Here are the real requirements, service by service, and how to work out what your household needs.
| Quality | Recommended speed per stream |
|---|---|
| Low definition (480p) | 1.5 to 3 Mbps |
| High definition (720p) | 3 to 5 Mbps |
| Full HD (1080p) | 5 to 8 Mbps |
| 4K / Ultra HD | 15 to 25 Mbps |
These match the usual recommendations published by the major video platforms. They vary by service and by compression technology, which improves year after year.
One important point: video buffers ahead. It copes better with a modest but steady speed than with a high but erratic one.
| Use | Download | Upload |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one call, standard quality | 1 to 2 Mbps | 1 to 2 Mbps |
| One-to-one call in high definition | 2.5 to 4 Mbps | 2.5 to 4 Mbps |
| Group meeting | 4 to 8 Mbps | 3 to 4 Mbps |
| Screen sharing in high definition | 3 to 5 Mbps | 3 to 5 Mbps |
On a call it is upload that limits you, because you are sending your own image. That is the weak point of ADSL and of many cable plans. Latency and jitter matter as much as raw speed: they decide whether the conversation flows.
| Use | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Music streaming, high quality | under 1 Mbps |
| Lossless music | 1.5 to 2 Mbps |
| Browsing, social media | 2 to 5 Mbps |
| Cloud gaming at 1080p | 15 to 25 Mbps, low latency |
| Cloud gaming at 4K | 35 Mbps and up |
| TV over the provider's box | 5 to 25 Mbps depending on definition |
| Security camera uploading continuously | 1 to 4 Mbps upload, per camera |
Add up the simultaneous uses, then add roughly 30% headroom for updates and backups that fire without warning.
Example: a household of four on a weekday evening
Total: 38 Mbps, so about 50 Mbps with headroom. A 100 or 300 Mbps plan covers that household comfortably. Gigabit only helps with large file transfers.
Above 100 to 300 Mbps, more speed barely changes day-to-day comfort. What you notice is stability, latency and upload. Measure those three before paying for more megabits.
No. About 25 Mbps steady is enough for one 4K stream, which good VDSL or cable plans reach. Fibre mainly helps when several people watch at once.
Because calls depend on upload, latency and how steady it is, not on download. Measure upload and make sure no file transfer is running in the background.
Three or four in theory, leaving room for other uses. In practice Wi-Fi usually runs out before the line does.