How to check broadband speed for free
At some stage we all wonder what speed our broadband connection really is or wonder if we are getting what we paid for from our internet service provider is giving us what we are paying for. Broadband speed check tools are designed to give you an idea of both upload and download speed so you can compare against what you are supposedly getting.
If you want to check your broadband speed then these kinds of tools are useful in diagnosing your connection but for a good average try and do the speed test at 3 different times of the day for 3 days to get measures from peak and low usage times. For example 9AM, 4PM, 11PM. This will give you the best average.
Note: Broadband speed check tools are not 100% accurate they are designed to give you an idea of the speed you are getting. So if your burning question is what speed is my broadband connection than these 4 tools will help.
Speedtest.net
This is probably one of the most popular speed testing sites on the internet if you want to check broadband speed. It allows you to select the server you wish to use in a variety of countries. The site measures:
- Ping (Speed the server responds)
- Download rate (The speed in which you get a file from the internet)
- Upload rate (The speed in which you upload things to the internet ie photos to facebook)
To make the site a little more than just a broadband speed test site they also have a section where you can upload your results to compare and compete against other users.
Finally they have another section called Pingtest This test the quality of your line rather than the speed which to people who use their connection for video streaming voice and video calls and gaming is probably more important.
Speed test here: http://www.speedtest.net/
DSLreports.com
DSL Reports is an extremely popular website to check broadband speed and it also offers reviews on service providers. They also offer a range of excellent speed test tools. The broadband speed test tools are available in a range of different tests including flash and Java.
DSL reports also offer a range of other test such as a line quality test and ping test to ensure you are getting the most from your connection
Speed test here: http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest
Bandwidthplace.com
Bandwidth place is another website that allows you to check broadband speed and that I have found quite accurate and reliable. The site measures both your download speed and upload speed of your internet connection.
Speed test here: http://www.bandwidthplace.com/
Freespeedtest.com
Free speed test downloads a number of files to your computer to measure the download speed of your broadband connection. Unfortunately unlike the other speed testers in our list it does not give you a measurement of the upload speed of your connection.
Speed test here: http://www.freespeedtest.com/
Other ways to measure download speed
You can measure the download speed of your broadband connection without using any of these tools simply by downloading a large file and measuring the speed at which it downloads. For example when I download a linux distro my download speed in Google Chrome shows at approximately 1610 KB/s which translates as about a 12..88Mbps Connection.
Obviously it also depends on the site you download from. If their upload is only 1000 KB/s then that will be your download speed if you are the only person downloading. This is why I recommend if you want to test your connection this way you use something like a Linux distro site.
You can convert KB/s and other units using a converter like the one here (http://testmy.net/tools/convert.php)
Testmy.net also offer download and upload speed tests for your broadband connection.
So if you want to know how to check broadband speed these site should help you do that along with a number of other things.
