What Internet Speed Do You Need for Streaming?

Streaming needs a steady connection rather than a blazing fast one. A single Full HD stream runs comfortably on about 10 Mbps, and most home broadband plans are many times faster than that. Problems start when several people stream at once, when the Wi-Fi signal is weak, or when the connection dips at busy times. This guide explains the numbers and how to apply them to your home.

Speed needed per stream

The minimum is what the stream itself uses. The recommended figure adds headroom for the dips every connection has. Live TV benefits from that headroom more than on-demand video, for a simple reason: a film can download minutes ahead, but a live stream can only buffer a few seconds ahead of the broadcast.

Work out what your household needs

Add up the streams that might run at the same time, then add some room for everything else:

1. Count the screens that might stream at once, and at what quality.
2. Add the recommended speed for each one.
3. Add about 5 Mbps per person for browsing, messaging and phone updates in the background.
4. Add 10–20 Mbps if anyone video-calls or plays online games during that time.

Examples

Upload speed matters less, but not zero

Streaming is almost entirely download. Upload speed only matters for video calls, sending large files and cloud backups. Many plans are asymmetric, for example 100 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up, and that is fine for streaming.

Speed is not the whole story

Consistency

A connection that averages 50 Mbps but drops to 3 Mbps every few minutes will buffer more than a steady 15 Mbps line. Run a speed test several times, including in the evening, to see the real picture.

Wi-Fi at the TV

Your plan's speed arrives at the router. What reaches the TV depends on the Wi-Fi signal, and a TV two rooms away might see a quarter of it. Always test on the device you watch on. Our buffering guide covers how to improve the signal.

Latency

Latency, or ping, is how long data takes to make a round trip. It matters a lot for gaming and video calls but little for streaming. Anything under 100 ms is fine for watching TV.

How much data does streaming use?

If your plan has a data cap, or you watch on mobile data, this matters as much as speed.

These are typical figures. The exact amount depends on the stream's bitrate, which varies between broadcasters. On mobile data, choosing SD or HD instead of Full HD cuts usage by half or more with little visible difference on a phone screen.

How to run a useful speed test

• Test on the device you stream on, in the place where you use it.
• Pause other downloads and streams while testing.
• Test at least three times, at different times of day.
• Use a well-known service such as fast.com or speedtest.net.

Frequently asked questions