The Most Accurate Broadband Speed Test

Everton | Mar 20, 2009 | View Comments


Many broadband users pay for a certain speed and never bother to check if they are actually receiving the speed they are paying for.

For those that do want to check whether they are getting their correct speed, there are many tests to choose from. Just google ‘Broadband Speed Test’ and you will find hundreds of tests. The problem is…most of them don’t give a correct number, particularly if you have a fast connection. I faced this problem a few weeks ago when I upgraded my home connection to 50Mbps. I wanted to make sure that before the engineer left I was getting the best speed possible, but I found it hard to generate numbers that made sense.

Here’s the results I got from the various tests I could find:

  1. My own Broadband Speed Test – 39Mbps – 78% of max potential.
  2. broadband-speed-testThink Broadband – 27.9Mbps, 55% of max potential. I was really disappointed with this test as this used to produce the most accurate results and was the one I used to recommend. They clearly can’t handle fast connections.
  3. Speedtest - 49Mbps, 98% of max potential!
  4. ZDNet – 22Mbps, 44% of max potential!
  5. Giganews – average 45Mbps over 5 mins, 90% of max potential.

The Giganews result allowed me to confirm that I am actually getting my full 50Mbps broadband speed, which makes the results of some of the broadband speed tests I tried pretty shocking. Speedtest seems to be the most reliable and the one I’d recommend, but always remember to try a few other sites to double-check results.

If you are having connection problems it could be down to packet loss, so you should also do a Ping test.


Read Related Posts

  1. Broadband Speed Test Broadband Speed Test
  2. Test Your Broadband Speed For Free Test Your Broadband Speed For Free
  3. Updated Broadband Speed Test Updated Broadband Speed Test
  4. PingTest: Check The Quality Of Your Internet Connection PingTest: Check The Quality Of Your Internet Connection
  5. BT Broadband Upgrading Users To 20Mb For Free BT Broadband Upgrading Users To 20Mb For Free



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About the Author: Everton is based in London and has worked in the internet and mobile space for over ten years now, and before that worked in corporate strategy and consulting. He has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University.He also writes for Windows 7 News, Windows 8 News and One Tip A Day.

  • Yme
    Sorry but your test doesn't test high speed connections very well. The best test for high speed connections is at http://speedtest.ispgeeks.com It does a much better job for things like Roadrunner Lightning or Verizon FiOS.
  • Great, thanks for sharing. I am surely gonna use this.My net has been really slow lately, so will have a look if it is just me, or it really is slow.Thank you.
  • Great, thanks for sharing. I am surely gonna use this.

    My net has been really slow lately, so will have a look if it is just me, or it really is slow.

    Thank you.
  • Really something everyone should take note of..


    I’ve just done some checks:


    Broadband Speed Test= 424Kbps


    Think Broadband= 415Kbps


    Speedtest=3490Kbps


     


    Could this be right, It varies from tools..I had two different results
  • I am on Be 24Mb and speedtest give a completely wrong result. It typically shows between 30 and 50 Mb! I wish my connection was that good!
  • My Results:
    Download:

    Speedtest: 2500kb/s
    Think Broadband:1415.34 Kbps
    Yours: 2544kb/s

    I get nowhere near that!!
  • I've just done some checks:
    Broadband Speed Test= 424Kbps
    Think Broadband= 415Kbps
    Speedtest=390Kbps

    I pay for upto 12 meg on AOL. I'm waiting for Virgin to install cables in my area!
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