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How many Mbps Do I Need? If you want to be able to use your computer for everything, including streaming videos in high definition (HD) or ultra high definition (UHD), surfing the Internet, checking email, working from home, playing games, watching movies, and browsing social networking sites, then you need at least 25 megabits per second (Mbps). However, if you just want to be able to watch Netflix and YouTube videos without buffering, then you don’t need anything faster than 10 Mbps.
ISPs typically offer different speed tiers, so here’s a quick look at some of the options available to you:
Internet speed
Number of people
Activities
5–25 Mbps
1–2
Casual web surfing, emailing, social networking, watching streaming videos, listening to streaming music
25–50 Mbps
1–3
Streaming HD and 4K video; streaming movies and TV shows; online games; light office work from anywhere
50–100 Mbps
2–4
Streaming 4K videos, playing games online, working from your own place, using smart gadgets at your house
100–500 Mbps
2–5
streaming 4K videos, playing online games, working from your own house, having a smart phone, and using smart appliances
500–1,000 Mbps
3–5+
Running a business from your own place, working remotely, watching videos in HD, playing games online, using security cameras and smart devices
However, it’s not always easy to tell which ISP is best for you. You may need to balance between having enough bandwidth or Mbps and paying too much for your ISP.
To figure out where the sweet spot lies, you’ll need to follow these steps:
Top Five Internet Providers
Provider
Monthly price
Download speeds
Upload speeds
Learn more
How Many Mbps Do I Need
If there are more people online, then you’ll need faster connections to satisfy them all.
Remember to count yourself when you add up everyone who connects to the Internet. Your partner, children, house mates, and even your close family members may be using the Internet too.
It doesn’t matter if it’s you or someone you’re playing games with who enjoys hopping online and gaming with their buddies, it is important to understand that internet speeds aren’t the only things affecting gameplay.
If gamers want to play games online, they also require an internet connection and a fast and reliable Internet service provider (ISP). We’ve reviewed the best ISP options for gamers, so you don’t end up paying too much for your game time.
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Check out all the devices connected to your wireless network.
As more smart devices connect to the web, they require more bandwidth.
If you’re not sure how many people are actually connecting to your Wi-Fi, here’s a list of commonly used smart device types that connect to your Wi-Fi.
Activity
Recommended speed
Streaming SD video (480p)
3 Mbps
Streaming HD video (1080p)
5 Mbps
Streaming 4K video (2160p)
25 Mbps
Streaming music
1–10 Mbps
Gaming
3–4 Mbps
Downloading large files
10 Mbps
Making video calls
0.5–1.5 Mbps
Checking email and social networks
1 Mbps
A good broadband connection depends on what you do online. For example, streaming HD videos requires a minimum download rate of 5Mbps, whereas downloading large files can take much longer. These recommendations only apply to single users; multiple people sharing an account may experience vastly differing results.
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