What Internet Speeds Do You Need?

0:00 |
0:41 | What is The Average Internet Speed?
0:50 | What Speed do I Need to Scroll Social Media?
1:00 | What Speeds do I Need for Streaming?
1:30 | Internet Speed Guide
3:40 | Best Home Internet Plans

Statista reports that the average household internet speed is around 20 Mbps… that would be good enough for a single person household that doesn’t game or stream videos in 4k.

If you’re just using the internet for the basics like browsing, checking email and social media you’ll be fine with a plan that gives you 10Mbps speeds. However, if you’ve cut the cable TV cord and prefer to stream from apps like Netflix, Hulu, HBO and more, you’ll need a plan with a bit more kick closer to 30 Mbps. Keep in mind, this is just for one person. If there are multiple people in a household you’ll need a plan that offers more bandwidth and faster speeds. However the faster the internet, the more expensive your plan will be, so keep that in mind as you’re looking for a plan.

If you want a specific internet speed number that would be best for you, here’s a guide to help you out. Here’s a warning though, it requires, MATH.

Basic Web Use 1Mbps
Social Media 1Mbps
Streaming Music .5Mbps
Streaming 480p Video 4Mbps
Streaming HD Video 8Mbps
Streaming 4K Video 25Mbps
Online Gaming 3Mbps
Online Gaming (MOBA) 6Mbps

This guide will show you what speeds you need for most internet-based tasks. Then all you’ll need to do is add up how many people do each task daily and calculate the total then BOOM. You’ll have a perfectly customized internet speed total for your home. Now, not every person will be doing every task all at the same time every day but this will give you a good estimate of how much internet you need.

Let’s go over what my math looks like:
- I have a two person household and we each browse the internet daily. That takes 1 Mbps for one person, so i’ll double that for 2Mpbs.
- We each stream in HD daily, so that’s 10 Mbps.
- We each stream audio, for 1 Mbps
- I sometimes watch IG live or YouTube live so that’s an additional 6 Mbps
and we each video call daily so that’s 12 Mbps.
- Then I have two Alexa’s with a handful of bluetooth connected devices… I'm going to give myself an extra 1 Mbps for those devices and our total is now 32 Mbps.
- This means my roommate and I would need at least 32 Mbps internet speeds to function properly.

Now if you’re bougie and like to stream in 4K, that would add an extra 25Mbps to your total or 50Mbps for 2 people, and if you game, that would add another 6 Mbps for one person or 12Mbps for 2. And for kicks and giggles if add that to my total it would be closer to 80 or 90 Mbps.

Now, what I actually have is an internet plan that allows me 150Mbps for a 1-year intro price of $50/month from Cox. That’s great for my roommate and I, and It might even be a little overkill. but I’d rather pay a little extra for the convenience of fast internet than pay less and be frustrated with constant buffering during the final rose ceremony on the bachelor.

[amosscherrey]

there are 2 people in my home. 2 iphones and 2 laptops. 1 roku tv with netflix, hulu, disney etc, usually only streams 5pm - 11pm. 1 ipad streaming hulu 7am - 5pm. I work from home on a remote connection 7am - 4pm. simpli safe is always connected. possibly a couple other wifi/bluetooth devices around the house that I can't think of. we do not game any more than candy crush on 1 of the iphones. we do not use video calling. we stream HD, not 4K. we have a 30 mbps plan and it has never buffered or seemed slow. 30 mbps works flawlessly for this connected, 2 person home.

[worldview]

Thanks so much Sherri you are a life saver, you've given me a place to start figuring out a plan for my usage

[alfonsodunham]

Awesomely informed video! Very simply explained advanced information!

[superbad]

I have 25mbps and I stream netflix, youtube, hulu, amazon video.. every day I also have smart home devices in every room.

[quacktuber]

If you upgrade to latest wi-fi router technology such as wi-fi 6 it can help stabilizer and get better utilisation of whatever service speed you get.

[marcthegodf]

120 Mbps suits me just fine! Thanks Whistleout love your website to compare the plans!

[alexrep]

I have a 20 mbps plan and I use Netflix at 4k quality. I play Xbox without issues. I stream live while gaming. Family is on their devices and no issues. SoooO I guess I'm lucky. Laptops, smart phones and smart TV as well as consoles are running all day and no issues at 20 mbps...

[marritzab]

Thank you for this! Question: where do Zoom calling fall under the task category is it Video streaming? Also does 30mpbs mean you will have a higher chance of losing connection as oppose to a 200 mbps plan?

[rachelwilson]

Your total assumes you’re using all the items in your list at the same time right? Which wouldn’t happen. Or do you have factor in all because your package is not unlimited in terms of total data used in a day? If unlimited data package then you’d only to factor in the highest use item rather than adding all, right?

[earthworm]

Thank you for this video. I'm in rural GA and I got a letter in the mail that Fiber optic internet is coming soon, spring. And it'll be 50$ for 100mbps. I figured that be enough because I just mainly use one roku ultra box and rarely use the one in the bedroom because usually the antenna is used for white noise lol. There a 1 gig and 2 gig option. I thought that's over kill also... The one gig is 80 and the 2 gig is 100$. Should I get a gig or stay at a hundred? THX =)

[debbielynnsmellowminutesme]

I’m not sure my speed I need for work would that be more then 50? My work is like the cable has to go into the box and line not WiFi but I need to pick a plan

[christohees]

at the moment my 100mbs plan is fast enough streaming 4k movies is no problem and my avg download speed is 12.6 megabytes per second i have no issues with it 🤘

[zeekalcibar]

I live towards what’s considered the country and there’s no plans that are over like 10 but when I search it up it says there’s so many great options then we contact the providers and they say that they don’t provide that out where I’m at so the fastest thing I can get is 10 and if I run cables through my house 20

[NashvilleRealEstate]

Great content! How much megabits per second would I need doing video editing in 4K?

[afifshabliafifshabli]

With wifi 6 everyone will get the speed parallelly right? It is not shared?

[cesarsalgadosalgado]

So cricket wireless has the core unlimited data plan for 8.5 mbps and the more unlimited data plan for 1.5 mbps which one faster I’m so confused and don’t know if the core fast or slower

[misterPAINMAKER]

I need at least 100mbits, i have 15mbps, because my internet provider said that the VDSL is not available yet. When i need to download the updates from the video games, it takes hours... :( .

[jayoo]

just did speed test 7d/6u mbps verizon, boost mobile 20d/1u mbps 7d/0.2u t-mobile home internet. im between 3 local citys and under served. combined with speedify app on pc i get 40down and 7up but pay 213 usd is pricey but satlights only other option ie hughesnet 150usd for 50gigs data wont cut it when i hit 253gigs last month and 80 gigs this month(didnt download games this month)....just hope that starlink eventually comes to usa and can save money/get better speeds

[justinw]

150 mbps is fast enough for my movie streaming at 4k. We had a old router that produced 35 mbps and then we upgraded our router our speed dramatically increased. Got the best router walmart had.

[CoverageAwarenessStudio]

Spectrum's 940 Mbps down and 40 Mbps up is a sweet speed for all... Best ever...