Internet Speed Test Roundup -The Best Sites for Testing Your Download & Upload Speeds
Most internet speed tests that are available today are developed by a single company – Ookla, which helps other companies develop their own branded speed test services. Below is a roundup of the most popular ones.
SpeedTest.net
SpeedTest.net is the world’s most popular speed test service. It has so far run over 4 billion internet speed tests all over the world and has been developed and redeveloped over the past decade. While the web has been moving away from Flash towards HTML5 / CSS3 / Javascript applications, the speed tests are still run using Flash because Flash is technically better and more accurate than the newer emerging technologies.
Comcast’s XFINITY Speed Test
Comcast has their own speed test, which often gives me wildly different results than SpeedTest.net’s version.
Mobile Speed Test
If you have a smart phone or a mobile device with a capable browser, there’s a mobile speed test made for specifically for testing out your 3G, 4G, LTE, or whatever mobile broadband service you use. You can download the app for iPhone/iPad and Android or you can go to this URL on your mobile phone for a browser-based speed test.
AT&T’s Speed Test
AT&T has their own speed test.
Speakeasy Speed Test
Speakeasy, which has now been renamed to MegaPath has a popular speed test that’s been around for a number of years.
Verizon Speed Test
Verizon’s speed test uses Java instead of Flash and you need to allow your browser to run the Java applet. Plus Verizon requires that you enter in your speed range and state before it runs the test, making it the least user-friendly speed test in the bunch by a long shot. I’d show you a screenshot, but here’s what I saw when I tried to use it…
…which is followed by another error…
…so… no thanks, think I’ll just use one of the other speed tests. Verizon also has a super basic version here, but it’s just barely shy of useless.
So there you have it – go ahead and test your internet speed with a few of the services above and compare the results to get an idea of your actual speed. If you’re looking for even more options, you can check out this list of older speed tests. Brighthouse, Road runner, Webpass, and COX also have their own tests but they seem to be basic skin’s of Ookla’s white label speed test widget. It looks like Time Warner also has one, but I get “forbidden error” when I access it, making me think they only allow Time Warner customers to use it.
Overall, most of the time I recommend and use SpeedTest.net
No comments:
Post a Comment