Download speed is generally more important than upload speedĪlthough we constantly both download and upload information online, for most of us, the information we upload is generally much smaller. Download speeds are also generally the faster of the two speeds, so most advertisements tend to focus on them. Most ISPs advertise only download speeds, so you might not even realize that upload speeds are a separate thing. If you livestream video or use video chat like Zoom or Skype, you won’t even be able to connect if your bandwidth is too low. If you’re a content creator that works with video, audio, or other media with large file sizes, slow upload speeds could mean waiting for hours to post your content online or store it on a cloud-based server. We all use upload speed, but some people rely on it heavily. Uploading is an essential part of using the internet. That information has to travel from our browser to the appropriate server in order to tell it which information it needs to send us. We also use it every time we click on a link or type a search term into Google. We use our upload speed when we want to post a video to Facebook, or send a picture from our phone to a friend. Although we don’t think about it as much as we think about downloading information, we upload information all the time. Upload speeds are used when you want to send information from your device to another location on the internet. 1 For many households trying to keep up with work, school, and social connections, upload speed suddenly became the bottleneck. While it’s tempting to dismiss upload bandwidth as something needed only by businesses and content creators, it’s worth noting that upload traffic increased dramatically after the COVID-19 outbreak as people had to figure out new ways to live their lives at a distance. Fiber is also the most reliable type of connection, making your livestream much less likely to have issues-even if you stream at peak-use times. Fiber-optic networks have symmetrical upload speeds, which means if you have a 1Gbps (1,000Mbps) connection, you have 1Gbps upload and 1Gbps download speeds. At the very minimum, you’re going to want to find a cable provider that has upload speeds on the high end, between 25Mbps and 50Mbps.Īn even better solution for those who rely on uploading is fiber, as long as it’s available in your area. If you use your home network for work, school, or streaming on a regular basis, ADSL’s low upload speeds are definitely going to be a problem. Upload speed becomes much more important if you want to use video chat, upload high-resolution images, or livestream video from your home.

Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) usually has speeds up to 1.5Mbps, while cable internet can have upload speeds from 5Mbps to 50Mbps.įor basic online activities like surfing the web and checking email, even ADSL’s 1.5Mbps is more than enough for a smooth internet experience. For the average internet user, a good upload speed to shoot for is 5Mbps.

Large file to test download speed