Calculator
How much internet speed do I need?
Set what runs in your house at the same time and this works out the download speed, upload speed and latency to look for. It answers in Mbps — the number on a plan — not in vague advice, and it leaves a quarter of headroom so one extra device does not saturate the line.
Your household
People
Everyone using the connection
4K screens
Streaming at the same time
HD screens
Netflix, YouTube, iPlayer at once
Video calls
Zoom, Teams, FaceTime in parallel
You need about
45Mbps
Download
9Mbps
Upload
60ms
Latency, at most
That is your own usage with a quarter of headroom on top. Any plan of 50 Mbps — comfortable single user — covers it. Check the upload figure before signing: fibre and cable plans commonly come with 10 Mbps up or more, while older DSL lines stop around 1 Mbps no matter what the download number says.
| What it covers | Down | Up |
|---|---|---|
| Household baseline2 people browsing, email, updates | 10 Mbps | 6 Mbps |
| 4K streaming1 screen at once, 25 Mbps each | 25 Mbps | 1 Mbps |
How the figure is worked out
Every activity is counted at the speed it needs while running, then the totals are added because they happen at the same time. One 4K stream is 25 Mbps, an HD stream 8 Mbps, a video call 4 Mbps each way, gaming around 15 Mbps, and a household that backs up to the cloud another 20 Mbps down and 15 Mbps up. Browsing, email, updates and phone backups sit on top as a baseline of 10 Mbps. Divide a Mbps figure by eight to get megabytes per second: 100 Mbps downloads a 12 MB file in about a second.
Two things the calculator cannot see are how close your router is and how crowded your street is. If a plan already matches the figure here and things still feel slow, measure it with the internet speed test and then work through the Wi-Fi audit. The full reasoning behind each number is in what is a good internet speed.
Questions
How much internet speed do I need for a family of four?
A family of four streaming two 4K screens while one person takes a video call needs about 80 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up, so a 100 Mbps plan covers it with room left over. Add 25 Mbps for every extra 4K screen running at the same time.
Do I need more upload speed?
Upload is what breaks video calls, cloud backups and uploads of photos or video. One call needs about 4 Mbps up, a 4K stream about 1 Mbps, and a household backup wants 10 Mbps or more. Plans advertising 500 Mbps down often come with only 20 Mbps up, which is the number to check before signing.
Is 100 Mbps enough for gaming?
Yes. Online games use very little bandwidth — around 15 Mbps covers a household — but they care about latency. Under 30 ms is responsive, and no amount of extra download speed fixes a 150 ms connection.
Should I buy a bigger plan than the calculator says?
Not usually. Provider figures are "up to" speeds measured on a cable, so what arrives at your device is lower — but the shortfall is normally the router, the Wi-Fi or an old adapter, not the line. Test your speed first: if you get close to the plan figure, a bigger plan will not make anything faster.