In this guide, we are going to run down some of the best UK broadband speed test tools. Broadband speed tests are a great way to ensure you are getting the correct speed for your service and help you identify issues with your service.
If you feel that you are not getting the best broadband speed, then checking your broadband connection can often be the best place to start. It should provide you with a snapshot of the speed are currently receiving. As speeds can vary throughout the day (peak and non-peak times) so will your test results.
Broadband Speed Checkers
When testing your broadband speed a speed test measures the time it takes to send and receive data from and to the testing server. The longer it takes the slower the service. It is important to realise that the network and distance from the test server will affect the speed, in addition to other factors such as time of day and your home network.
1. BT Wholesale – BroadBand Performance Checker
This is the broadband speed testing tool many broadband service providers on the Openreach network (BT, TalkTalk, Sky, EE, Plusnet etc) may send you too. It is simple and straightforward to use and provides consistent results when running multiple tests.
2. Ofcom – Broadband Speed Test
The Office of Communications (Ofcom) provide a broadband speed test tool. Being the UK government’s approved regulatory body for telecommunications. Providing simple straightforward speed test results which advise you on what you can or cannot do at your current speed.
3. Which.co.uk Speed Test
Like the others tested here, the Which.co.uk broadband speed test provides a no-nonsense speed test. With accurate results. The one thing we did like about the Which.co.uk broadband speed checker was the ability to compare the broadband with your neighbours.
4. Fast.com
The first thing you’ll notice about Fast.com is its simple and straight forward interface. Owned By Netflix, is it designed to be a no-nonsense speed test with no intrusive advertising. Like the other speed tests recommended here. Fast.com provides consistent speed test results when we ran our tests.
5. Broadband Speed Checker
Much like the Which.co.uk speed test the nice thing with Broadband Speed Checker is the ability to compare your broadband speeds against others in your area. The bonus of this speed test tool is the ability to compare on a local map with what provider the test was taken with which provider.
6. Speedof.me
Apart from its nice-looking interface. Speedof.me allows you to download your speed test history. Making ideal for tracking your broadband speeds over various times and dates. You can download your speed test data in a simple CSV file. Where you can track the date and time of the test along with what you upload, download speeds and latency were at the time of running the test.
Which Broadband Speed Test Is Best?
Broadband speed tests all work in a very similar way. Proving you with a snapshot of the speed that you are currently receiving. Some of the best broadband speed tests such as the Which Broadband Speed Test allow you to compare your results with what your neighbours receive. So enables you to also determine if other factors within your home may be affecting your speed. Others like Speedof.me allow you to automatically track and download your speed test history. Each tool has its benefits based on what you are looking to achieve.
What Speed Test is the Most Accurate?
To determine which speed test produced the most accurate results. We ran a series of tests at various times of the day on each of the recommended speed test sites.
All of the speed tests produced very similar results throughout the test. Therefore there was no clear cut winner however we found that the BT Wholesale Speed Test provided the most consistent results throughout the trial.
With our small experiment, we attempted to be as close as possible. However due to the nature of the way internet, and the way speed test sites work. It remains extremely difficult to find out who truly offers the most accurate speed test results as so many factors will come into play for each of the speed tests.
Not Getting The Best Broadband Speed?
If you are not getting the best broadband speed. Start by running a speed test ideally at various times of the day. This helps you find out whether the slow speeds are happening at certain points. Ideally, you should connect your device directly to your router to eliminate other issues causing the slow speed.
Once you have a good idea of your broadband speed, compare this to the minimum speed your broadband provider said you should receive. This should be in your welcome pack or available within your account with some broadband services.
Something worth remembering is the marketing of broadband focuses on the average speed will be for their service. This isn’t always the speed that you will get. So if you see a service offering broadband up to 66 Mb in speed, you know that 66 Mb will be what at least 50% of the supplier’s customers during peak hours. The actual speed could be below this, and it can depend on multiple factors.
If the speed you are receiving is lower than your minimum speed. Begin by contacting your broadband provider. If they are one of the following providers: BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse and Virgin Media. Then they have all signed up for the guaranteed speed promise. If they cannot improve your broadband speed within 30-days then they are bound to release you from your contract to switch broadband providers.
Remember too that speeds can vary during different parts of the day and night. It can depend on how many people are online for example at any one time. If lots of people go online when they get home from work, you will find the connection can get a little slower than it would be normally.
All this knowledge will certainly help you get a better broadband speed in the future.
Why Test Your Broadband Speed?
There are several reasons for testing your broadband speed. Verifying that you are getting the speed that you are paying for is important. As you could be receiving slower speeds than you were promised.
Checking your broadband speed can help you improve your broadband connection. For example, if you are receiving slow speeds while connecting via Wifi then this could indicate that need to improve your Wi-Fi signal within your home. Wifi signal boosters can help improve the Wifi within your home.
Testing your broadband speed may also indicate that you need to upgrade completely and consider faster broadband, such as fibre for instance. This can be particularly true if you notice a drop in speed when other members of the household are online at the same time.
Signing up for fibre broadband, from the likes of Virgin Media or Sky, for example, should allow you to see faster speeds than you would get with a standard broadband connection. In addition to allowing multiple users to stream at the same time.