The fastest way to test your NBN speed right now is to run fast.com or speedtest.net. Both are free, take about 30 seconds, and work on any device. For an accurate result, plug your computer in with an Ethernet cable rather than testing over Wi-Fi.
How to run an accurate NBN speed test
A few things make a big difference to whether your test result is meaningful:
- Test over Ethernet, not Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi can knock 20–50% off your speed depending on your router and how far away you are. If you only have a phone, sit right next to the modem.
- Close other apps. Streaming services, big downloads, cloud backups and other devices on your network all eat into the test result.
- Run the test 2–3 times. Speeds vary minute to minute. Take the best of three.
- Test at different times of day. Speeds during peak evening hours (7–11pm) are often 10–30% slower than off-peak. Both numbers matter.
What should my NBN speed be?
Compare your test result to these benchmarks. The “typical evening speed” is what providers are required to publish, and the closer your result is to your plan’s max speed, the better:
| Plan | Max speed | What you should be getting |
|---|---|---|
| NBN 25 | 25Mbps | 20–25Mbps |
| NBN 50 | 50Mbps | 45–50Mbps |
| NBN 100 | 100Mbps | 90–100Mbps off-peak, 80–95Mbps in the evening |
| NBN 250 | 250Mbps | 200–250Mbps (FTTP or HFC only) |
| NBN 1000 | 1000Mbps | 800–950Mbps (FTTP only) |
FTTN customers often get much less than the max — speeds drop based on how far you are from the local node. If you’re on FTTN and consistently getting under 50% of your plan’s max speed, you may be eligible for a free FTTP upgrade.
What do download, upload and ping mean?
- Download speed (Mbps) — how fast data comes to you. Matters for streaming, browsing, downloads.
- Upload speed (Mbps) — how fast data leaves your network. Matters for video calls, uploading photos/video, cloud backups.
- Ping or latency (ms) — how long a signal takes to travel to a server and back. Matters for gaming, video calls and responsiveness.
- Jitter (ms) — variation in ping over time. High jitter causes glitchy video calls and laggy games.
For a deeper explanation, our full guide to testing your broadband speed covers how to interpret each number and what to do if your speeds are lower than expected.
My speed is much lower than my plan — what now?
If your test result is consistently well below what your plan should deliver, it’s usually one of these issues:
- You’re testing over Wi-Fi and the router or your distance from it is the bottleneck
- Your modem is old or not optimised for your speed tier
- Another device is using bandwidth in the background
- Your NBN provider has poor evening speed performance
- You’re on FTTN and the line quality is limiting you
Our guides on what’s slowing down your internet and how to improve your Wi-Fi speed walk through the fixes.
Speed test FAQ
Is fast.com or speedtest.net more accurate?
Both are accurate. Fast.com (run by Netflix) gives a simpler result focused on download speed. Speedtest.net (run by Ookla) shows more detail — download, upload, ping, jitter and which server you’re testing against. We’d use speedtest.net for the full picture.
Why are my Wi-Fi speeds lower than my plan?
Wi-Fi is shared between all devices and gets weaker the further you are from the router. A solid old modem might only do 80Mbps over Wi-Fi even on a 250Mbps plan. To get the full plan speed you usually need a modern Wi-Fi 6 router and a strong signal, or test over Ethernet.
What’s a good ping for gaming?
Under 20ms is great. 20–40ms is fine for most online games. Over 60ms starts to be noticeable in fast-paced games like FPS. NBN typically delivers 10–25ms ping to Australian servers. See our NBN plans for gaming guide for more.
Are NBN speeds slower in the evening?
Slightly, yes — that’s the “evening congestion” you may have heard about. Good NBN providers buy enough wholesale capacity to keep evening speeds close to off-peak speeds. The ACCC publishes a quarterly Measuring Broadband Australia report showing which providers do this well.
Compare NBN plans
If your speeds are consistently disappointing, it may be time to switch. Our best NBN plans page lists providers with strong typical evening speeds, and our plan finder matches you to the right plan based on your household.
