There’s nothing worse than when you’re in the middle of a movie and the video stream suddenly starts stuttering and the dreaded words “buffering” appear on the screen.
Streaming video from the internet requires a decent amount of bandwidth but just how fast does your connection really need to be? We’ve done some investigating and have summarised our findings below.
Netflix
From Netflix’s own website, recommended internet speeds for watching Netflix are shown below.
| Type | Recommended Speed |
|---|---|
| Standard Definition (SD) | 3 Mbps |
| High Definition (HD) | 5 Mbps |
| Ultra High Definition (4K) | 25 Mbps |
Stan
From Stan’s own website, recommended internet speeds for watching Stan are shown below.
| Type | Recommended Speed |
|---|---|
| Standard Definition (SD) | 3 Mbps |
| High Definition (HD) | 7.5 Mbps |
| Ultra High Definition (4K) | 15 Mbps |
YouTube
From YouTube’s own website, recommended internet speeds for watching YouTube are shown below.
| Type | Recommended Speed |
|---|---|
| Standard Definition (SD) | 1.1 Mbps |
| High Definition (HD) | 5 Mbps |
| Ultra High Definition (4K) | 20 Mbps |
Our Recommendation
We recommend a minimum speed of 25 Mbps for streaming movies and videos on any platform. If you have a large family or more than one movie will be streaming simultaneously then upgrading to 50 Mbps would be a wise choice.
Does your video streaming cut out?
Maybe you need a faster internet plan? Our broadband plan finder can help! Check it out here.
Further Reading
This article is the part of our ultimate guide to NBN, wireless and broadband internet in Australia. Other articles in this series are:
- The ultimate guide to NBN, wireless and broadband internet in Australia
- Types of Internet and broadband in Australia
- What are the different types of NBN internet connections?
- How to choose a broadband internet plan
- How do I connect to the NBN?
- How to read and compare NBN plans?
- What internet speed do I need for working from home?
