{"id":417,"date":"2026-03-03T07:18:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ozbroadbandreview.com\/blog\/?p=417"},"modified":"2026-03-03T07:18:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:18:01","slug":"internet-speed-for-netflix-or-stan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ozbroadbandreview.com\/blog\/internet-speed-for-netflix-or-stan\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the best internet speed for streaming video?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whether it’s watching Netflix, Ten Play or YouTube, pretty much everyone streams video from the internet these days. What internet speed do you need to ensure that your streaming is smooth and uninterrupted?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve investigated all the major streaming platform and have listed all the details below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve already done a deep dive on Netflix<\/a> and Stan<\/a> so this blog post is more of a summary of the requirements of all the streaming platforms on one page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How fast does your internet need to be to stream video from the internet?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The table below shows the recommended internet speeds for streaming video content on all the major streaming services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Streaming Service<\/th>Standard Definition (SD)<\/th>High Definition (HD)<\/th>Ultra High Definition (4K)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Netflix<\/td>3 Mbps<\/td>5 Mbps<\/td>25 Mbps<\/td><\/tr>
Stan<\/td>3 Mbps<\/td>7.5 Mbps<\/td>15 Mbps<\/td><\/tr>
Disney+<\/td><\/td>5 Mbps<\/td>25 Mbps<\/td><\/tr>
Youtube<\/td>1.1 Mbps<\/td>5 Mbps<\/td>20 Mbps<\/td><\/tr>
Amazon Prime<\/td>1 Mbps<\/td>5 Mbps<\/td>20 Mbps<\/td><\/tr>
Binge<\/td>1.5 Mbps<\/td>5 Mbps<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Apple TV+<\/td><\/td>7 Mbps<\/td>25 Mbps<\/td><\/tr>
Foxtel<\/td>3 Mbps<\/td>7 Mbps<\/td>20 Mbps<\/td><\/tr>
ABC iView<\/td>1.1 Mbps<\/td>5 Mbps<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
Internet speed required for different streaming services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What does all this mean?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is quite a bit of information in the table above but you will notice that all the streaming services have similar internet speed requirements for the different video qualities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In summary, if you want to watch in 4K UHD you’ll need a 25 Mbps connection. If you are happy with 1080p HD, a 10 Mbps connection should be fine. A standard definition video stream will only require about a 3Mbps connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much data does streaming video use?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A summary of how much data in gigabytes each streaming service uses is shown in the table below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Streaming Service<\/th>Standard Definition (SD)<\/th>High Definition (HD)<\/th>Ultra High Definition (4K)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Netflix<\/td>0.7 GB per hour<\/td>3 GB per hour<\/td>7 GB per hour<\/td><\/tr>
Stan<\/td>0.6 GB per hour<\/td>1.1 GB per hour<\/td>7 GB per hour<\/td><\/tr>
Disney+<\/td>0.7 GB per hour<\/td>2 GB per hour<\/td>7.7 Gb per hour<\/td><\/tr>
Youtube<\/td>0.6 GB per hour<\/td>1.7 GB per hour<\/td>2.7 GB per hour<\/td><\/tr>
Amazon Prime<\/td>0.8 GB per hour<\/td>2 GB per hour<\/td>7 GB per hour<\/td><\/tr>
Binge<\/td>0.5 GB per hour<\/td>3.25 GB per hour<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Apple TV+<\/td>1.5 GB per hour<\/td>3.4 GB per hour<\/td>8 GB per hour<\/td><\/tr>
Foxtel<\/td>1.4 GB per hour<\/td>3.2 GB per hour<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
ABC iView<\/td>0.8 GB per hour<\/td>2 GB per hour<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
Internet data usage rates for different streaming services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Monthly data requirements for video streaming<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Based on the above table at UHD 4K you would use about 7 GB per hour and at HD 1080p you would use about 3 GB per hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video Streaming use<\/th>Hours per week <\/th>Data required per month<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Light<\/td>3 hours (2 movies)<\/td>36GB for HD
85GB for UHD<\/td><\/tr>
Medium<\/td>7.5 hours (5 movies)<\/td>90GB for HD
210GB for UHD<\/td><\/tr>
Heavy<\/td>15 hours (10 movies)<\/td>180GB for HD
420GB for UHD<\/td><\/tr>
Addict<\/td>25 hours (16 movies)<\/td>300GB for HD
700GB for UHD<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
Monthly data required for streaming video for different types of users<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our Recommendation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We recommend a minimum speed of 25 Mbps<\/strong> for streaming movies and videos on any platform. If you have a large family, live in a share house or more than one movie will be streaming simultaneously then upgrading to 50 Mbps <\/strong>would be a wise choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of data use, if you are a light or medium user of video streaming services ie a few movies a week, a 200 GB<\/strong> monthly data allowance should be fine. If you are heavy user we would recommend an unlimited<\/strong> data plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best NBN plans for light to medium video streaming<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you watch movies or stream video for about an hour a day on average then these are the plans for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Does your video streaming stop to buffer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you need a faster internet plan? Our broadband plan finder<\/a> can help! Check it out here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Reading<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This article is the part of our ultimate guide to NBN, wireless and broadband internet in Australia. Other articles in this series are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n