Sites which provide a facility for testing internet speed using the Adobe Flash plug-in have been around for quite some time. However, with more and more sites supporting HTML5 and more and more users discarding the vulnerability-ridden Adobe Flash Player, these sites are now transitioning over to HTML5 to power the tests.
There are a number of reasons why a user might want to test his or her internet connection speed; after setting up new connection or upgrading an existing connection for example. While some sites are still using the old Flash Player plug-in, most have now either transitioned over to HTML5 or are in in the process of doing so. Here then are a number of sites where you can test your internet connection speed using HTML5.
Speedtest Beta (by Ookla)
Ookla’s Speedtest is one of more popular testing sites. If you visit the site in a browser minus Flash Player you’ll be automatically redirected to the HTML5 beta version.
As is the case with most of these sites, Speedtest measures ping latency as well as upload and download speeds. Settings allow you to change the host, even including multiple choices from servers within your closest location, plus share results via direct link, email, or social media.
SpeedOf.Me is available only as HTML and tests connection speed via transferring virtual files of varying sizes. You cannot change hosts and it’s supposed to automatically select the closest host to your physical location. However, in my case it chose a host in Sydney which is a long way from my nearest host (in Brisbane). Consequently, at 53ms, ping latency was a lot higher than normal.
In my case, because of the the inability to select a closer server location, the results could not be considered reliable. However, YMMV, especially for US residents. SpeedOf.Me also provides for sharing results via direct link, email, and social media.
This one provides a list of available server locations to choose from but the list is quite limited. Just one host available for Australia and again it’s in Sydney, hence the much higher than normal ping latency (would normally be around 30ms).
I also experienced a strange event after using this site – my router displayed a huge amount of internet activity, even after closing the browser. This activity continued unabated and impacted on my bandwidth to the extent where my connection slowed to a crawl. So I checked all the usual suspects but found nothing untoward. Being unable to track down any obvious cause I became somewhat concerned and ran Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to make sure my system was still clean… all good. Eventually everything returned to normal but not until after about 20 minutes or so. I have no explanation, maybe mere coincidence, but it left me a tad wary of using this site again.
Open Speed Test also automatically selects the nearest host but this one actually gets it right, at least it did in my case. Fortitude Valley is in Brisbane which is my closest server location, hence the very low ping latency. I really like this one, the test is simple and quick with quite accurate results. Results can be shared via email and social media but no direct link.
This is an interesting one in that the site is also associated with a discussion forum. TestMY.net measures only download and upload speeds, no ping latency and no indication of the host location. The results are associated with some useful statistics drawn from comparisons with other tests through the same host and city. Sharing results also includes a number of interesting options:
Top 2 Sites for Testing Internet Connection Speed
- Ookla’s Speed Test has always been and still is my favorite site for testing internet connection speed.
- Open Speed Test is also very good. Provided the automatically selected server is the closest to your location, there is not much to pick between these two.
A special mention for TestMy.net which provides some useful comparison data plus a discussion forum and is obviously geared toward the enthusiast.
PLEASE NOTE: Test results may vary somewhat, even when repeating a test on the same site within a few minutes or so. In order to gain a reasonably accurate idea of your internet connection speed, it’s best to run the test multiple times with the system at idle and at various times of the day – morning, afternoon, and evening – and then work on an average.
Do you ever test your connection speed? If so, what site do you use?
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I notice Apps and websites are all, if not most, popping a post of turning off your Ad Blocker. Maybe worth adding to the conversation or a different article talking about ad blocker apps making web pages more difficult to visit these days.
https://davescomputertips.com/will-ad-blockers-eventually-lead-to-a-pay-for-view-internet/
https://davescomputertips.com/another-major-site-blocking-adblocker-users/
https://davescomputertips.com/adblocker-blockers-fighting-back/
Thanks. I have “Privacy Badger”, “AdBlock Plus” and after reading the articles I’m trying out “Ghostery” for the 1st time to see if it has any more pros to what I already use. Thanks for the links. We have to do what we can to at least make the advertisers “play nice” or we will continue to protest and block the aggressors.
As always, a useful and practical article. I’ve used Ookla for years and just tried and like Open Speed Test. That site mentioned GlassWire which I tried and it gave fantastic info on my network usage. So “double thanks” for this article!