What this ping test measures
Ping, or latency, is the time it takes for a small request to travel from your device to a server and back. It is measured in milliseconds (ms). Low ping makes everything that is interactive feel instant: games respond to your inputs, video calls stay in sync and pages start loading straight away. Download speed tells you how much data your connection can move; ping tells you how quickly it reacts.
This test sends 20 small DNS-over-HTTPS requests to Google's public DNS service (8.8.8.8), one after another, and times each round trip. A first warm-up request opens the connection and is not counted, so the results reflect your line rather than the one-off cost of setting up a secure connection. If Google's servers can't be reached, the test switches to Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1. From the 20 measurements it reports:
- Ping (median) — the typical round-trip time. The median ignores a single unlucky spike, so it is a fairer "headline" number than the average.
- Jitter — the average change in latency between consecutive requests. High jitter means your connection is unstable even if its average looks fine. For a longer, charted measurement, use the jitter test.
- Slowest 5% (p95) — how bad the worst moments are. A big gap between median and p95 points to congestion or WiFi interference.
- Failed requests — requests that errored or took longer than 3 seconds.
What is a good ping?
| Ping | Rating | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 ms | Excellent | Ideal for competitive online games; fibre and cable connections near the server. |
| 20–50 ms | Great | Responsive for every kind of use, including fast-paced games. |
| 50–100 ms | Good | Fine for video calls, streaming and most games; competitive players may notice a slight delay. |
| 100–200 ms | Fair | Noticeable lag in games and occasional talk-over on calls; browsing is fine. |
| Over 200 ms | Poor | Real-time apps struggle. Common on congested networks, distant servers and some satellite links. |
For video calls, stability matters as much as the number itself. A connection that sits at 60 ms with 5 ms of jitter will give a better Zoom or Teams call than one that averages 40 ms but jumps to 300 ms every few seconds.
Why browser ping is slightly higher than the ping command
Browsers aren't allowed to send raw ICMP packets, which is what the ping command in a terminal uses. This test therefore times a full HTTPS request, which includes a little extra processing at both ends. On a healthy connection that usually adds only a few milliseconds. The useful comparison is between your own runs: test on WiFi and then on a cable, or in the morning and again in the evening, and look at how the numbers change.
The same limitation applies to packet loss. A lost packet on a browser connection is usually resent automatically, so it shows up as a latency spike rather than a failure. That is why this test reports failed requests instead of claiming to measure ICMP packet loss.
Ping test vs speed test
A speed test measures throughput, meaning how many megabits per second you can download and upload. A ping test measures responsiveness. A connection can be fast and still laggy: 500 Mbps of download speed won't help a video call if latency spikes every time someone in the house starts a large download. If your speed test looks fine but calls and games still feel bad, ping and jitter are usually the reason. There's more detail in our guide to internet monitors vs speed tests.
How to lower your ping
- Use Ethernet. WiFi adds latency and jitter, especially through walls or on the crowded 2.4 GHz band. Test once on WiFi and once on a cable to see the difference.
- Stop background traffic. Cloud backups, game updates and 4K streams on other devices fill your connection's queue and make every request wait.
- Restart the router if it has been running for weeks, and keep its firmware up to date.
- Pick nearby servers in games and use your region's data centre for work tools.
- Watch the time of day. If ping is only bad in the evening, the cause is probably congestion at your ISP rather than your equipment. Our WiFi vs ISP guide shows how to tell the two apart, and the WiFi drop test checks it for you.
One test is a snapshot — monitoring shows the pattern
A 10-second ping test catches how your connection is behaving right now. Intermittent problems, such as drops every few minutes, evening slowdowns or a router that stalls overnight, only show up when you measure for hours. Monitor My Connection's free 24/7 internet monitor runs the same measurement every second, logs every outage with a timestamp and builds a report you can send to your ISP. See how to prove your ISP is unreliable for how to use that evidence.
Seeing spikes or failed requests? Leave the monitor running to find out when they happen.
Start the free 24/7 monitorPing test FAQ
What is a good ping?
Under 50 ms is good for almost everything, including competitive gaming. 50–100 ms is fine for video calls and most games. 100–200 ms is noticeable in games and calls but fine for browsing and streaming. Above 200 ms most real-time apps start to suffer.
Why is my browser ping higher than the ping command?
This test times a full HTTPS request to a DNS-over-HTTPS server, because browsers cannot send raw ICMP pings. The extra processing usually adds a few milliseconds, so results are typically slightly higher than a terminal ping to the same server.
What is jitter and why does it matter?
Jitter is how much your latency varies from one request to the next. Low, stable jitter (under about 15 ms) matters more than a low average for video calls and games, because spikes cause robotic audio, frozen video and rubber-banding.
Does this ping test measure packet loss?
It reports failed or timed-out requests, which is a useful sign of a dropping connection, but it is not ICMP packet loss. Browser requests are retried automatically, so a lossy connection often shows up as latency spikes instead.
How can I lower my ping?
Use Ethernet instead of WiFi, pause large downloads and backups, restart a router that has been running for weeks, and choose servers in your region. If ping is high at the same times every day, the cause is usually congestion at your ISP.
Is one ping test enough to prove a problem?
No. A single test is a 10-second snapshot. Run the free 24/7 monitor to log latency and outages over hours, with timestamps you can share with your ISP.