What internet speed (Mbps) do you need?

A good internet speed in is anywhere between 25 and 100Mbps for the average Australia household. Speeds of 25Mbps allow up to two devices to stream at once, browse the web and check emails without too many issues. A little faster at 50 to 100Mbps, and a larger household should be able to stream in HD (High-Definition) or 4K, stream music, game, browse social media, and work from home without any bottlenecks. 

Ultimately, the number of people and devices under your roof will dictate which speed you need but even smaller households may opt for faster internet for more bandwidth-intensive online activities. 

Here's a broad breakdown of the speeds you'll need for various online activities:

While those estimates above offer some broad guidelines to recommended internet speeds, finding the right internet service provider and internet speed for you is more of a balancing act. If you don’t have enough bandwidth or Mbps, you’ll get a visit from the nasty buffering icon. And if you've got more than you need, you might be paying too much for your internet plan.

To find that sweet spot, you’ll want to follow these steps:

The more people using your internet, the more speed, or Mbps (Megabits-per-second) you need to keep everyone happy.

Don’t forget to count yourself when you tally up everyone who connects to your internet. Other potential internet users can include your partner or spouse, children, housemates, and even frequent visitors, like friends, grandkids, or siblings.

Like people, the more smart devices you have that use the internet, the more Mbps you need.

You might only have two or three people using your internet, but each person can have multiple devices connected to your Wi-Fi at one time so this may take some thinking. There are so many smart devices that use your wireless network in today’s world. It’s easy to forget how many you have at home, but this list of common connected devices might help jog your memory:

What do you do when you’re online? Do you game? Watch Netflix? Stream music on Spotify? Or maybe you’re a pretty casual internet user who just checks email and Facebook notifications.

Each of these activities requires different speeds—otherwise you’ll run into laggy internet or that dreaded buffering icon. Here’s a quick look at the bare minimum internet speed you’ll need for a few common online activities.

What you're doing online (and how many people are doing it) dictates whether you'll experience a "good internet speed." For example, if you're making a simple video call to your extended family, a good internet or NBN speed is somewhere between 5-10Mbps (for a stable stream.) But, if you're trying to stream a 4K video, you're going to want at least 25Mbps. Rhese recommended speeds only work if it’s just you doing one of those online activities at a time. Who does that?

It’s more likely you’re a multitasking machine when it comes to doing things online. You’re streaming House of the Dragon on Binge while you check email, download an HD video to watch later tonight, and hop into an Overwatch 2 match. And your roommate, child, or partner is doing the same things at the same time that you are.

This is why most broadband providers don’t offer internet plans with just 5Mbps—they’re offering you 50, 100, or even 1,000Mbps plans, so you can keep doing what you do best online without any interruptions. 

Okay, now that you’ve got a general idea of who and what uses your internet and how they use it, it’s time to do some math. (Don’t worry, it’s just some simple addition.)

We’ll start by going over our recommended baseline speed per person and device.

We recommend giving each person who uses the internet in your home 25Mbps. And for every device, you can allot 10Mbps. (But if it’s a 4K device, bump that up to 25Mbps per device.)

• People: 25Mbps per person
• Devices (not 4K): 10Mbps per device
• Devices (4K): 25Mbps per 4K device

Okay, now let’s see how those recommended speeds add up with an example.

Let’s say we have a home with two adults and two children who all use the internet. Here’s a list of the internet speeds each person gets, plus the internet speeds each of their devices gets.

• People: 25Mbps x 4 = 100Mbps
• Desktop computer: 10Mbps x 2 = 20Mbps
• Laptop: 10Mbps
• Tablet: 10Mbps
• Mobile device: 10Mbps x 3 = 30Mbps
• Smart TV (4K): 25Mbps x 2 = 50Mbps
• Xbox gaming console: 10Mbps
• Wi-Fi printer: 10Mbps
• Home security system hub: 10Mbps
• Home security camera: 10Mbps x 2 = 20Mbps

• Total recommended speed: 270Mbps

The recommended internet speed for this family is 270Mbps. That may seem like a lot of speed, and you’re probably right. This recommendation assumes that every person and every wireless device is online at the same time.

That’s where online activities can factor in. If the family knows they usually stream 4K videos on one of their TVs about once a week and in the evening when no one’s on their computers, gaming on the Xbox, or using the printer, they can probably knock this speed down a bit to 200Mbps.

If the family knows no one uses the computers and tablet for working or studying from home, they might even be able to get away with 100 or 150Mbps.

Even though it’s not a definitive answer, adding up the speeds needed for the people and devices using your internet gives you a ballpark estimate of where your internet speeds need to be.

Next stop? Now that you have a good idea of what goes into choosing an internet provider and the things you need to consider, it's time to find an internet provider and plan that has good internet speed for your needs. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but we can help.

Enter your address, and we’ll pull up a full list of NBN plans available in your area. Then you can easily check what plans they have for you and how much each plan costs. Easy, peasy.

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