What Is a Good Ping Speed? Understanding Latency and Performance
Key Takeaways
- Ping speed, or latency, measures how quickly your device gets a response from the internet—and it directly impacts gaming, video calls, and real-time performance.
- A “good” ping is under 50 ms; anything over 100 ms can cause noticeable lag, delays, and buffering during online activities.
- Wired Ethernet connections, optimized router settings, and choosing local servers are key to lowering ping and improving response time.
- Connection type matters — fiber offers the lowest ping, while satellite typically has the highest due to signal travel distance.
- Lowering your ping enhances online gaming, smooths out video conferencing, and makes your internet feel faster overall, even if download speeds are high.
Understanding Ping Speed: Why It Matters for Internet Performance
When you think about a fast internet connection, your mind probably goes straight to download speed. But there’s another piece of the puzzle that’s just as important. It’s called ping speed, and it plays a big role in how quickly your device communicates with the internet.
Ping speed measures the time it takes for data to travel from your device to a server and back again, usually in milliseconds (ms). And when it comes to activities like gaming, video calls or even loading a website, a good ping can make the difference between a smooth experience and a frustrating one filled with lag or buffering.
In this article, we’ll break down exactly what ping speed is, what counts as “good” or “bad,” how it impacts different online activities and what you can do to improve it. Whether you’re a competitive gamer or just trying to keep your Zoom calls from freezing, understanding latency can help you get more out of your internet connection.
What Is Ping Speed and How Is It Measured?
Ping speed, which you may hear referred to as “latency” or just “ping,” is a measurement of how quickly your device gets a response after sending a signal across the internet. The lower the number, the faster your connection responds. Think of it like shouting “hello” into a canyon and timing how long it takes to hear the echo. In the digital world, that “echo” is measured in milliseconds (e.g. “25 ms”), and the shorter the time, the better.
You can test your ping speed using free tools like Speedtest.net or Fast.com. You can also use tools that are built into your computer’s operating system. If you’re using a Windows computer, you can open the Command Prompt and type “ping google.com”. If you’re using a Mac computer, open the Terminal and type “ping google.com”.
These tools will calculate your ping time to a specific server to give you a sense of how responsive your internet connection is.
So, in terms of internet speed, how does ping differ from upload and download speeds? Here’s an easy way to understand how each of these affects your online activities:
- Download speed measures how fast data comes to you (for example, how long it takes for the movie you’re watching to buffer).
- Upload speed measures how fast data is sent from you (like when you send an email with a large attachment).
- Ping measures your internet’s reaction time after you do something online (like how long it takes for the key you pressed to take effect in an online video game).
If download and upload speeds are like the width of the road your data travels on—determining how much traffic can move at once—then ping is like the travel time it takes to reach your destination and hear back. Even if you have a wide, fast-moving highway (high speeds), a long travel time (high ping) can still make your internet feel sluggish.
What Is a Good Ping Speed?
When it comes to ping, lower is better. A low ping means less delay between your device and the server it’s talking to, which translates to smoother experiences across the board.
Ping Speed Cheat Sheet:
- Excellent Ping: 0 to 20 ms. Perfect for competitive gaming, cloud gaming, live streaming, video calls and any real-time activity.
- Good Ping: 21 to 50 ms. Great for most online activities, including streaming and casual gaming.
- Average Ping: 51 to 100 ms. Generally fine for browsing, video streaming or less time-sensitive work, but you might start to notice some lag in games.
- Slow Ping: 100 ms or more. Expect delays, buffering or unresponsive gameplay. Not ideal for any real-time activity.
- Online Gaming: Ideal ping is under 50 ms. High ping causes lag, delays your actions or moves and leads to rubberbanding, which is that weird glitch where your character snaps back to a previous spot.
Tip: Choose gaming servers closest to your location in-game to lower your ping.
- Remote Work and Video Calls: Ideal ping is under 100 ms. Higher ping can cause delays in voice or video, leading to people talking over each other, frozen frames or awkward silences.
Tip: Close other apps and tabs that use internet in the background to avoid interference during calls. - Streaming: Ideal ping is under 100 ms. While streaming is more dependent on download speed, high ping can still affect buffering and the time it takes for content to start playing.
Tip: Use a wired connection for more consistent performance, especially during peak hours.
Even though ping speed doesn’t get as much attention as download or upload speeds, it plays a huge role in how responsive your internet feels, and it can seriously impact your experience depending on how you use your connection.
What Affects Ping Speed?
Several factors can influence your ping speed. Understanding them can help you figure out why your connection might feel slower sometimes and what you can do to improve it.
1. The physical distance between you and the server: The farther your data has to travel, the longer it takes to get a response. That’s why connecting to a server that’s closer to your physical location usually results in a lower ping.
2. The type of internet you have: Not all internet types are created equal when it comes to latency. Here’s a quick look at how different connection types usually stack up:
- Fiber optic internet (or fiber-to-the-home internet): Typically offers the lowest ping and the most consistent speeds, often between 1 to 10 milliseconds. Great for gaming, video calls, streaming and real-time applications.
- Cable internet: Generally delivers good performance, with typical pings ranging from 15 to 35 milliseconds, but it can spike during peak evening hours when more people are online.
- DSL internet: Usually sees higher latency, with typical pings between 30 to 70 milliseconds. It’s fine for browsing and streaming but not ideal for competitive gaming.
- Satellite internet: Tends to have the highest ping because signals must travel to and from space, typically around 400 to 600 milliseconds even in ideal conditions. This makes satellite a poor choice for gaming or real-time communications. Newer low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite services offer lower ping (typically 25 to 50 ms), unlike traditional geostationary satellites (400 to 600 ms).
If low ping is important to you, especially for gaming, video calls or cloud-based activities, fiber optic internet is often your best bet.
How to Lower Your Ping for a Smoother Internet Experience
If you’re dealing with high ping, the good news is there are a few simple steps you can take to help lower it and get a faster, more responsive connection.
1. Use a wired Connection. Whenever possible, connect your device directly to your router with an Ethernet cable. Wired connections are faster and more stable than WiFi because they avoid wireless interference and signal loss. For serious gaming, video calls or streaming, a wired connection can shave valuable milliseconds off your ping.
Here’s a quick guide to help you find the best type of Ethernet cable for your needs:
- Cat5e (Category 5e): Supports speeds up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) with typical ping times under 10 ms. Good for most households.
- Cat6: Supports speeds up to 10 Gbps over shorter distances (up to 55 meters) and can slightly reduce interference compared to Cat5e. Ideal for gaming and streaming.
- Cat6a: Designed for longer distances (up to 100 meters) at 10 Gbps speeds. Best if your router and devices are farther apart.
- Cat7 and Cat8: Support extremely high speeds (40 Gbps for Cat8) and are shielded for maximum interference protection, but they’re usually overkill for home use unless you have a multi-Gig internet plan.
For most people, a Cat6 or Cat6a cable offers the best balance of performance and affordability for lowering ping.
2. Optimize your network settings with QoS. Many modern routers include Quality of Service (QoS) settings that let you prioritize the type of traffic that matters most, like gaming, video calls or streaming, over background traffic like downloads or smart home devices. When enabled, QoS automatically gives priority to important activities, helping lower your ping during heavy network use.
Look for “Device Priority,” “Application Priority” or “Gaming Mode” settings in your router dashboard. You may need to consult your router’s manual or website for exact steps.
3. Close background applications and devices. Background apps and idle devices can quietly hog your bandwidth and increase your ping. These include:
- Cloud backup services like Google Drive or Dropbox.
- Auto-updating software (especially operating systems, apps and games).
- Streaming devices that autoplay video content.
- Smart home devices constantly checking for updates.
- Filesharing programs (like BitTorrent clients) that upload and download large amounts of data, often without you noticing.
- Background malware or unauthorized bitcoin miners, which can hijack your connection and hardware to perform intensive tasks, severely affecting your network speed and latency. Protect yourself by keeping your operating system and antivirus software updated, avoiding downloads from untrusted sources and running regular malware scans to catch any hidden threats early.
Regularly check which apps and processes are using your bandwidth. On Windows, you can use Task Manager’s “Network” tab, and on Mac, use Activity Monitor under the “Network” section. Before gaming, working remotely, or video calling, pause unnecessary apps and disconnect idle devices like unused tablets, TVs or smart speakers.
4. When possible, choose the closest server available. The farther your data has to travel, the worse your ping speed. Choosing a server that’s geographically closer to your location keeps your latency as low as possible.
- In gaming, select your nearest server region manually if the game allows it. Ping-sensitive games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, Valorant and Call of Duty allow players to view and select server regions in the settings.
- In video conferencing apps like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, the platform usually auto-selects, but restarting the app or refreshing your connection can sometimes reassign you to a closer server if needed.
5. Upgrade your internet plan, equipment or type. Sometimes, no amount of optimization can beat physical limitations. If you’re still experiencing high ping, it may be time to upgrade one of the following:
- Your internet plan: Higher-tier plans often come with better bandwidth and less congestion on your ISP’s network.
- Your router: Routers older than 5 years may not support modern speeds or efficient traffic prioritization. Look for dual-band or tri-band routers with QoS features and WiFi 6 support if you use wireless.
- Your internet provider: If available in your area, fiber optic internet offers the lowest ping and highest reliability compared to cable, DSL or satellite, with typical ping times between 1 to 5 milliseconds.
Ping Speed and Online Gaming: What’s Ideal?
When it comes to online gaming, ping can make or break your experience. Ever played with friends who swear their “moves didn’t go off?” In fast-paced games, even a small delay between your input and the server’s response can lead to missed shots, late dodges or frustrating lag.
A high ping can cause delays in your character’s movement, rubberbanding (where you snap back to a previous position) and missed actions. Lowering your ping as much as possible ensures smoother, more responsive gameplay where your actions feel instant, especially important in first-person shooters, battle royale games, racing games and esports titles.
Ideal Ping Ranges for Gaming: So what ping should you aim for? Here’s a quick guide to what’s considered good, acceptable or frustrating when it comes to online gameplay.
- 0 to 30 ms: Excellent — Ideal for competitive gaming. Feels virtually lag free.
- 31 to 50 ms: Good — Most gamers won’t notice any delays.
- 51 to 100 ms: Playable — Still okay for casual play but not recommended for fast-paced competitive games.
- 100+ ms: Poor — You’ll likely experience lag, delays and possibly disconnections.
Games Where Ping Really Matters: Some games are more sensitive to lag than others. If you play any of the titles below, keeping your ping low can give you a serious edge, or at least help you avoid unnecessary rage-quits.
- First-person shooters (FPS): Call of Duty, Valorant, Counter-Strike
- Battle royale games: Fortnite, Apex Legends, PUBG
- Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs): World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, Elder Scrolls Online, especially during raids, dungeons or PvP, where quick reactions and precise timing matter.
- Racing and fighting games: Rocket League, Street Fighter, Smash Bros.
- Real-time strategy or MOBA games: League of Legends, Dota 2
Tools and Tips to Lower Your Gaming Ping: Experiment with the following tips to see what gives you the lowest ping. Some games will show your ping in real time during gameplay (often in the settings or HUD).
- Use a wired Ethernet connection for the most stable, low-latency experience.
- Choose the closest server region in your game settings.
- Close bandwidth-hungry apps and devices while gaming.
- Enable Gaming Mode or QoS on your router to prioritize your traffic.
- Consider a gaming router designed to reduce latency and keep connections stable during online play.
- Try a gaming VPN with optimized routes if your ISP has poor routing to game servers—though results may vary.
No matter what you play, keeping your ping low means you’ll stay better synced with other players and the game world, making your online experience faster, smoother and way more fun.
FAQ: Ping Speed and Internet Performance
1. What is considered a bad ping?
Anything above 100 milliseconds is generally considered high ping. It can lead to noticeable lag, delays and buffering especially in gaming, video calls or any real-time online activity.
2. Can my ISP lower my ping?
Sometimes. Some internet service providers offer low-latency or gaming-optimized plans, but ping is also affected by your home setup, server location and connection type. Switching to fiber or upgrading your router may lower your ping more than changing plans alone.
3. Why is my ping so high even with fast internet?
High download speeds don’t always mean low ping. Distance to servers, network congestion, WiFi interference or poor routing from your ISP can all lead to high ping, even on a fast connection.
4. Does using WiFi increase ping?
Yes, in most cases. WiFi is more prone to interference, signal drops and congestion, which can increase ping and cause instability. A wired Ethernet connection is the best way to reduce ping and stay consistent.
5. How can I test my ping speed?
You can use any of the following tools to test your ping speed:
- Measure your ping speed at Speedtest.net or Fast.com
- Use your computer’s built-in tools. Open Command Prompt (for Windows computers) or Terminal (for Mac computers) and type: ping google.com
- Some online games show your ping in real time in the network settings or HUD
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Final Thoughts: How to Get the Best Ping Speed for Your Needs
Ping speed plays a big role in how fast and responsive your internet feels, even if you already have high download speeds. Whether you’re gaming, streaming, working remotely or just trying to avoid lag during a video call, a lower ping can make your experience smoother and more enjoyable.
If you haven’t checked your ping before, now’s a great time to test it and see how your connection is performing. From using a wired Ethernet cable to optimizing your router settings or upgrading to fiber internet, there are real steps you can take to improve latency and reduce delays.
And if you’re looking for an ultra-fast, low-latency connection that supports everything from competitive gaming to crystal-clear video calls, fiber optic internet is your best bet. With reliable speeds and ping times often under 5 milliseconds, it’s built to keep up with all your online activities—even during peak hours.
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