Best WiFi Speed Test Apps for Windows in 2025

Compare Your Real Internet Speed: WiFi vs Ethernet Tests Explained

Have you ever felt like your internet just isn’t keeping up, even though you’re paying for faster speeds? Doing a simple internet speed test can help you figure out if you're actually getting the bandwidth your ISP promised.

Checking your broadband regularly isn’t just about calling out your provider; it's about catching slowdowns early, finding weak spots causing latency issues, and ensuring your network can smoothly handle heavy usage — like streaming a 4K movie or jumping into a video call — without dropping out or lagging behind.

But here’s the catch: WiFi tests aren’t exactly the same as wired tests. Your WiFi speed can vary dramatically depending on router placement, interference from household appliances, walls, and even your neighbors' networks. Wired connections, on the other hand, usually provide steadier results because they're less affected by external interference.

That’s why it’s essential to test both your Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections separately — especially if you’ve recently upgraded to faster internet or moved your router.

3 Ways to Test Internet Speed

1. System Tools: The Ping Command

Windows comes with a built-in utility called Ping, available via the command prompt.

Microsoft describes it as a primary tool for troubleshooting IP-level connectivity. It sends packets to a remote server and measures how long they take to return — also known as latency.

Ping can help identify packet loss or delays that indicate network problems. And while it's not ideal for measuring download or upload speeds directly, it’s still useful for detecting sluggish response times.

This command sends four test packets and shows how quickly the server responds. A normal ping time is under 50ms on a healthy connection — higher times could mean congestion or interference.

2. Online Speed Test Tools

Most people are familiar with online tools like Speedtest by Ookla or Fast.com by Netflix. These tools are quick, free, and easy to use. You just open the site, click “Go,” and wait a few seconds for your results.

These tests measure: Download speed (how fast you receive data), Upload speed (how fast you send data) and Ping (latency) While these tests are user-friendly and give quick results, they're just the tip of the iceberg.Their main downside is a lack of transparency — results might sometimes be skewed, either intentionally or due to technical limitations, making your internet appear faster or slower than it actually is.

If you truly want an accurate picture of your internet performance, it's best to use dedicated apps designed specifically for detailed testing and analysis.

3. Dedicated Speed Test Apps (Best Option)

For serious diagnostics and consistent results, dedicated apps give you more transparency and better control over your tests. They often include advanced features like:

• Tracking speed over time
• Testing specific rooms or zones (great for Wi-Fi)
• Exporting results
• Detecting jitter, packet loss, and fluctuations

Now that you know the core ways to clock your connection, let’s dig into the most popular stand-alone Wi-Fi speed-test apps on the market and see why they deliver far more insight than a basic browser test ever could.

Network Speed Test is a handy WiFi speed test app that lets you test your WiFi speed against the closest Microsoft Azure data center. The app can be downloaded right from Microsoft’s app store for free and its modern, uncluttered user interface makes speed testing effortless.

When Network Speed Test finishes a WiFi speed test, it displays the measured network delay, download speed, and upload speed. It also shows additional metrics like packet loss and maximum jitter, which can help identify issues with video calls, gaming, or streaming.

After running a test, you can swipe to view extra network info, including your SSID, signal strength, connection type (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or Cellular), and current internet status. We like that Network Speed Test explains what kind of activities you can expect your internet connection to support.

The app also keeps a history of measurements, allowing you to compare your internet speeds over time and determine whether a change has led to a boost of your internet speeds.

How to Understand Your Speed Test Results

Ran the test? Great. Now let’s break down what those numbers actually tell you — and how to know whether it’s time to upgrade your plan or just tweak your Wi-Fi setup.

• Download speed — This shows how fast your connection pulls data from the web. It affects how quickly videos load, how fast web pages appear, and how smoothly Netflix or YouTube streams.
• Upload speed — This measures how fast your device can send data. It's important for Zoom calls, sending files, cloud backups, and gaming.
• Ping (latency) — This is the delay between your device and a server. Under 50 ms is usually good. High ping means lag — not great for gaming or video calls.
• Jitter — This tells you how much your ping varies. If it fluctuates too much, you’ll notice choppy video or robotic-sounding calls.
• Packet loss — If data packets are getting lost along the way, you’ll experience buffering, failed uploads, or connection drops.

So, what should you do with these numbers?

If both your Wi-Fi and Ethernet speeds are low, it might be time to call your ISP or consider a faster plan — especially if you’ve got a household full of streamers and gamers. But if your wired connection looks solid while Wi-Fi is underperforming, the issue is likely local: maybe your router’s in a bad spot, you're on a crowded channel, or there's interference from walls or other devices.

Let’s walk through a few practical steps you can take to fix these issues and improve your Wi-Fi performance.

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