What Is A Good Upload Speed For Wifi & How to Increase Upload Speed?

If you are a big fan of live streaming or online gaming, you may understand how important upload speed is to your experience. But what is a good upload speed for wifi? This post will break down the details of how much speed you may need for different tasks so that you can pick the right Internet plan and provide useful tips on how to get fast speeds.

What is upload speed?

Upload speed refers to how fast you can send data from your computer to the internet. We upload information all the time, even though we don't think about it as often as we think about downloading it.

Wifi upload speed

It is important to uploading large files (images, videos) to social media, video calling, live streaming, and online gaming. Wifi upload speed slow means poor experience. So how much internet speed do you need to prevent disruptions?

What is a good upload speed?

What is a good upload speed for wifi varies depending on various factors, including the number of internet users and connected devices on your home network.

A good wifi upload speed is generally 5 Mbps and good download speed is at least 25 Mbps. While it's easy to dismiss upload bandwidth, it's worth noting that demand for fast upload speed grew drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic as individuals had to find out new methods to live their lives from a distance.

Upload speed became the bottleneck for many households attempting to keep up with jobs, education, and social contacts. For some basic tasks like web surfing or checking email, the minimum upload capacity of 0.5 Mbps - 1 Mbps is sufficient.

Here are the decent upload speeds required for different types of online activities. 

Good upload speed for video conferencing

Theoretically, 3Mbps is enough to meet the minimum requirements of most video conferencing apps. Skype suggests at least 100Kbps for calling and 512Kbps for group video chats. Zoom recommends a minimum of 600Kbps for 1:1 video calling and 3.8Mbps for HD video calling in groups.

Good wifi upload speed

Bear in mind that these are the bare minimums, and you're likely to benefit from considerably quicker speeds, so it's a good idea to be aware of your current speeds and what can affect them.

Upload speed for online gaming

Internet speeds have an impact on gamers’ performance. Upload speed is essential to playing an online multiplayer game or a competitive game. 

Fortunately, the minimum download speed required for most online games to run smoothly is 3 Mbps, a bandwidth that most modern Internet plans can easily meet.

However, if your house has three of four gamers who regularly stream movies in ultra high definition at the same time, it is likely that they will all experience lag.

There is no doubt that transferring information is an important component of using the Internet, most individuals don't send extremely big amounts of data, therefore Internet packages often have significantly slower upload speeds than download speeds.

Regarding gaming online, the upload speed for one person connected to the network 1 Mbps is enough. However, the more people, the faster upload speed is needed.

Good Internet speed for gaming

The minimum speed requirements also vary depending on game systems. For Nintendo Switch, you may need at least 1 Mbps, Xbox One requires at least 0.5 Mbps and the speed suggested for Playstation 2 is at least 2 Mbps.

Because the real speed requirements are so low, games and gaming systems frequently do not provide explicit recommendations. Instead, all they need is a "broadband internet connection."

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines a broadband connection as having an upload speed of at least 3 Mbps and a good download speed of at least 25 Mbps, which allows you to play games with consoles at once.

You may find these minimum requirements put you at a disadvantage in games due to because of lag. So to have a seamless gaming experience, you should choose an optimal internet speed (i.e. fiber-optic cable).

Don’t know if you have a broadband connection? You can run a speed test to get the results. Unfortunately, speed restrictions do not address the significant issue of latency when playing online games.

Good upload speed for live streaming

Good internet speed for streaming?

Is upload speed important for streaming? Yes, upload speed is critical to maintaining a consistent bitrate on your livestream.

If you intend to live stream to multiple platforms, you must consider your upload speeds.

Good wifi upload speed for streaming Twitch

What upload speed do I need to stream on twitch? You asked. The required upload speed on Twitch is 3-6 Mbps upload speeds for broadcasting a live stream. If you just want to watch Twitch streams, 4-6 Mbps download speeds are enough.

How much upload speed you need also depends on the quality of videos you prefer. 

• 3.2 Mbps - 5 Mbps: Suggested for 720p video at 30 frames per second.

• 4.4 Mbps - 6.2 Mbps: For 720p video at 60 frames per second and 1080p video at 30 frames per second.

• 6 Mbps - 7 Mbps: For 1080p video at 60 frames per second

Good wifi upload speed for Youtube

The upload speed required to broadcast a stream on YouTube Live varies substantially. This is due to the fact that you can stream in a variety of video resolutions.

Limit youtube upload speed

Streaming high definition video at 60 frames per second would require 25 Mbps - 50 Mbps of upload speeds, while the lowest quality needs only 1 Mbps. 

Youtube upload speed slow will affect the quality of videos. Some tips on how to speed up youtube upload time include:

• Increase internet connection

• Turn off other online tasks

• Clear the cache in your browser

• Delete unnecessary files 

Internet speed for Facebook Live

You need a minimum upload speed of 4 Mbps to broadcast a live stream on Facebook. If you want to live stream with a maximum resolution of 1080p, aim for an upload speed of 6 to 7 Mbps.

How do I know my internet speed?

Running a wifi upload speed test is the simplest way to know how much data you’re getting. You can some free speed test websites to quickly test your internet speed. That way, you would have a good sense of how bad or good upload & download speeds are.

Upload speed test

Simply visit gospeedcheck.com and hit the “Go” button, you’ll get the results within a few seconds without any app download.

Wifi download speed slower than upload: Reasons and solutions

Most internet service providers offer internet plans with download speeds slower than upload speeds.  So the advertised download speeds are always paid attention. However, it’s normal that you may find wifi download speed slow upload normal for some reasons (e.i. outdated devices, your internet service, network congestion. If you want to have upload speed equal to download, choose fiber-optic service.

Types of internet connection

DSL offers upload speed up to 1.5 Mbps, more than enough for a smooth experience. But if you want to upload high-resolution images or live stream with high quality, ADSL’s low upload speeds would be an issue.

Cable internet can have upload speeds of 25 Mbps - 50 Mbps. 

If you rely much on uploading, then the best choice is Fiber optic internet, which has symmetrical upload speeds and download speeds. Fiber is also the most reliable connection, so your livestream will be far less likely to have problems, even if you stream during peak hours.

Fiber optic connection

Glass filaments are used to make fiber-optic cables. They transfer data and convey signals using light signals and lasers, allowing for more faster data exchange. Fiber-optic cables may also carry more data and are not affected by electromagnetic interference, thus giving the fastest speeds.

How to increase wifi upload speed? 

Everyone desires fast speeds as slow internet speeds undoubtedly interrupt your experience.

Basically, download and upload speed you get is determined by the service packages provided by your ISP. If possible, sign up for a business-level service to achieve symmetry between the two.

It will provide stability and dependability to ensure that live streaming runs well. The first step to achieve a good upload speed is to switch to an ISP that provides the necessary speed. Besides, there is a couple of things to improve your upload speeds:

Get a wired connection if possible

When it comes to streaming on your smartphone or checking social media, your Wi fi connection may be excellent. When live streaming, however, a wired connection through an ethernet cable is preferable. It provides less interference, faster speeds and more stability, resulting in higher stream quality.

Good download and upload

Remove the number of devices from your network

When you start live streaming games, you may not want your internet connection to be overloaded. Multiple devices or multiple users using the internet at the same time will slow you down. So to get fast internet speeds, remove other devices that consume your internet speeds from your network. You may also need to disable their WiFi capabilities while streaming.

Remove malware

Malware can consume some of your upload bandwidth, resulting in slow speeds. Therefore, disable or block any of these unwanted programs that are speed-leeching or install antivirus software to improve your internet speeds.

Upgrade your devices

Older modems might be the reason for slow connection. So the best tips on how to increase wifi upload speed consider upgrading them to enjoy faster upload speed.

Fix wifi upload speed slow

Avoid uploading at peak times

This isn't really useful if you need to upload data quickly, but off-peak hours have substantially higher speeds, so keep that in mind when deciding when to upload stuff.

Upgrade to higher speed tiers

The data caps set by your internet service provider can be limited, leading to slow internet speeds. Therefore, to get more speed, consider upgrading to a higher plan. You should see an improvement in your internet connections.

In conclusion

There's no specific answer to the question what is a good upload speed for wifi. It'll depend on what activities you use the internet for and how many internet users or how many devices are on your connection. Knowing the minimum download speed and upload speed required for various activities will help you choose the most appropriate internet plan.