For info - I'm on Swish 1000 and I don't think there are any contention issues in my area thankfully.

On Fast.com I nearly always get 1gbit down and >950mbit up
Most others are around the 920-950mbit range.

e.g.
Speedtest 20250207

I'm on a M1 Mac using Brave browser but it seems similar on windows 10/11 when I have tried.

In reply to a post by smouty:

On Fast.com I nearly always get 1gbit down and >950mbit up

If you have a top end corporate network and have a fast server and your PC connected to an enterprise switch with gigabit connection, the fastest you see is 943 Mbit. So your web based speed testers giving higher than this are reporting something else, perhaps caching in your browser, or security software or the network.

or just trying to give you a high number for bragging rights.

It has already been mentioned that fast.com reporting is a bit off.

I'm not saying is correct but just what it is e.g. another comparable reference point

In reply to a post by smouty:

It has already been mentioned that fast.com reporting is a bit off.

has been for years, it was created by Netflix so you could see if you had enough capacity to watch Netflix content.

Fiction just like its creator 😂

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Fiction just like its creator 😂

It does seem "to depend". I've found it works okay on a Windows PC using Firefox in a "private window", but as Seb and Andrew (MrSaffron) have debated in TTTS the Firefox on Mac can behave quite differently in caching.

I believe the Thinkbroadband tester is designed to allow for these browser quirks, but the likes of fast.com are expecting to run on a mobile device over 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) or 5G (NR) connections, rather than more consistent WiFi.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Fiction just like its creator 😂

It does seem "to depend". I've found it works okay on a Windows PC using Firefox in a "private window", but as Seb and Andrew (MrSaffron) have debated in TTTS the Firefox on Mac can behave quite differently in caching.

I believe the Thinkbroadband tester is designed to allow for these browser quirks, but the likes of fast.com are expecting to run on a mobile device over 3G (UMTS) 4G (LTE) or 5G (NR) connections, rather than more consistent WiFi.

I don't think any browser-based test are that reliable. Certainly anything like fast.com which (at least used to) over-read what what physically possible. Like telling you can get 1.2 Gbps throughput on a GbE port that can only physically sustain ~943 Gbps with the usual overheads.

Using the Speedtest.net app or command line tools seem to remove browser based artefacts. Not perfect though by any means, but better than a browser based test.

Saying that I can still kill the TTB speed tester - doesn't seem to cope very well at all above about ~3 GBps, and caps it at that...

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Not perfect though by any means, but better than a browser based test.

I'm a fan of wget or curl a super large file and timing it, but that usually is only single connection so in modern WAN networks it appears you need multiple connections to show total throughput.

Saying that I can still kill the TTB speed tester - doesn't seem to cope very well at all above about ~3 GBps, and caps it at that...

I would expect that is deliberate

Probs. It's a bit tired to be honest. With the rise of XGS based AltNets there's enough folks out there with 2, 3, 5, 8 Gbps based broadband services.

Like the rest of this site, it needs to be brought well up to date, as its feels pretty creaky...

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Probs. It's a bit tired to be honest. With the rise of XGS based AltNets there's enough folks out there with 2, 3, 5, 8 Gbps based broadband services.

ISPreview reported the actual takeup of services above 2 Gbps was miniscule in domestic. I know YouFibre is the 8Gbps leader but their coverage is tiny.

Like the rest of this site, it needs to be brought well up to date, as its feels pretty creaky...

Sadly yes, I assume the "day job" where the owners earn money has taken more of their time than before.