Get a perfect WiFi speed with NetSpot
Don't settle for a decent Internet connection, NetSpot ensures a consistent WiFi speed.
All the WiFi speed test apps for Windows that we’ve selected for this article are genuinely easy to figure out, yet they offer high accuracy and a host of extra features that you can take advantage of to optimize your internet for the best possible performance.
There are several ways how you can test your WiFi speed, some more convenient than others. In fact, one handy WiFi internet speed test tool comes with all versions of the Windows operating system, and its name is Ping.
Microsoft describes it as the primary tool for troubleshooting IP-level connectivity in Windows. This command-line tool can measure how long it takes a local or remote network device, such as a web server, to respond to a request, and it can also detect when packets of data get lost. Theoretically, you could even use Ping to determine your download and upload speed, but doing so would be inconvenient for a number of reasons.
A common alternative to Ping are various online speed tests provided by different ISPs. While easy to use and convenient, such speed tests lack transparency and their results could be manipulated to either make the competition look bad or to make customers believe that their internet speeds are greater than they really are.
Because of this, we recommend independent WiFi speed test apps, like the ones listed below.
In contrast to online WiFi speed tests, NetSpot lets you manually configure how much data you would like to transmit for the purpose of the test, allowing you to choose between performing a quick test that takes just a few seconds to complete and a more comprehensive test that averages your internet speeds over a longer period of time.
But what truly earns NetSpot the first place on this list of the best WiFi internet speed test apps is its unique ability to discover your internet isn’t as fast as it should be. With NetSpot, you can conduct WiFi site surveys and analyze WiFi activity around you. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t know much about wireless networks because NetSpot is extraordinarily easy to use despite meeting the needs of professional users.
To conduct a WiFi site survey with NetSpot, you simply upload a map of the area you would like to survey, or create a new map from scratch, and walk from one part of the area to another until NetSpot has all the information it needs to create a heatmap that shows where the signal is the strongest and where it is the weakest.
NetSpot is available for Windows and macOS, and you can download and test it free of charge.
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. 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.
Network Speed Test Pro can measure your network delay, download speed, and upload speed against more than 4,000 servers over the world and display the results on a world map so you can clearly see how long it takes data packets to travel from your computer to various regions in the world.
Network Speed Test Pro allows you to schedule automatic speed tests, and the app keeps a history of previous measurements.
Just because you’ve used one of the WiFi test speed apps recommended in this article and got poor results doesn’t mean that its time to switch to a different ISP. More often than not, the issue is local. To find the real cause of the problem, download a WiFi analyzer app such as NetSpot and test how strong your WiFi signal is.
A thick wall or a large electric appliance can both have a significant negative effect on WiFi performance, and it may be enough to move your wireless router a few feet away to increase WiFi speeds.
Make sure to check WiFi speeds with a reliable speed test WiFi app such as NetSpot after every adjustment you make. Keep in mind that your internet speeds will likely be slower during peak hours and when there are too many people on the same network.
Last but not least, we highly recommend you switch your WiFi network to a channel that doesn’t suffer from traffic congestions. Again, you can use NetSpot to determine which WiFi channel is used the least.
