What does upload speed measure?
Upload speed is the rate at which data travels from your device to a remote server. It is commonly shown in megabits per second (Mbps). It is different from download speed, which measures data arriving at your device. Many internet plans provide different download and upload rates.
When does upload speed matter?
- Video meetings: your camera, microphone and screen sharing send data upstream. A stable upload matters as well as sufficient download capacity.
- Cloud backups: photos, videos and work files must be sent from your device to the cloud.
- Live streaming: the outgoing video feed needs sustained upload capacity and a stable connection.
- Sending large files: higher upload throughput can reduce transfer time, although the recipient service may impose its own limits.
- Online collaboration: frequent file syncing and shared workspaces can use upstream bandwidth.
Why might upload speed be slow?
Possible causes include a plan with limited upstream capacity, busy household traffic, weak Wi-Fi, router limitations, device background uploads, network congestion or the test server and route. A single test cannot identify the cause on its own.
How to test upload speed fairly
- Pause cloud backups, file syncing and other large uploads where practical.
- Use the same device and test service for comparisons.
- Compare Wi-Fi near the router with Ethernet if available.
- Repeat at different times and note whether other devices were active.
- Compare the result with your plan details, accounting for normal overhead and variation.
Measure your connection
Check upload and download throughput using the TEZZ CONNECT browser tool.
Open the free speed test →