Understanding Latency and Ping
Quick Answer: Latency (ping) is the time in milliseconds for data to make a round trip between your device and a server. Under 20ms is excellent (ideal for gaming), 20-50ms is good (fine for video calls), 50-100ms is acceptable (basic browsing), and over 100ms causes noticeable lag. Fiber internet delivers the lowest latency (5-15ms), followed by cable (15-35ms), 5G (25-50ms), DSL (25-80ms), and satellite (25-600ms).
What Is Latency?
Latency is the time delay between sending a request and receiving a response over the internet. When you click a link, your click generates a data packet that travels from your device through your router, through your ISP's network, across the internet backbone, to the destination server, then back again. The total round-trip time for this journey is your latency, measured in milliseconds (ms).
Latency is fundamentally different from speed (bandwidth). Speed determines how much data can flow per second, while latency determines how quickly data starts flowing. Think of speed as the width of a highway and latency as the distance to your destination. A wider highway does not make the destination closer.
Latency vs Bandwidth: Why Both Matter
| Metric | Measures | Analogy | Affects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandwidth (Speed) | Data volume per second | Highway width | Downloads, streaming quality, multi-device capacity |
| Latency (Ping) | Response time | Distance to destination | Gaming responsiveness, video call smoothness, web page snappiness |
| Jitter | Latency variation | Traffic unpredictability | Video/audio quality stability, gaming consistency |
| Packet Loss | Lost data percentage | Dropped packages | Connection reliability, call drops, gaming disconnects |
Latency by Connection Type
| Connection Type | Typical Latency | Best Case | Worst Case | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiber Optic | 5-15 ms | 1-3 ms | 20 ms | Light-speed transmission, dedicated lines |
| Cable (DOCSIS 3.1) | 15-35 ms | 10 ms | 60 ms | Shared nodes, electrical signal over copper |
| 5G Fixed Wireless | 25-50 ms | 15 ms | 80 ms | Wireless propagation, tower congestion |
| DSL | 25-80 ms | 15 ms | 120 ms | Distance to DSLAM, old copper lines |
| Starlink (LEO satellite) | 25-60 ms | 20 ms | 100 ms | 340-mile orbit, satellite handoffs |
| HughesNet/Viasat (GEO) | 600-800 ms | 550 ms | 1000+ ms | 22,000-mile geostationary orbit |
Why Latency Matters for Different Activities
Online gaming: Latency is the single most important factor for gaming performance. A 10ms vs 50ms difference determines whether your shot registers first in a competitive FPS. For detailed gaming requirements, see our gaming speed guide.
Video conferencing: Latency above 150ms creates noticeable conversation lag where people talk over each other. For smooth Zoom and Teams calls, aim for under 50ms. See our Zoom speed guide.
Web browsing: Each element on a web page requires a separate request-response cycle. A modern web page may make 50-100 requests. At 10ms latency, these load nearly instantly. At 200ms, the same page feels noticeably sluggish.
Streaming: Latency has minimal impact on streaming quality because content buffers ahead. The initial start time takes slightly longer with high latency, but once playback begins, bandwidth matters more than ping.
How to Test Your Latency
Run a speed test at speedtest.net and note the "Ping" result. For more detailed latency analysis, use Cloudflare's speed test at speed.cloudflare.com, which shows loaded and unloaded latency, jitter, and packet loss. For gaming-specific latency, ping game servers directly using the command prompt: type "ping google.com" in your terminal to see round-trip times.
How to Reduce Latency
- Use Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi: Eliminates 5-20ms of wireless overhead
- Choose fiber if available: Verizon Fios (5-12ms typical) and AT&T Fiber (8-15ms typical) deliver the lowest residential latency
- Select nearby servers: In games and speed tests, choose servers geographically close to you
- Reduce network congestion: Close bandwidth-heavy applications during latency-sensitive activities
- Enable QoS: Router QoS settings can prioritize low-latency traffic like gaming and calls over bulk downloads
- Upgrade your router: Older routers may add processing latency. Modern Wi-Fi 6 routers handle traffic more efficiently
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How Latency Affects Different Online Activities
Latency's impact varies enormously depending on what you are doing online. Understanding which activities are latency-sensitive helps you prioritize your network optimization efforts.
Web browsing: Every webpage requires dozens of individual requests to load images, scripts, stylesheets, and content. Each request incurs a round-trip of latency. A page requiring 50 requests on a 30ms connection adds approximately 1.5 seconds of total latency overhead. On a 5ms fiber connection, the same page adds only 0.25 seconds. This difference, while small per page, compounds across a browsing session and makes fiber connections feel noticeably "snappier" for web browsing even when download speeds are identical.
Video conferencing: Video calls are moderately latency-sensitive. Latency under 150ms is generally unnoticeable in conversation. Between 150-300ms, conversations feel slightly delayed, similar to a satellite phone call. Above 300ms, people start talking over each other because the delay is too long to maintain natural conversational rhythm. For comfortable video calls, target under 100ms latency. Satellite internet's 600ms+ latency makes natural video call conversation impossible, while Starlink's 25-50ms and cable's 15-30ms both work well. See our Zoom speed guide for video call optimization tips.
Online gaming: Competitive gaming is the most latency-sensitive common activity. In fast-paced games like first-person shooters, every millisecond matters. Under 20ms: excellent, virtually no perceptible delay. 20-50ms: good for most players. 50-100ms: playable but at a competitive disadvantage. Above 100ms: significant disadvantage in competitive play. Fighting games are even more sensitive, with some requiring under 30ms for inputs to register correctly. For detailed gaming network optimization, see our gaming speed guide.
Streaming video: Streaming is almost completely latency-insensitive because content is buffered ahead of time. Whether your latency is 5ms or 200ms has no effect on streaming quality. The initial load time to start a video may take slightly longer on high-latency connections, but once the buffer is established, playback is identical regardless of latency. This is why satellite internet, despite terrible latency, can still stream Netflix at HD quality if download bandwidth is sufficient.
What Causes High Latency and How to Reduce It
Latency has multiple components, and understanding each one helps you identify which can be improved and which are inherent to your connection type.
Physical distance: Data travels through fiber optic cables at roughly 200,000 km/s (two-thirds the speed of light). Connecting to a server 3,000 miles away adds approximately 25ms of unavoidable latency from pure physics. This is why game servers in your geographic region always provide lower latency than distant servers. You cannot reduce distance-based latency through any equipment or configuration change.
Connection type overhead: Different connection types add different amounts of inherent latency. Fiber: 1-5ms. Cable: 10-25ms. DSL: 15-40ms. 5G: 25-50ms. Starlink: 25-50ms. HughesNet: 600-700ms. Switching from cable to fiber typically saves 10-20ms, which is significant for gaming and noticeable for general browsing.
Network hop count: Your data passes through multiple routing points between your home and the destination server. Each hop adds 1-5ms. Typical connections involve 8-15 hops. You can view your hop count and per-hop latency by running a traceroute command (tracert on Windows, traceroute on Mac/Linux) to any server. Unusually high latency at a specific hop indicates a problem at that routing point, which you can report to your ISP if it is on their network.
Local network issues: Your own equipment can add latency. A congested Wi-Fi connection adds 1-10ms. An overloaded router processing many simultaneous connections adds 1-5ms. Background applications consuming bandwidth create network queuing that increases latency. Switching to ethernet, upgrading to a modern router with better processing power, and enabling QoS to prioritize latency-sensitive traffic all reduce locally-generated latency. For comprehensive network optimization, see our home network guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ping the same as latency?
Essentially yes. "Ping" technically refers to the diagnostic tool that measures round-trip time, while "latency" is the concept of delay itself. In everyday usage, they are used interchangeably. When someone says "my ping is 15ms," they mean their measured latency is 15 milliseconds.
Can I reduce latency by getting faster internet?
Not directly. Upgrading from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps on the same connection type does not meaningfully reduce latency. What does reduce latency is changing connection types (e.g., cable to fiber) or improving your home network (Ethernet vs Wi-Fi). Bandwidth and latency are largely independent metrics.
What is a good ping for gaming?
Under 20ms is excellent for competitive gaming. 20-50ms is good for most online games. 50-100ms is playable but you may notice slight delays. Above 100ms creates significant disadvantages in fast-paced competitive games. For more details, see our gaming speed guide.
Why is my latency high even with fast internet?
High latency with fast speed usually indicates one of three issues: using Wi-Fi instead of Ethernet (adds 5-20ms), your connection type inherently has high latency (DSL, satellite), or network congestion at your ISP or along the route. The first fix is always to try a wired Ethernet connection.
Does a VPN increase latency?
Yes, typically by 5-30ms depending on VPN server location. VPN traffic must travel to the VPN server before reaching its destination, adding distance and processing time. For latency-sensitive activities like gaming, avoid VPN or choose a VPN server geographically very close to both you and the game server.
Is low latency or high speed more important?
It depends entirely on your primary activity. For gaming, video calls, and interactive applications, low latency is more important than high speed beyond a minimum threshold. A 50 Mbps fiber connection with 5ms latency provides a better gaming experience than a 500 Mbps cable connection with 25ms latency. For downloading files, streaming video, and general browsing, speed matters more than latency. Most households benefit most from a balanced connection (100+ Mbps, under 30ms latency) rather than optimizing exclusively for one metric.
Can a VPN reduce my latency?
In most cases, a VPN increases latency by 5-30ms because it adds an extra hop through the VPN server. However, in rare cases where your ISP routes traffic inefficiently, a VPN can provide a more direct path to the destination and actually reduce latency. Gaming VPN services like ExitLag specifically optimize routing to game servers and sometimes achieve 5-15ms improvements. Test with and without the VPN to determine whether it helps or hurts for your specific use case and destination.
Why does my ping spike randomly even on a fast connection?
Random ping spikes are usually caused by one of three things. First, Wi-Fi interference from other devices or neighboring networks causes brief latency increases. Switch to ethernet to test if this is the cause. Second, background applications or devices on your network suddenly consuming bandwidth create network congestion that increases latency for all traffic. Enable QoS on your router to prioritize latency-sensitive applications. Third, your ISP's network may experience brief congestion episodes, especially on cable networks during peak hours. If spikes occur only during peak hours, network congestion is the likely cause, and upgrading to fiber eliminates this issue.
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