Jitter Test
Measure the consistency of your connection latency
Run a full speed test — includes download, upload, ping, and jitter measurements.
What this test measures
Jitter measures the variation in packet arrival time over a series of ping tests. A connection with 5 ms average ping but swings between 2 ms and 80 ms has 78 ms of jitter — and will produce choppy audio and video even though the average looks fine.
How to interpret your results
| Result | Rating | Typical context |
|---|---|---|
| < 5 ms | Excellent | Smooth calls and gaming; typical of wired fiber |
| 5–15 ms | Good | Acceptable for most video calls and gaming |
| 15–30 ms | Marginal | Video calls may stutter; competitive gaming impaired |
| > 30 ms | Poor | Calls break up; gaming has unpredictable lag spikes |
What affects your result
- Wi-Fi interference — The most common cause of high jitter. Overlapping channels, walls, and competing devices create unpredictable wireless delays.
- Bufferbloat — A router with oversized packet queues introduces variable delay — ping is fine under no load but spikes when anything else uses the connection.
- ISP congestion — Oversubscribed cable nodes cause packets to queue and be delivered unevenly, creating jitter at the ISP level.
- 5G / satellite — Fixed wireless and satellite connections have inherent jitter from signal path variation and interference.
How to run an accurate test
Run the test while someone else in the household is streaming or downloading. Jitter shows its true value under load — a jitter test on an otherwise idle connection understates real-world impact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is jitter or ping more important for gaming?
Both matter. A consistent 40 ms ping is more playable than a connection that bounces between 5 ms and 100 ms. Jitter is often the bigger problem because game engines cannot compensate for unpredictable timing.
How do I fix high jitter?
Switch to wired Ethernet (eliminates Wi-Fi jitter), enable SQM/QoS on your router (fixes bufferbloat jitter), and check for ISP congestion by running tests at different times of day. If jitter is high only in evenings, it is an ISP network issue.
What causes jitter spikes?
Short jitter spikes (2–5 second intervals) usually indicate Wi-Fi interference or background app traffic. Longer spikes that correlate with time of day indicate ISP congestion. Spikes that only happen under load indicate bufferbloat.