While subscribing to an ISP, choosing the right internet speed for your home is one of the most important considerations. The higher speed tiers sound tempting but you want to stick to a budget-friendly choice. Striking the right balance is the key!

At the same time, you want to go for a speed that supports your major online activities such as surfing, downloading, video calling, and streaming. If you look at the US standards, 100Mbps is considered fairly fast. But ISPs offer speed tiers as high as 1Gig.

In a layman’s language, bandwidth speed roughly translates to the downloading speed. Therefore, 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps are quite different. Let’s compare the two-speed tiers so that you are able to make a well-informed decision.

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The Exact Meaning of Mbps in Internet Speed

Most of us are technically enlightened to know Mbps stands for megabits per second. It’s a measurement of bandwidth speed used to measure both, downloading and uploading speeds. So, if you see Spectrum Internet advertising a speed of 100Mbps, know that it’s the per second speed of sending a data packet and then receiving it back.

With good downloading speed, you will be able to handle all sorts of online activities without any buffering or lag issues. In the United States, 100 Mbps is the average speed most of the people have access to. However, satellite speeds are not fast enough and are lower than 100Mbps.

To put things in perspective, know that for activities like HD streaming on services like Netflix, 25 Mbps is practically sufficient to support them. 25Mbps is also the standard downloading speed and can support a myriad of common online activities. For instance social media and web surfing.

Is 100 Mbps Fast?

To have a clear picture of how much internet speed you need for your internet activities, here is an important chunk of information. For a single user, 100 Mbps is enough to stream YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, or any other streaming service.

Moreover, this speed is also sufficient for your intense online gaming session without encountering any lags and interruptions. A 100 Mbps is also great for your downloading game, be it heavy multimedia, HD videos, or photos. And it goes without saying that it will readily support basic internet activities such as checking emails and surfing. In addition, if multiple users are sharing a connection of 100 Mbps, they should still experience fast speeds. However, if many users are using the internet during peak traffic hours for activities like downloading, streaming 4K movies, and playing games, you may experience lagging speeds.

Most broadband providers, such as Cox Internet, advertise their downloading speeds in Mbps. If you have multiple internet users with heavy data usage, make sure you subscribe to a plan with no data caps and restrictions.

Compare Internet Speed of 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps

Let’s know the difference between uploading and downloading speed.

Download Speeds

Take the instance of the size of movies. Most movies are around 2GB – 5GB. The length and quality of the movies may vary. The size of other video files, audio files, and photographs can vary.

So, if you are downloading a 4GB movie with an AT&T Internet plan of 100 Mbps, it should take only about six minutes to download. If you have a bandwidth speed of 300 Mbps, it will take around three minutes to do the job for you.

If you are into downloading your favorite content pretty often, a speed tier of 300Mbps will suit you better.

Uploading Speeds

The uploading speed refers to the speed at which a file from your end is uploaded to the internet. If you compare Internet speed, the uploading speeds are usually lesser than the downloading speeds as a norm. You can notice it while skimming through the advertised speeds of any internet plan.

However, some providers ensure offering symmetrical downloading and uploading speeds for those who have a lot of uploading work. Others, if not symmetrical, offer reasonable uploading speeds. Asymmetrical speeds can be trouble when you are working from home.

The size of the file to be uploaded is a concern too. Let’s compare 100Mbps and 300Mbps to upload a file of 1GB. For a 100Mbps uploading speed, the uploading time will be 80 seconds. While for that of 300Mbps, the uploading time will be around 30-40 seconds.

In this comparison, you will also have to consider the type of internet connection and the number of users using the same connection. These are estimates for a single user.

Optimal Speeds for Multiple Users

The speed tier that you choose for your home has a lot to do with the number of users and their internet habits. If you come from a small family, a spouse and a child, even a 25 Mbps connection by CenturyLink internet will suffice.

However, if you hail from a large family of serious gamers, binge-streamers, and heavy downloaders then we are afraid 25Mbps is not enough bandwidth. No one wants to bear with a frustrating lag in their online activities, therefore, we would suggest subscribing to a higher speed tier.

The catch is that more speed means a more pricey plan. So, try to strike a balance between speed and price. A connection around 100 Mbps – 300 Mbps sounds promising when it comes to supporting the online activities of multiple users.

Some Important Factors

Have you subscribed to a decent 100 Mbps or a 300 Mbps plan? And if you compare Internet speed that you are getting with a friend’s with a speed tier, you figure out that you are not getting fast speeds. to make sure you get the optimal speeds, you need to get your hands on a decent router and modem.

Make sure the models of your modem and router are not obsolete. If they are, the speed will be affected. Although every ISP offers routers, modems, and modem-router combos at a monthly rental fee, we would suggest making a one-time investment and purchase your own modem.

Not only will it save money, but you will also be able to get an advanced modem with desirable specs and features. As a result, you will get optimal internet speeds without a glitch or lag.

Make a Well-Informed Decision

Now that we have summarized the important factors for you, you should be able to make a more informed decision about your internet plan according to your needs. In addition to the aforementioned factors, there are other ways to figure out the speed you and your family need.

For instance, you have already subscribed to an internet plan of 100 Mbps by Optimum internet. The five members of your family with average internet usage experience lags and interruptions. In such a case, we would suggest taking a speed test.

A speed test will show you if you are getting the same speeds you have signed up for. In case you are not, get in touch with your ISP and communicate your issue. But if you are getting 100 Mbps, then it’s time to upgrade your speed tier. 300 Mbps would suffice.