Speedtest by Ookla
Ranked 3 of 3 internet speed tests by recommenders
Recommended for checking internet speed and for a data policy that does not sell user information. Critics say ISPs special-case its results and upload readings can be wrong.
Recommended for checking internet speed and for a data policy that does not sell user information. Critics say ISPs special-case its results and upload readings can be wrong.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Strict data controls, does not sell data
“at least they have tight data controls and don’t sell that information”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Downdetector and Speedtest sold to Accenture for $1.2B” Within about 5% of own tests
“speedtest.net is within ~5% of my own test results”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Downdetector and Speedtest sold to Accenture for $1.2B” Impressive partner network
“The partner network of Speedtest is also impressive.”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Downdetector and Speedtest sold to Accenture for $1.2B”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
ISPs prioritize or special-case its results
“ISP seems to give higher network priority to Ookla so I'm not sure how useful it is compared to actual experience”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Downdetector and Speedtest sold to Accenture for $1.2B” “All these numbers are fake. They are all special cased in most ISPs”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Downdetector and Speedtest sold to Accenture for $1.2B” Upload results wrong
“The download speed was fine, but upload speed was 1.75x the actual one.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “Downdetector and Speedtest sold to Accenture for $1.2B” “upload was completely wrong”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Downdetector and Speedtest sold to Accenture for $1.2B”
Other internet speed tests people recommend
The two most recommended other internet speed tests, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare Speed Test | 9 | 3 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
| Fast.com | 7 | 3 | 70% | 3 | — | — |
| Speedtest by OoklaThis page | 5 | 5 | 50% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“speedtest.net is within ~5% of my own test results”
“at least they have tight data controls and don’t sell that information”
“ISP seems to give higher network priority to Ookla so I'm not sure how useful it is compared to actual experience”
“The download speed was fine, but upload speed was 1.75x the actual one.”
“All these numbers are fake. They are all special cased in most ISPs”
“upload was completely wrong”
“The partner network of Speedtest is also impressive.”
“Speedtest has always seemed incredibly sketchy to me”
“at greater distances these numbers are basically always unrealistic”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.