Looking at the data plans offered to you by your ISP along with their internet speed and before going ahead to make your choice you want to be very much sure if at all is 5 mbps fast enough for gaming, YouTube, Netflix, and even downloading large files.
I will explain all you need to know using 5mbps to play online games, watch YouTube videos, stream on Netflix and download file.
If you ask me the question;
Is 5 mbps fast enough?
5 mbps is quite okay but isn’t fast enough for some internet activity like streaming of 4k videos, downloading of multiple large files, and streaming live events like live football, etc.
We are in 2022 and for me 5mbps is way outdated now we have the 5G network service.
What should i be doing with a 5 mbps internet speed? Honestly that’s a lot awful especially as it tends not to stream 4k videos very smoothly without interpretation or even HD live videos.
If my ISP offers a 5 mbps internet speed to me, I will gladly reject it without having a second thought unless the data plan is unlimited.
Related Posts:
- What does unlimited data at 5mbps mean? Detailed explanation
- 5 mbps internet speed: Everything explained
In this article we’ll be looking at the different aspects of the internet activity and if one can smoothly use an internet speed of 5 mbps on it, this includes gaming, watching YouTube videos, streaming Netflix videos, downloading of files etc. That is, is 5 mbps fast enough for gaming, YouTube, Netflix, zoom and downloading.
Is 5 mbps fast?
5 mbps is fast enough when it comes to browsing web pages, downloading small or medium sized files, chatting online, making a video call or voice call, and watching YouTube videos.
But there are more to know when it comes to having an internet speed of 5mbps. Let’s break it down according to the most things we do on the internet using our cell phone and computer.
Related Post: Is 5 mbps upload speed good? Everything explained
Is 5 mbps fast enough for gaming?
5 mbps is not entirely fast enough for gaming when it involves playing online high graphics games on ps4, ps5, Xbox or pc, at least it requires a minimum 15 mpbs for the gaming ti run very smoothly.
However, if asking is 5 mbps fast enough for gaming involves only mobile games, then you absolutely have nothing to worry about cause 5 mbps can play the likes of pubg, call of duty, asphalt or any high graphics mobile games.
Talking about gaming and streaming the game play, don’t bother asking is 5 mbps fast enough cause the answer is a big no.
To play online games and same time stream your game play to your followers, you need at least 15 mbps for things to run smoothly else you will experience lots of disruption due to the speed of your internet and this can be a lot frustrating based on my experience.
Is 5 mbps fast enough for YouTube?
5 mbps is fast enough for Youtube even when set to high picture quality, and one can seamlessly watch a HD 1080p YouTube video with a 5 mbps internet speed.
If your main priority when it comes to internet speed is to browse websites, read news online, chat with friends, and watch YouTube videos, then no need asking is 5 mbps fast cause it is pretty much fast for these internet activities.
You won’t have any issue watching a YouTube video with an internet speed of 5mbps cause the video will play very smoothly without the annoying buffering.
This applies to YouTube app and watching YouTube using a browser.
What of uploading videos on YouTube?
Still 5 mbps is fast enough for YouTube when it comes to uploading videos on YouTube, and from my experience it will take some few minutes to upload a video size of 200mb and 1GB size usually take 30 minutes or more.
When it comes to uploading large videos on YouTube, I an internet speed of at least 20mbps is very much okay as it won’t waste your precious time.
Below is what Google explained on the internet speed required for Youtube videos.
The table below shows the approximate speeds recommended to play each video format.
| Video Resolution | Recommended sustained speed |
|---|---|
| 4K | 20 Mbps |
| HD 1080p | 5 Mbps |
| HD 720p | 2.5 Mbps |
| SD 480p | 1.1 Mbps |
| SD 360p | 0.7 Mbps |
The above table explains it all, and as you can see on the table you can’t watch 4k YouTube with an internet speed of 5mbps.
Is 5 Mbps fast enough for Netflix?
5 mbps is fast enough for Netflix as it is the minimum required for HD videos on Netflix. However, if you prefer to Ultra HD Netflix videos then you need to have at least 25 mbps internet speed for the video to play very smoothly without buffering.
The minimum internet speed required for Netflix streaming is 3 mbps and which only works on Netflix standard video. Be rest assured that 5mbps 5 Mbps is fast enough for Netflix as long as it only involves the standard Netflix videos and the HD Netflix videos as well.
Is 5 Mbps fast enough to stream movies?
5 mbps is quite fast enough to stream movies though it will be very difficult to stream 4k videos with an internet speed of internet 5mbps.
You can easily stream a video resolution of 360p, 720p, and 1080p. But when it comes to ultra HD videos, you will find it very difficult streaming videos with an internet speed of 5mbps.
You need at least 25 mbps to stream an ultra HD video or 4k videos, you will punish yourself streaming a 4k video with an internet speed of 5mbps.
Even if your ISP offers an unlimited data plan and your main priority is to stream high quality videos like the ultra HD videos or 4k videos which are very sharp and beautiful, you shouldn’t accept the offer cause you will find it very difficult streaming an ultra HD videos with an internet speed of 5mbps.
Tons of buffering will definitely piss you off.
Is 5 mbps download speed fast enough?
5 mbps download speed isn’t that fast enough because downloading of large files will take a lot of time and time consuming.
Talking about download speed, the minimum internet you need for large files is 15 mbps or maybe 20 mbps depending on the file size. For example, to download a file of 1GB with 5Mbps internet speed will take up to 35 minutes, but if the internet speed rate is 20mbps it will only take a maximum time of 15 minutes to finish the download.
To enjoy the best download speed go I recommend you to go for a data plan with a good internet speed of at least 15 mbps else you won’t enjoy downloading large files on your cell phone or computer.
Is 5 Mbps fast enough for Zoom?
5 mbps is fast enough for zoom as the minimum required internet speed is 3 mbps, but you shouldn’t connect multiple devices as it will slow down the video quality.
If you are connected to multiple devices or users, I recommend an internet speed of at least 25 mbps depending on the number of devices connected to your internet, this will prevent disruption of the video conference meeting.
Is 5 Mbps considered high speed internet?
Absolutely no. 5mbps isn’t considered a high speed internet especially now we have the 5G network, and whereas a 5mbps can’t stream a 4k video or ultra HD video and this only shows that it isn’t a high speed internet.
Talking about the best internet speed, 20mbps is among the least not to mention 5mbps which is below par. Please bear in mind that 5mbps is a poor internet speed rate because you will be restricted from streaming a 4k video, ultra HD video, HD live events like live football games, download at a file size of 10GB within few minutes, etc.
5mbps internet speed can only browse web pages, chat online, make a video call, watch HD videos at 1080p, download small and medium file size size at a moderate speed, play mobile online games, etc.
Why is my download speed 5 Mbps?
This is because it is the allocated internet speed rate from your internet service provider for your data plan, though sometimes it can be caused by a poor internet connection.
This is where I come to the conclusion of this article is 5 mbps fast enough for gaming, YouTube, Netflix, zoom, and for downloading. So it all depends on you testing to see if truly 5mbps is fast enough or probably not though everything goes down to the internet service provider.
