Use Speed Test by Ookla to know your bandwidth
There’s nothing more annoying while traveling or working in your favorite coffee shop, than coming across a slow internet connection. What’s causing the delay? With this extension from the Chrome Web Store, you don’t have to guess anymore: one click, and you see precisely the speed of your connection.
Features
- Runs in a pop-up once you click it.
- You don’t have to wait for it, after clicking, it runs in the background.
- Use it with or without an account.
- Information about Ping, Upload, and Download speeds.
- Bonus: see how fast the website loads.
Benefits Speed Test Ookla
With a separate website and an entire suite of apps for all devices, this extension is more than just a speed test designed by one lone programmer. Based in Seattle Washington, acquired by Ziff Davis in 2014, it once offered a stripped-down version of a paid, premium service. Now programmed in HTML5, it’s the industry leader, as far as we’re concerned.
They’ve served over 21 billion speed tests to date, which is no small feat.
Drawbacks
The website this extension leads to, speedtest.net, is filled with obtrusive banners, which doesn’t inspire trust. Still, they might keep the service free of charge, which is a beautiful thing. In the extension itself, you’re not bothered with any of this, so we can live with it.
Alternatives
Some of the other options we’ve looked into are:
- Speed Test by BridgeTroll (no update since 2017).
- Easy Speed Test App by Wonderfull Ideas (you get a New Tab instead of a simple test extension; it doesn’t do anything when you click the icon).
- Speed Test Internet by www.bandwidthtester.info (it’s mostly a bookmark to a webpage. It delivers results that seem unreliable).
You can find more alternatives, not just in the field of extensions, here: https://www.producthunt.com/alternatives/html5-speedtest-by-ookla.
Final verdict
When it comes to knowing more about the internet speeds you’re experiencing, there’s no real competitor. Ookla offers a free, reliable, and fast impression of everything you want to know. The company behind it seems legit and built for the future. You couldn’t go wrong here.