Planning to get a new internet connection? Wondering if 100 Mbps is fast enough? How many devices can you connect? What activities can you do?
Yes, 100 Mbps is fast. With a speed like this, you can quickly download small files, watch two to three 4K videos simultaneously (on different devices), play online games, operate smart home devices, etc.
It's also above the average internet speed in the US. Furthermore, you can easily share the connection with 2-3 people. But if your requirement is more than that, 100 Mbps internet is not going to help you.
How Fast is 100 Mbps?
Yes, 100 Mbps is fast, but, is it fast enough for everyone? How many devices can it support? I tested the Essential 100 plan from Cox for a month and have shared my detailed findings below.
A 100 Mbps internet speed can carry out data-intensive tasks easily. But it depends upon the task you are doing.
For example, almost 200-300 devices can surf social media at the same time with this plan. But this number decreases to 10-20 devices for Netflix.
Check the table below to understand the required bandwidth for different activities and whether 100 Mbps WiFi can handle it.
| Activities | Required Download Speed | Required Upload Speed | Can 100 Mbps support it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Media | 500 - 2000 Kbps | 200 - 300 Kbps | Yes |
| Messaging & Email | 100 Kbps | 12.5 Kbps | Yes |
| Web Browsing | 100 - 1000 Kbps | 12.5 - 125 Kbps | Yes |
| WhatsApp Voice Call | 100 Kbps | 12.5 Kbps | Yes |
| WhatsApp Video Call | 2-3 Mbps | 250-300 Kbps | Yes |
| Skype HD Call | 1-3 Mbps | 125 - 300 Kbps | Yes |
| Skype Group HD Call | 4-5 Mbps | 500 - 600 Kbps | Yes |
| Zoom HD Call | 3.5-4 Mbps | 400 - 500 Kbps | Yes |
| Zoom Group HD Call | 4-5 Mbps | 500 - 600 Kbps | Yes |
| Watching YouTube Videos [480p] | 500 - 1000 Kbps | 200 Kbps | Yes |
| Watching YouTube Videos [1080p] | 2-3 Mbps | 250 - 300 Kbps | Yes |
| Streaming Netflix [720p] | 1.5-2 Mbps | 250 Kbps | Yes |
| Streaming Netflix [1080p] | 5-7 Mbps | 600-800 Kbps | Yes |
| Online Gaming | 3-4 Mbps | 300 - 400 Kbps | Yes |
| Streaming Audio Music | 400 Kbps | 50 Kbps | Yes |
Is 100 Mbps Good for Gaming?
Yes, it's good enough for gaming. In fact, online gaming only requires an internet speed of 10 Mbps. This means with 100 Mbps speed, you can have almost 66 gaming sessions, and approximately 10 people can play at the same time.
Note: Multiple gaming sessions won't provide you with seamless gaming. If needed, get a good router for gaming and experience low ping.
Coming to the downloading part, high-end games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, with a file size of 231GB, take almost 5 and a half hours to download fully. Now, that isn't bad.
Similarly, mid-end games and low-end games can be easily downloaded in minutes. For example, Call of Duty Mobile has a file size of 1.95 GB and can be downloaded in just 2-3 minutes.
Is 100 Mbps Good for Streaming?
Yes, a 100 megabits per second speed is more than enough for streaming videos.
A 4K streaming requires a bandwidth between 20 Mbps to 25 Mbps. So, with this plan, you can have almost four 4K streams back to back.
Coming to 1080p streams, the bandwidth is even less, i.e., 5 Mbps. So, you can stream 20 1080p videos at the same time.
Now you may ask if 100 Mbps is fast enough for Netflix. Yes, it certainly is.
You can even stream HD Netflix videos easily with this plan. So, almost 20-30 devices can stream Netflix HD videos at the same time.
YouTube, on the other hand, has a download speed of up to 1 Mbps. So, you can watch almost 150-200 basic-quality videos using this plan. Not bad at all!
Lastly, Spotify users can have up to 330 streams with 100 Mbps speed.
Is 100 Mbps Good or Bad for Video Calls?
With an internet speed of 100 Mbps, you can make almost 60 Zoom calls. Similarly, you can make 20-30 Skype calls, 50-100 WhatsApp voice calls, and 10-15 WhatsApp video calls. Also, 1080p calls would be quite less in number with this plan.
So, if your work involves making 1080p calls frequently, you must consider switching to a better speed.
Downloading Files with 100 Mbps WiFi
100 Mbps download speed will allow you to have two to four 4K video streams, almost 60 Zoom calls, and 330 Spotify streams. Also, downloading large applications of around 30GB will take less than an hour with this plan.
| Type & Size of File | Download Duration |
|---|---|
| Apps and Games [Up to 40 GB] | Almost an hour |
| Email Attachments [Up to 25 MB] | 2 Seconds |
| HD Movies [Up to 3GB] | Up to 4 Minutes |
| HD Music Album [Up to 500MB] | 40 Seconds |
| 1080p Videos [Up to 1.5GB] | Up to 2 Minutes |
For people working from home, an internet speed of 25 Mbps or 50 Mbps is said to be sufficient. So, you can assume how good is 100 Mbps internet for single users or even small families having 3-4 members.
The Cost of 100 Mbps Internet
The 100 Mbps plan will vary based on the providers and regions. On average, you must pay $25-$50 for one month. While various internet service providers offer this plan, the major ones have been mentioned below.
Internet Providers with 100 Mbps Plan:
| Internet Provider | Service Package | Download Speed | Upload Speed | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astound | 100 Mbps Internet | Up to 100 Mbps | Up to 15 Mbps | $20 / Mo |
| Breezeline | 100 Mbps | Up to 100 Mbps | Up to 15 Mbps | $20 / Mo |
| Cox | Essential 100 | Up to 100 Mbps | Up to 5 Mbps | $50 / Mo |
| Comcast Xfinity | Performance Internet | Up to 100 Mbps | Up to 20 Mbps | $84 / Mo |
P.S. For the best experience, pair it with one of the top wireless routers for 100 Mbps.
Frequently Asked Questions
A 100 Mbps connection is more than enough for one person. In fact, this plan can be easily shared between 3-4 people at a time. Heavy data-intensive tasks like downloading large files or uploading videos can be easily done with this plan.
It depends upon the requirements. But on average, the 100 Mbps plan can be supported by 10 devices at a time, no matter the nature of the task involved.
Yes, 100 Mbps is fast enough for online gaming. You can easily play even high-end games with this plan. Almost 66 gaming sessions can be played with this internet plan.
100 Mbps is excellent for small families having 3-4 members. In contrast, 200 Mbps internet is fast enough for small workplaces or large families having 5-7 members. With this internet speed, you can render high-quality images, play heavy online games and download large files.
100 Mbps internet is more than sufficient for a single user and can easily carry all the needs of 3-4 people at the same time. But if you have to deal continuously with uploading YouTube videos or downloading large files, you may want to switch to 150 Mbps or 300 Mbps.
