Ping, jitter and packet loss — what they are and what values are good
Speed isn't everything. Connection quality — especially for gaming and calls — is decided by ping, jitter and packet loss. Here's each metric explained with the thresholds worth knowing.
Measure your internetPing (latency)
Ping is the time in milliseconds (ms) for a packet to reach a server and come back. Lower is better. Good values: < 20 ms excellent, 20–50 ms very good, 50–100 ms acceptable, > 100 ms noticeable lag.
Jitter (latency variation)
Jitter is how much ping varies over time. High jitter causes choppy calls and lag spikes even with low ping. Good values: < 5 ms excellent, 5–20 ms fine, > 30 ms problematic.
Packet loss
The percentage of packets that never arrive. It causes stutter, disconnects and data loss. Good values: 0% ideal, up to 1% usually unnoticeable, above 2–3% serious problems.
FAQ
What ping is good for gaming?
Below 50 ms is comfortable, and below 20 ms is ideal for competitive games.
Which is worse: high ping or high jitter?
For calls and gaming, high jitter and packet loss are often worse than a steadily higher ping.