How many Mbps do you need to work from home?

Millions of office workers from around the world had to switch to a home office setting. So if you are wondering about your work-from-home internet speed requirements, then we got you covered.

But it all depends on your internet needs at home and the type of work that you do. So let’s take a closer look.

What internet speed do you need to work from home?

About 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload is a good starting point if you wonder what is a good internet speed for working from home. But good internet speed for work from home hugely depends on the specifics of your profession, doesn’t it? Some may need more, others may need less.

And what about if you live with other people who also use your Internet connection to watch movies, videos, play games, or work?

One too many devices that use your network and you will begin to experience the pains of slow internet connection.

If your primary professional use of your connection is to communicate (e.g. Sales, Customer Support, HR, etc.), then you might get away with a 50/10 Mbps connection.

It is perfect for browsing the Internet, using communication/workplace apps, and transferring small files.

This type of connection will also suffice if you are a programmer.

However, if your work requires downloading and uploading gigabytes of files (e.g. photographer, graphic designer, videographer, etc.), then I would recommend that you take things up a notch – 100 Mbps download speed and 40 Mbps upload speed are a good starting point.

And of course, consider the Internet needs of any other people that use the same connection. Consider adding between 50 and 100 Mbps for each person that uses your network for work purposes.

What is a good download speed for working from home?

If you need to regularly download bigger files (1 to 10GB) as part of your job, then anything between 75 and 100 Mbps should provide decent download times.

If you find that these speeds are not fast enough for you because you have to wait for many minutes or even a whole hour to download something, then talk to your Internet Service Provider and switch to a faster plan.

The range of 75 and 100 Mbps may not be enough if 2 or more people regularly download larger files. Switching to 200 Mbps might be a better option if that is indeed the case.

What is a good upload speed for working from home?

If you have to upload large files and documents (1 to 10 GB) as part of your job, then around 40 Mbps is the speed at which you will be having decent upload times. But if this doesn’t suffice and you are not happy with the speed, then you should aim for 80 to 100 Mbps.

How much data does working from home use

A person working from home will use data of up to 200GB per month. The data usage depends on the type of work that the person is doing, with streaming video and downloading big files being the most data-demanding activities. Here are some examples:

• One-on-one voice call for 1 hour is 130MB.
• One-on-one video call for 1 hour is 540MB.
• Video calling with 3 people for 1 hour is 810MB.
• Downloading 1GB of file(s) is around 5 to 10MB.
• Watching video at 480p for 1 hour is 700MB.
• Watching video at 1080p for 1 hour is 3GB.

Some internet service providers have a cap of 1TB of data while others provide unlimited data. Talk to your ISP to find out what your data cap is.

If you will be working from home from now on, consider using what you already have instead of purchasing new things. For example, your gaming chair doubles as a perfect work chair. However, you might want to get a bigger monitor in order to do your work optimally.

Is 50 Mbps good for working from home?

А 50 Mbps download speed is good for working from home if your primary use of your internet connection is to communicate.

If you are an HR representative, a salesperson, a customer service agent, a marketeer, or a search engine optimization specialist, then 50 Mbps (with 10 to 20 Mbps) should be enough to allow you to comfortably do your job.

You might experience a slow connection if 1 or more people are using your network at the same time for more demanding activities such as streaming or downloading large files.

Is 100 Mbps good for working from home?

A 100 Mbps download speed is good for working from home even if your internet needs are a bit more demanding.

If you are a photographer, a videographer, or a graphic designer, you will be able to comfortably download all sorts of file sizes with decent speeds.

And if you have about 40 to 50 Mbps of upload speed, then you will be able to comfortably upload files to clouds, websites, and video-sharing websites.

You should be having decent download and upload times even if one more person is using the network at the same time. You might run into problems if 3 or more people/devices are using the network at the same time.

is 200 Mbps good for working from home?

A 200 Mbps download speed is good for working from home, even if there are one or two more people who are regularly using the network at the same time. With this speed, you should be able to easily load any type of streaming website, any app, and quickly download large files.

If 4 or more people/devices are using the network with demanding tasks, such as streaming or downloading files, then you might experience some slowing but you will probably still be good.

Usually, 200 Mbps is ideal for families/roommates of 3 to 5 people, even if 2 or 3 people are working at the same time.

Key takeaways

• 50 Mbps is usually sufficient for working from home.
• 100 Mbps is great if you have to download or upload huge files.
• 200 Mbps is great for 3 to 5 people who use the network at the same time.
• On average, work from home can use up to 200GB of data.
• You can check your internet speed at speedtest.net