How Much Internet Speed Does Your Business Actually Need?
More speed isn't always the answer — the right bandwidth depends on what your team does all day. Here's a simple framework to calculate how much your business actually needs.
Internet service providers love to sell you the fastest plan available. But buying too much internet is wasteful, and buying too little causes frustrating slowdowns. Here's how to calculate what your business actually needs.
Bandwidth by Activity Type
- Video conferencing (Zoom, Teams, Meet): 3–5 Mbps up/down per concurrent call
- VoIP phone calls: 100–200 Kbps per concurrent call (very lightweight)
- Cloud application use (M365, Google Workspace): 1–2 Mbps per active user
- Large file uploads/downloads: depends on file sizes and how often — the more the better
- Cloud backup: needs sufficient upload bandwidth to complete nightly without impacting daytime performance
Quick Calculation
Multiply your peak concurrent users by 5 Mbps for a rough starting point. For a 10-person office where everyone might be on video calls simultaneously, target at least 50 Mbps symmetrical (equal upload and download) as a baseline. Add bandwidth for cloud backups and any large file transfers your business does regularly.
Upload Speed Matters as Much as Download
Most residential and cable internet plans have much faster download than upload speeds. For business use — especially with cloud backups, video calls, and cloud application uploads — you need good upload speed too. Ask for the upload speed specifically when evaluating plans. Fiber internet typically offers symmetrical speeds (same upload and download).