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150 Mbps is fast enough for gaming and streaming, but there are some downsides

Reviewed By: Kevin Pocock

Last Updated on March 18, 2024
is 150 mbps fast
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You might be considering getting a new connection or upgrading your old one and wondering – is 150 Mbps fast enough? Well, we have put together a guide about that right here.

To put it simply, yes, 150 Mbps is fast if you compare it to the global average internet speed of 50 Mbps. If you look at the numbers, 150 Mbps is three times faster than 50 Mbps. With this speed, you get good download and upload times – so you can expect it to carry out gaming and streaming. 

Further, for many, 150 Mbps might be the sweet spot, as it offers decent performance and multi-device connectivity at an affordable price range (compared to faster plans like 300 Mbps). But whether it is a suitable speed for you or not comes down to your usage and preferences.

So, let’s find out how fast 150 Mbps truly is, what you can expect from it, and where it might face difficulties.

Quick Answer

150 Mbps is fast enough for gaming and streaming in most cases. However, it mght struggle with 4K stream if multiple devices are connected to the internet. For instance, if you’re streaming a 4K movie on your PC, and a large file is being downloaded on your phone, and another user is gaming on console, you might see your internet connection struggling.

Further, a high download speed doesn’t necessarily mean a high upload speed. So while 150 Mbps is good for live streaming, the performance will depend on the upload speed.

How fast is 150 Mbps?

As mentioned, 150 Mbps is fast – but whether this speed is suitable for you or not will depend on your usage. To give you an idea, here’s how much time it will take for files of different sizes to download.

File typeThe time it will take to download at 150 Mbps
25 MB email attachment 1 second
500 MB music album 26 seconds 
1.5 GB 1080p video1 minute 20 seconds
3 GB HD movie2 minutes 40 seconds
40 GB game 35 minutes 33 seconds
For these estimates, we have used the Omni Download Time Calculator.

Is 150 Mbps good for gaming?

A 150 Mbps internet connection should be more than enough for casual and competitive gaming – regardless of your preferred platform (PC or Console) and type of game.

Most Internet Service Providers will recommend that you have at least 3 to 6 Mbps internet speed for a smooth gaming experience. So, with a 150 Mbps internet service, you should be able to get a lag-free, smooth gaming experience. Plus, as mentioned earlier, 150 Mbps is fast enough for downloading, so you won’t have to wait too long. 

If you primarily play story-based games, then 150 Mbps should be sufficient as those types of games are heavier on your setup than the internet. A simple connection to the server needs to be established, and you’re good to go. However, if you’re playing story-based multiplayer games, such as The Division 2, then internet speed becomes an important factor, but even then, you shouldn’t experience any lag or disconnections with this speed.

As far as competitive online multiplayer games are concerned, 150 Mbps should provide enough bandwidth to connect one, two, or even three devices simultaneously. This means that you could have a LAN party with your friends like in the good old days without compromising your performance.

Is 150 Mbps good for streaming?

Streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ offer content in various resolutions that can range from SD (720p) to 4K. To handle those resolutions and provide a comfortable viewing experience without buffering issues – a fast and reliable internet connection is required, and 150 Mbps should be more than enough to handle the HD resolutions on these platforms.

For reference, Netflix recommends having at least 15 Mbps of internet speed to stream 4K content smoothly. Considering that 150 Mbps is ten times faster, you should have no problem with streaming.

Is 150 Mbps good for working from home?

Working from home generally doesn’t consist of bandwidth-intensive activities, such as downloading or uploading documents, sending emails with attachments, accessing the company CMS, video calls, holding meetings, and more. So, 150 Mbps should be able to cater to all these activities without a hitch and should provide a seamless and efficient working experience.

That said, if your work requires you to download or upload large files or have multiple devices connected to the same connection, then it might slow down depending on the workload. But for the most part – it should power through without causing disruptions.

Is 150 Mbps good for live streaming?

As per Twitch’s guidelines, you need at least 6000 Kbps for streaming 1080p content at 60 FPS. This applies to both – NVIDIA NVENC and x264. So yes, a 150 Mbps connection can be suitable for live streaming. However, do note that factors like connection to multiple devices and your equipment might affect internet speed.

How many devices can you have on 150 Mbps?

You can have as many devices connected to a single connection as you want. However, the sweet spot for a 150 Mbps connection should be around 5 to 6 devices, as connecting more might compromise performance for everyone. As the bandwidth gets scattered between devices, each device gets less and less, which ultimately leads to stuttering and slow downloading and browsing issues.

Conclusion

So, is 150 mbps internet good for you? 

Whether or not a 150 Mbps speed would be suitable for you depends a lot on your use case and preferences. For instance, if you have to connect multiple devices and use the internet for activities like streaming, gaming, etc. then a 150 Mbps connection would be useful. However, if your daily online activities include browsing or filling spreadsheets, then you can consider getting a lower speed, like 100 Mbps or 50 Mbps.