Test your page load on customized connection speeds with GTmetrix.

Useful if you want to test how a unique connection speed (high speed broadband, corporate fibre connection, etc.) may affect your site’s load performance.

Custom Connection Speeds are available with PRO plans only. Upgrade to GTmetrix PRO to get access to this feature and many more!
 

What do Custom Connection Speeds do?

Not all connections to your website are created equal. While GTmetrix now offers LTE, high-speed Broadband, and other common connection speeds, these connections are calibrated for a general global average. Your particular visitors – likely from specific regions – may have a different internet speed with which they connect to your site with.
 

Find out how various connection speeds affect your site performance.

With GTmetrix’s Custom Connection speeds, you can input your own download/upload rates and create your own unique throttled connection that’s more representative of your visitors.
 

You can create a list of common connection speeds visitors use to load your site.

Why Connection Speeds Matter?

It’s important not to assume everybody has a super fast connection to the Internet. It’s better to err on the side of caution and pick a conservative connection speed so you can ensure performance is acceptable for visitors who may not have the luxury of speed.

In 2021, the estimated average global connection speed was 97.52 Mbps, with various regions differing vastly (Reference)

Global averages for mobile connection speeds are naturally lower than Broadband counterparts:
 

Add to the landscape the various types of connections (3G – 5G mobile connections, high and low speed broadband, etc.), and it’s easy to see why optimizing your site for only unthrottled, high-speed connections doesn’t make sense.

How to use it

Customizing Connection speeds is one of the many Advanced Analysis Options available to PRO users only, along with simulating devices, overriding your DNS, creating analysis presets and more.
 

Adding a Custom Connection Speed

On the Dashboard, expand the Analysis Options. In the connection speed dropdown, you’ll see a new option called “Add Custom Connections”.
 

The “Add Custom Connection” is located in the connection speed dropdown.

Clicking on it will open a side menu – Here you can input the down/up speed values in Kbps or Mbps, and the latency in milliseconds (ms). Click “Add Connection” when you’re done.
 

Input the desired down/up speed and latency values for your Custom Connection.

That’s it! Your custom speed will appear in the dropdown of available connection speeds. Simply select it and analyze your page.
 

Custom Connections are categorized under their own heading.

Editing Custom Connection Speeds

Simply click on “Manage Custom Connections” on the connection speed dropdown and select the entry you want to edit.
 

Edit connections in the “Manage Custom Connections” menu.

Edit your download/upload/latency values and click “Save Connection,” or delete connections as desired.

Other Usage

Here are some other useful tips for using Custom Connection Speeds:

Custom Connection and Simulated Mobile Device

Test your page performance with a Custom Connection and Simulated Mobile Device for a more accurate representation of mobile page performance.
 

Combine Simulated Devices with Custom Connections.

Set up a Preset

Have a preset that combines a mobile connection and your desired mobile hardware like an iPhone or Android device so you can easily analyze and monitor your site on mobile.
 

Configure Presets with Custom Connection Speeds for quick analysis.

Note: If a preset is using a Custom Connection, and the Custom Connection is edited or deleted, the preset will still use the original download/upload/latency values for the connection speed as when it was first saved.
 

Monitor URLs using a variety of connection speeds

For a comprehensive view of your page performance, monitor it with a variety of connection speeds to ensure that even your slowest visitor is loading your page in a reasonable amount of time.
 

Keep an eye on popular devices/connection speeds by setting up monitoring.

Your website analytics can give you an idea of which areas and devices your visitors are coming from. Cross-reference with a resource like The Web Worldwide for an idea of what speeds to customize. For your site in particular, choose a test speed that best represents the vast majority of your user base.

Combined with monitoring and alerts, you can ensure that you keep consistent performance for your entire user base.