But you won’t need the same speed for a group call compared to a one-on-one call with grandma. And even though that doesn’t seem like a lot of internet speed, you’ll still need an internet plan with at least 25 to 50 Mbps download speeds. Let’s dig into the numbers and see if we can zoom in on the perfect internet speed for your video calls. For 1:1 video calling:
600kbps (up/down) for high quality video 1.2 Mbps (up/down) for 720p HD video Receiving 1080p HD video requires 1.8 Mbps (up/down) Sending 1080p HD video requires 1.8 Mbps (up/down)
For group video calling:
800kbps/1.0Mbps (up/down) for high quality video For gallery view and/or 720p HD video: 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps (up/down) Receiving 1080p HD video requires 2.5mbps (up/down) Sending 1080p HD video requires 3.0 Mbps (up/down)
For screen sharing only (no video thumbnail): 50–75kbps
For screen sharing with video thumbnail: 50–150kbps For audio VoiP: 60–80kbps
For Zoom Phone: 60–100kbps
1 megabit (MB) = 1000 kilobytes (Kb) 1 megabyte (MB) = 8 megabits (Mb) 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1,000 megabytes (MB)
We’ll spare you the maths and give you an idea of how much data Zoom uses per hour and per minute, rather than a per-second basis. I don’t know about you, but my Zoom conversations rarely last only a few seconds (though it would be nice if they did sometimes). If you’re still in the dark, here’s an easy guide on how much internet speed you need for different household sizes and activities. Keeping in mind that your internet bandwidth goes to all of your internet devices at the same time, here are some examples of other common data usages that probably are happening at your home. We recommend looking for internet plans with at least 25 to 50 Mbps download speeds. And if you need an internet service provider (ISP) recommendation, Xfinity and Verizon Fios Home Internet consistently show up in our reviews as some of the best internet providers out there.
