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Internet Latency Explained: What It Is & How to Fix It in 2025

Latency refers to the time it takes for a data packet to complete a round trip—from the user's device to a server and back. This metric, measured in milliseconds (ms), directly affects how responsive internet-connected systems feel, especially during real-time interactions like gaming, video conferencing, or live streaming.

Unlike speed or bandwidth, which defines the volume of data transferred per second (usually in Mbps or Gbps), latency zeroes in on delay. A connection can deliver high bandwidth while still suffering from high latency, which means you might download large files quickly but experience lag when trying to control a remote desktop or play an online game. Understanding and optimizing latency helps eliminate that frustrating delay and brings smoother performance to time-sensitive online tasks.

How is Internet Latency Measured?

Internet latency is quantified in milliseconds (ms), representing the time a packet takes to travel from the source to the destination and back. This round-trip delay directly informs how fast or slow the network connection feels during online activities.

Milliseconds (ms): The Language of Latency

Every data exchange over the internet is timed. When latency is 20 ms, it means it takes 20 milliseconds for the signal to make a complete round-trip. Latency under 50 ms is considered excellent for most use cases—especially gaming and video conferencing. Once the numbers rise above 100 ms, delays become noticeable. Beyond 200 ms, most real-time applications begin to struggle.

Ping and Response Time: Windows Into Latency

Ping measures the time it takes for a small packet of data sent from your device to reach a server and return. The result, also in milliseconds, is your latency. A typical ping test reports the shortest, average, and highest values observed across several transmissions, giving a sense of consistency as well as speed.

Response time often refers to the same concept but may also include the server's internal processing time. In many speed tests, it's registered under “latency” or “ping.”

Popular Tools for Measuring Latency

Each of these tools offers a different perspective. Together, they identify not only how much latency exists but where it's occurring—and that information leads directly to effective fixes.

Diving into Ping and Response Time

What Exactly Is Ping in Networking?

In networking, ping refers to a diagnostic tool that tests the reachability of a device on an IP network. It sends a data packet—called an ICMP Echo Request—to a specified address and waits for a reply. This simple action establishes whether two devices can communicate and measures how long that communication takes.

The term also describes the time it takes for that round-trip. Measured in milliseconds (ms), ping time directly reflects the responsiveness of your connection. Lower ping values indicate a faster connection between endpoints.

Inside the Mechanics of a Ping Test

A standard ping test sends a small data packet to a remote server. The server, upon receiving that packet, immediately sends it back. This round-trip journey is timed. That timing—often referred to as latency or response time—is recorded over several pings and then averaged.

A result of 20 milliseconds or lower is considered outstanding in terms of responsiveness. Anything under 50 ms usually feels seamless for most activities. When ping spikes above 100 ms, users begin to notice sluggish responses in real-time applications.

How High Ping Disrupts Real-Time Activities

Streaming a video doesn’t suffer much from temporary spikes in latency because it buffers in advance. Real-time communications, however, don’t have that luxury.

Low ping ensures fluid interactions. In every real-time application, the quality of the experience rises in direct proportion to how quickly data can complete its journey between devices.

Key Causes of Internet Latency

Internet latency doesn't come from a single source. Multiple factors contribute simultaneously, often amplifying the delay. Understanding these elements helps isolate the bottlenecks and target effective fixes.

Network Congestion

High volumes of simultaneous data requests can overload routers, switches, and network pathways. When traffic spikes—during peak usage hours, for instance—packets queue up, increasing delay. This is particularly common in shared networks like public Wi-Fi, but even home broadband connections can suffer if multiple devices stream or download at once.

Distance to Server

Data packets travel at the speed of light, but the actual path isn't direct. More distance means more infrastructure—cables, switches, relays—to traverse. For instance, a packet sent from New York to Sydney travels over 9,900 miles (15,900 km), and under ideal conditions, would take at least 133 milliseconds one way. That number increases with every intermediate hop and processing delay.

Routing and Number of Hops

Routing defines the journey data takes between source and destination. Each ‘hop’—the traversal from one router to another—adds processing time. Inefficient routing, caused by suboptimal peering agreements or traffic management strategies, increases latency significantly. More hops also introduce more chances for packet delay or drop.

DNS Resolution Time

Before reaching the actual server, a browser must translate a human-readable URL into an IP address using the Domain Name System (DNS). If DNS servers respond slowly or are geographically distant, latency increases at the very first step. For example, latency can jump by 20-50 milliseconds simply due to slow DNS resolution—numbers that matter when milliseconds count.

Bandwidth Limitations

Although bandwidth and latency measure different things, constrained bandwidth limits how much data can move at once. When the available bandwidth is saturated—by downloads, video calls, or streaming—queues develop, and latency increases. Even a high-speed line can suffer latency spikes if multiple heavy-use applications run concurrently.

Quality of Service (QoS)

QoS settings on a router or ISP level prioritize specific types of traffic. When improperly configured, QoS can throttle real-time traffic like VoIP or gaming packets in favor of less time-sensitive transfers like file downloads. This misprioritization introduces lag where speed is most needed.

Device Performance and Internal Network Configuration

Every element in the data pathway—from your laptop to the target server—can affect latency. By pinpointing the exact source, you can make targeted improvements rather than chasing generic solutions.

How Distance to the Server Affects Internet Latency

Data doesn't just teleport from your device to its destination. It travels across physical infrastructure—fiber optics, undersea cables, switches, routers—and returns through the same journey. Every kilometer adds milliseconds to the round trip.

Latency increases as the physical distance between your device and the server grows. That’s because even at the speed of light, data takes time to travel. Fiber optic cables carry data at roughly 200,000 kilometers per second—about two-thirds the speed of light in vacuum. This means a round trip between New York and London (approximately 5,500 km one way) introduces a minimum latency floor of around 55 milliseconds, not accounting for delays caused by routing, hardware, or congestion.

Accessing a server near your physical location often results in lower latency. Instead of data routing halfway around the globe, it may only travel several hundred kilometers. That distance difference produces a measurable reduction in time, enhancing real-time performance.

Consider your daily use: Are your tools hosted locally, or are they on the other side of the world? The answer directly impacts how quickly they respond. Businesses deploying customer-facing services in multiple regions use geo-distribution strategies for this reason—to shorten the distance, and cut down latency.

Routing and Hops: How Every Stop Adds Latency

What Are Hops in Networking?

In computer networks, a hop refers to the trip a data packet takes from one router or network device to another. Each time a packet is passed along this chain—from your device to your internet service provider and beyond—it completes a hop. The total number of hops it takes to reach the destination and return forms the path your data follows through the internet.

More Hops, More Latency

Every time a packet reaches a new router, that router needs to examine the packet and determine where to send it next. This process introduces a slight delay—typically a few milliseconds. A handful of hops may have little impact. But when packets traverse dozens of nodes across continents, latencies compound. Poorly optimized paths with redundant or misconfigured routes will slow down the entire connection.

Traceroute: Visualizing the Journey

Traceroute is a diagnostic tool that maps the journey your data takes by listing all the intermediary hops. It reports the IP address of each hop along the path and measures the round-trip time to each one. System administrators use it to identify routing anomalies, excessive delays on specific hops, or potential network outages.

Try this: open your terminal and run traceroute google.com (Linux/macOS) or tracert google.com (Windows). You'll see each node your packet reaches on the way to Google's servers. Longer or erratic times on specific hops can indicate a congested or distant router.

Efficient routing minimizes the number of hops and keeps them geographically logical. Intelligent network design and robust peering agreements between ISPs play a critical role, directly influencing your latency experience.

Wired vs. Wireless: Which Delivers Lower Latency?

Latency consistently favors wired connections over wireless ones. Data delivered via Ethernet travels through a direct cable, avoiding many of the interruptions and inefficiencies that affect Wi-Fi or mobile networks. That difference in transmission medium plays a measurable role in overall response time.

Why Wired Networks Offer Lower Latency

Ethernet cables transmit signals via copper or fiber with little interference and minimal signal loss. In a typical local network setup using Cat6 cables and gigabit switches, data latency remains under 1 millisecond, which contributes directly to faster load times and more stable communication.

Unlike wireless networks, wired connections are not affected by environmental influences like walls, distance from the router, or signal overlap from neighboring devices. This stability results in consistent packet delivery and a reliable round-trip time.

Wireless Constraints and Their Impact

Wi-Fi introduces latency through various layers of complexity. Packets transmitted over the air must contend with signal degradation, interference from other devices, and multi-path propagation, where the same signal bounces off surfaces and arrives at slightly different times. These effects add milliseconds to each packet's travel time.

For a user on Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), real-world latency often ranges between 3 and 10 milliseconds under optimal conditions. That increases sharply with network congestion or physical obstructions. Mobile networks, particularly 4G LTE, push that number to 30–60 milliseconds, with occasional spikes due to cell handoffs or tower congestion.

Making the Right Choice

Switch to Ethernet for any situation where low latency is essential—competitive gaming, video conferencing, or remote desktop usage. Consider how often you rely on stable communication, then double-check if you're currently tethered to a wireless network when a port is within reach. That one cable switch can shave off milliseconds that make the difference.

DNS Resolution Time: The Hidden Step That Adds Latency

What Is DNS and Why It Matters

DNS, or Domain Name System, functions like the phonebook of the internet. When a user types a web address like example.com into a browser, DNS translates that human-friendly name into an IP address—something like 93.184.216.34—that computers use to locate the server hosting the website.

This process is called DNS resolution. It happens before any actual data starts flowing between you and the destination server. Until the DNS query completes, your device can’t initiate communication. That makes DNS resolution a critical but often overlooked source of latency.

How DNS Resolution Adds Delay

Every time a new web domain is accessed, your device queries a DNS resolver to find the matching IP address. If that resolver isn't fast or is located far away, the delay can spike. The query may also pass through multiple DNS servers—root, top-level domain (TLD), and authoritative servers—depending on cache availability, each step adding milliseconds to the total wait time.

For example, standard DNS resolution can take anywhere from 20 to 120 milliseconds, depending on server load, geographic proximity, and cache efficiency. While that may seem minimal, it becomes significant in latency-sensitive applications like gaming, video conferencing, or high-frequency trading.

Reduce Resolution Time with Faster DNS Providers

Default DNS resolvers from ISPs tend to be slower or less optimized. Switching to high-performance public DNS services can cut resolution time dramatically. Here are viable alternatives offering consistently lower latency:

Switching DNS is a quick fix. Try measuring lookup times before and after the change using command-line tools like nslookup or dig. Notice anything different? That’s your DNS resolver affecting the overall latency profile of your online session.

Bandwidth vs. Latency: Clearing Up the Confusion

Faster internet doesn't always mean a more responsive connection. A common misconception equates high bandwidth with low latency, but these two metrics measure fundamentally different aspects of network performance.

Different Metrics, Different Roles

Bandwidth defines the maximum amount of data your internet connection can transmit per second. It's typically measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps). Think of it as the width of a highway—the wider the road, the more cars can travel side by side.

Latency, on the other hand, is the time it takes for a single piece of data to travel from the source to the destination. It's measured in milliseconds (ms) and has no direct correlation to how much data can be sent. Latency captures delay, not volume.

Pipe Analogy: Width vs. Length

Imagine a pipe system. Bandwidth is the width of the pipe—the larger it is, the more water can flow through at once. Latency represents the length of the pipe—the longer the water takes to reach the other end, the higher the latency. You can have a fat pipe (high bandwidth) that takes a long time to transport a single drop of water (high latency), and vice versa.

Why the Confusion Persists

Understanding the distinction allows for targeted troubleshooting. A sluggish video call on a 1 Gbps connection might not need more bandwidth—it might need lower latency.

Latency in Online Gaming: Every Millisecond Counts

Online gaming demands precision, timing, and immediate feedback. When players engage in real-time environments—whether it's a first-person shooter, competitive sports sim, battle royale, or MMORPG—latency becomes a game-altering factor. A delay as minimal as 40 milliseconds can shift results from a headshot to a miss, or from victory to sudden defeat.

How Latency Disrupts Real-Time Play

Latency refers to the time it takes for data to travel from a player's device to the game server and back. In fast-paced games, even slight lags can cause position desyncs, input delays, or rubber-banding effects. For example, if a racing game updates positions every 100ms, a latency spike of 150ms between players creates outdated positional data—resulting in phantom collisions or unnatural movements.

Fighting games, known for frame-precise inputs, amplify latency problems. A delay of 80ms (~5 frames at 60fps) makes counterattacks almost impossible to time and breaks combo windows. In team-based shooters, high latency players often register hits later, leading to "traded kills" or invisible enemies.

Understanding Good vs Bad Ping in Gaming

Gamers on servers above 200ms ping often experience predictive behaviors by the game engine, such as interpolation smoothing or compensation buffering—but these bypasses create artificial gameplay effects that feel detached from real inputs.

Practical Steps to Lower Ping in Games

Every click, dodge, or spell cast travels across a network infrastructure—and latency defines how closely that action corresponds to reality. High-performance gaming stays impossible when delay disrupts feedback loops, and ping becomes more than just a number—it becomes the difference between domination and disconnection.

Make Smarter Moves: Take Control of Your Internet Latency

Latency refers to the time delay between a user action and a corresponding response from the internet—measured in milliseconds. It directly shapes online experiences, from gaming and streaming to a smooth video call. High latency causes lag, desynchronization, and frustration. Low latency creates seamless digital interactions.

Reducing latency comes down to better infrastructure, smarter configuration, and closer collaboration with service providers. Here’s where users can take deliberate action now:

Ready to measure your performance and make improvements?

Run a latency test today using one of the tools recommended earlier—such as PingPlotter, Speedtest.net, or Traceroute. Each will help pinpoint delays and bottlenecks across the connection path.

Curious how your setup compares to others? Use our ISP latency comparison guide to evaluate providers, hardware, and settings based on real-world latency benchmarks. You’ll find side-by-side breakdowns for streaming, gaming, video calls, and more.