Jitter Test
Jitter is how much your latency changes from moment to moment. Low, steady latency feels smooth; latency that jumps around causes stutters in calls and games even when the average looks fine.
Test duration
Short tests are useful for quick checks. Longer tests are better for finding intermittent problems.
Free, no signup. The advanced test also moves test data to measure latency under load: up to a few hundred MB on a fast connection, so switch it off on metered data.
Customize: goal, connection type
Connected via (optional — sharpens the diagnosis)
How we calculate jitter
We send a request every 500 ms. Jitter is the absolute difference between each successful latency sample and the one before it. We report the average, the 95th percentile (P95) and the maximum. The average alone can hide bursts, so P95 is the number to watch for calls and games.
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Average jitter | Typical sample-to-sample change |
| P95 jitter | 95% of changes were this small or smaller — captures bursts |
| Maximum jitter | The single biggest jump in the test |
Jitter vs. ping spikes
Jitter describes ongoing variation; a ping spike is one sample far above normal. We flag a spike when latency exceeds three times your median (and at least 100 ms above it) and list each one with its time and peak. Frequent spikes will show up as high P95 jitter, but a single dramatic spike can leave average jitter almost unchanged — the timeline shows both.
Why jitter matters more than average latency
Video calls
Audio and video are buffered briefly; varying delay exceeds the buffer and causes choppy sound and frozen frames.
Gaming
Inconsistent delay makes movement rubber-band even at low average ping.
Browsing and streaming
Largely unaffected — large buffers absorb the variation.