How fast internet do you need? Working from home, gaming and streaming
Door Marthijn de VriesBijgewerkt op 7 min lezen
Most households in the Netherlands are well served by 100 to 500 Mbit/s. Netflix recommends 15 Mbit/s per 4K stream and Zoom needs about 3.8 Mbit/s down and 3.0 Mbit/s up for a 1080p call, so the number of people online at the same time matters more than any single app. What Dutch providers must promise (minimum, normally available and maximum speed) and how to test it.
Short answer
As of 29 September 2026: for most households 100 to 500 Mbit/s is plenty; 1 Gbit/s only pays off with many heavy users or very large downloads. Individual apps need surprisingly little: Netflix recommends 15 Mbit/s for a 4K stream (Netflix), and Zoom recommends 3.8 Mbit/s down and 3.0 Mbit/s up for a 1080p group call (Zoom). What counts is how many people are online at the same time, your upload speed if you work from home, and your Wi-Fi. Dutch providers must state a minimum, a normally available and a maximum speed in your contract (ACM ConsuWijzer). Our speed advice tool gives a recommendation for your household.
How much speed does each activity need?
Less than most people think. These are the service providers' own recommendations per stream or call:
| Activity | Recommended speed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix in HD (720p) | 3 Mbit/s or higher | Netflix |
| Netflix in Full HD (1080p) | 5 Mbit/s or higher | Netflix |
| Netflix in 4K | 15 Mbit/s or higher | Netflix |
| Zoom 1:1 call in 720p | 1.2 Mbit/s up and down | Zoom |
| Zoom group call in 1080p | 3.8 Mbit/s down, 3.0 Mbit/s up | Zoom |
| Screen sharing (no video) | 50 to 75 kbit/s | Zoom |
Online gaming itself uses little bandwidth; what matters is latency (ping) and stability, see ping and latency for gaming (in Dutch). Speed matters for downloading games and updates. As simple arithmetic: a 100 GB game download takes roughly 13 minutes at 1 Gbit/s and more than 2 hours at 100 Mbit/s, assuming the game server keeps up.
What speed suits your household?
Add up what happens at the busiest moment of the day, then leave room for background traffic such as updates, cloud backups and smart devices. As a rough guide:
| Household | What happens at peak time | Sensible speed |
|---|---|---|
| Single person, mostly streaming | One 4K stream, browsing | 50 to 100 Mbit/s |
| Couple, one works from home | Video calls by day, two streams in the evening | 100 to 200 Mbit/s |
| Family or shared house (3 to 5 people) | Several streams, calls, gaming, downloads at once | 300 to 500 Mbit/s |
| Heavy users, gamers, creators | Large downloads and uploads, many devices | 1 Gbit/s, preferably fibre for upload |
This is our guidance, based on the per-activity figures above. Our speed advice tool does the calculation for your household and shows what is available on your address. The Dutch articles what speed is enough in 2026 (in Dutch) and how much internet do I need (in Dutch) go into more depth.
Why does upload speed matter for working from home?
Because everything you send goes over upload: your camera image in a call, files you save to the cloud and backups. Cable has much lower upload than download; Ziggo lists 25 Mbit/s upload on its 200 Mbit/s plan and 100 Mbit/s on 1 Gbit/s (Ziggo). Fibre usually offers equal speeds in both directions. If two people in your home are on video calls while a laptop uploads a large file, upload is often the first thing that runs out.
The difference between the two is explained in download vs upload speed (in Dutch). Choosing between fibre and cable? See fibre or cable internet.
Wi-Fi is usually the real bottleneck
A fast connection does not help if the Wi-Fi signal in your home office is weak. Put the router centrally, use a cable for a fixed desk, or add mesh access points. See our Dutch guide on mesh vs extenders.
More on Wi-Fi: mesh vs extender (in Dutch) and internet for working from home (in Dutch).
What speed must a Dutch provider deliver?
The speeds stated in your contract. Dutch providers must list three speeds for fixed internet, according to ACM ConsuWijzer (ACM ConsuWijzer):
| Speed in your contract | What it means | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum speed | Your connection must always reach this | No measurement should be lower |
| Normally available speed | What you usually get at any time of day | Reached in at least 8 of 10 measurements |
| Maximum speed | The top speed of the plan | 90% of it reached in at least 1 of 10 measurements |
Measure with a cable, as close as possible to the modem, not over Wi-Fi, and spread your measurements over several days (ACM ConsuWijzer). You can use our speed test; see also how to run a speed test properly (in Dutch). If the speed stays below what was agreed, contact your provider in writing and give it a deadline to fix it. What you can do after that is in your consumer rights with Dutch telecom providers.
Veelgestelde vragen
Usually yes for one or two people. A 1080p Zoom group call needs about 3.8 Mbit/s down and 3.0 Mbit/s up. Check the upload speed of your plan if several people call at the same time.
Only with many heavy users or frequent very large downloads. Most households are well served by 100 to 500 Mbit/s; the Wi-Fi in your home often limits you before the connection does.
Netflix recommends 15 Mbit/s or higher per 4K stream. Multiply by the number of screens that stream at the same time.
Measure several times with a cable. If you stay below the minimum speed, or the normally available speed in fewer than 8 of 10 tests, contact your provider in writing with a deadline to fix it.
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