Explore the 185 fastest internet cities in the world, ranked by M-Lab's open speed tests: typical download, upload and top speeds.
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Need internet you can count on for calls and uploads? This free finder ranks 185 cities and islands by M-Lab's open speed tests: the typical download, the upload and the fastest quarter of tests.
In this guide, I'll show you:
- What the fastest internet city is, and who this is for
- The 20 fastest places, with download, upload and top speeds
- The fastest places in each region
- Why M-Lab reads lower than Speedtest
Open any place for its speeds by month and the rest of its guide.
TL;DRKey takeaways
What is the city with the fastest internet?
Of these places, Austin has the highest typical download in M-Lab's tests over the last 12 months, at about 157 Mbps.
The typical figure is the middle of all the daily results, so half of the users got more. The fastest quarter is what the top 25% reached, closer to a good fiber line.
Who is the fastest internet cities finder for?
It's for anyone whose work depends on the connection:
- Internet speed test – remote workers checking a new apartment or café on arrival
- VPNs compared – anyone who needs a VPN that keeps up with a fast line
- eSIM finder – travelers who want mobile data as a backup
- Digital nomad locations – nomads weighing internet against weather, cost and safety
A fast city still varies by building, so test the place you stay in.
The 20 fastest places
Here are the places with the highest typical download, from M-Lab's tests within 25 km of each one:
Austin- Typical download
- 157 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 26 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 394 Mbps
Nice- Typical download
- 148 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 76 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 384 Mbps
Valparaíso- Typical download
- 132 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 61 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 345 Mbps
Copenhagen- Typical download
- 124 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 45 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 297 Mbps
Tarifa- Typical download
- 122 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 78 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 334 Mbps
Denver- Typical download
- 119 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 24 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 301 Mbps
San Diego- Typical download
- 119 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 22 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 338 Mbps
New York- Typical download
- 117 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 22 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 300 Mbps
Miami- Typical download
- 115 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 23 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 301 Mbps
Kyoto- Typical download
- 113 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 91 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 332 Mbps
Granada- Typical download
- 113 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 82 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 334 Mbps
San Francisco- Typical download
- 113 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 27 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 321 Mbps
Los Angeles- Typical download
- 107 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 17 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 291 Mbps
Reykjavík- Typical download
- 105 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 40 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 274 Mbps
Lyon- Typical download
- 104 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 18 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 307 Mbps
Wellington- Typical download
- 103 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 52 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 333 Mbps
Chicago- Typical download
- 101 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 20 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 254 Mbps
Vancouver- Typical download
- 101 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 33 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 267 Mbps
Seattle- Typical download
- 97 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 19 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 245 Mbps
Ericeira- Typical download
- 94 Mbps
- Typical upload
- 57 Mbps
- Fastest quarter
- 290 Mbps
Every place has a figure only once 1,000 tests and 100 users have run there.
The fastest places by region
Here are the three fastest places in each region, by the same tests:
- Europe – Nice (148 Mbps), Copenhagen (124 Mbps), Tarifa (122 Mbps)
- Asia – Kyoto (113 Mbps), Busan (94 Mbps), George Town, Penang (93 Mbps)
- Latin America – Valparaíso (132 Mbps), Florianópolis (92 Mbps), Montevideo (86 Mbps)
- North America – Austin (157 Mbps), Denver (119 Mbps), San Diego (119 Mbps)
- The Middle East – Doha (60 Mbps), Dubai (54 Mbps), Muscat (43 Mbps)
- Africa – Grand Baie, Mauritius (40 Mbps), Cape Town (29 Mbps), Dahab (15 Mbps)
- Oceania – Wellington (103 Mbps), Auckland (94 Mbps), Gold Coast (87 Mbps)
For every country's speeds, see internet speed by country.
Why M-Lab reads lower than Speedtest
M-Lab's test opens one connection and measures what it carries. Speedtest-style tests open several at once and add them up, so they read higher on the same line.
M-Lab's data is open, and the method is the same everywhere. That makes it fair for comparing places, even when the numbers look low.
Where there's no M-Lab server nearby, like parts of the Middle East, the figures read lower still. Dubai's homes often have much faster fiber than its figure here suggests.
Where the numbers come from
Every figure comes from an open source, and each place's page names its own:
- Weather – NOAA's monthly station summaries where a station is close, IDEAM's normals for Medellín, and NASA POWER's climate averages elsewhere
- Internet – M-Lab's open speed tests within 25 km of each place over the last 12 months
- Everyday prices – the World Bank's price level for the country, where 100% means US prices
- Safety – the US State Department's travel advisory level, with Levels 1 and 2 both counting as everyday travel
- Air – fine particles (PM2.5) from OpenAQ's open air quality data, the stations within 25 km whose license allows commercial use, each month's average since 2023
The videos and photos come from Pexels, Coverr, Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons, each credited on its place.
More ways to find your next place
These tools use the same places and data, each for a different question:
- Digital nomad locations – every place, with your own picks for the month
- Climate finder – where the weather is right in any month
- Best places to travel right now – this month's best places
- Cleanest air cities – the places ranked by the fine particles in their air
- Best value cities – the most livable places for what life costs
- Most livable cities – weather all year, safety and internet
- Random travel destination generator – one place, picked for you
- Visa-free countries – how long your passport lets you stay
- Internet speed test – your own line, on the same M-Lab test
Every place links to its own guide, with the weather by month, the internet and the visa, tax and money tools for its country.
Fastest internet cities FAQs
Questions about it? Here's what to know.
Of these 185 places, Austin has the highest typical download in M-Lab's tests over the last 12 months.
The figures compare places with each other, not internet plans.
Among these places, Austin, Nice, Valparaíso, Copenhagen and Tarifa lead M-Lab's open tests.
The finder ranks every place the same way.
M-Lab's test uses a single connection, while Speedtest-style tests open several at once.
It's the same method everywhere, so it compares places fairly.
Video calls need about 3 to 4 Mbps each way, and a household of callers wants 25 Mbps or more.
Uploads matter as much as downloads for calls and file sharing.
Run my internet speed test in your browser.
It uses the same M-Lab test, so your result compares with these figures.
A place gets a figure only after 1,000 tests and 100 users within 25 km in the last 12 months.
With fewer, the figure would say more about a few people's lines than the place.
The figures cover the last 12 months of M-Lab's tests.
Each place's page shows the dates its figures cover.
I did. I'm Navid Moazzez, and the fastest internet cities finder is one of my free tools on navid.me.
Read about me, or see my creator profile.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
Navid.me is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
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