Select your network type, channel bandwidth, MIMO configuration, and signal quality to get a realistic estimate of your 5G or LTE download and upload speed. Covers LTE, LTE-A, 5G Sub-6GHz, and 5G mmWave — with real-world vs theoretical comparison.
Pick your network type, then configure the parameters. We show both peak theoretical and realistic real-world estimates.
LTE standard = 20 MHz. 5G Sub-6 typically 40–100 MHz. mmWave up to 400 MHz.
More MIMO layers = higher throughput. 4x4 is standard for modern LTE & 5G.
Higher modulation = faster but requires stronger signal. Network automatically selects based on SINR.
Peak Theoretical Download
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⚠️ Disclaimer: These are estimates based on 3GPP peak throughput formulas. Real-world speeds depend on network load, distance to tower, building penetration, device category, and carrier-specific configurations. Real-world speeds are typically 30–60% of theoretical peak.
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See theoretical peak and typical real-world speeds side by side for every major cellular technology — same signal quality, same conditions.
Fastest Option
5G mmWave
At selected signal quality
📊 Speed Comparison — Theoretical vs Real-World
Technology
Bandwidth
Peak Theoretical
Typical Real-World
Latency
Real-world speed benchmarks based on 3GPP specifications and published carrier performance data. No ideal conditions assumed.
5G Median Speed (US)
180 Mbps
Median real-world 5G download speed — US, Q4 2025
📊 Real-World Speed Reference Table — US Networks, 2025–2026
Technology
Median DL
Top 10% DL
Median UL
Latency
Sources & Methodology
✓Throughput estimates use the 3GPP peak throughput formulas from TS 36.306 (LTE) and TS 38.306 (5G NR). Real-world efficiency factor: 50–65% of theoretical peak for Sub-6GHz; 60–75% for mmWave in line-of-sight. Signal quality adjustments based on SINR-to-modulation mapping from 3GPP TS 38.214.
Official 3GPP specification defining 5G NR peak throughput formula, UE category parameters, and maximum supported bandwidth, MIMO layers, and modulation configurations. Primary source for all 5G NR calculations.
Defines LTE UE categories (Cat-4 through Cat-20), maximum supported bandwidth, MIMO configurations, and modulation orders. Source for all LTE and LTE-Advanced peak throughput values in this calculator.
Publicly available crowdsourced speed test data providing real-world median download, upload, and latency benchmarks for US LTE and 5G networks. Source for real-world reference values displayed in the Speed Reference tab.
5G and LTE Speed Guide — What Actually Determines Your Throughput
If you've ever looked at a 5G spec sheet showing "up to 20 Gbps" and then got 80 Mbps on your phone, you're not alone. The gap between theoretical and real-world 5G speeds is enormous — and it's not because you're being misled. It's because theoretical peak requires conditions that essentially never exist outside a lab. Understanding what actually drives your real-world throughput helps you decide whether upgrading your plan, your device, or your location is the right move.
The 5G and LTE Throughput Formula Explained Simply
Every cellular throughput calculation comes down to three things multiplied together: how much spectrum you have, how efficiently you use it, and how many simultaneous data streams you can transmit. Everything else is a variant of these three.
Most of the gap between theoretical and real-world speed comes from five factors. Signal quality (SINR) is the biggest one — it determines which modulation order the network uses. At excellent SINR (above 25 dB), you get 256-QAM or even 1024-QAM. At poor SINR (below 5 dB), the network drops to QPSK which carries 4x fewer bits per symbol. Moving 100 meters away from a tower can easily drop your SINR by 10 dB, cutting throughput in half.
Factor
Impact on Speed
Can You Control It?
Signal quality (SINR)
Determines modulation order — up to 5x speed difference
Partly (location, angle to tower)
Channel bandwidth
Direct multiplier on throughput
No (carrier assigned)
MIMO layers
Direct multiplier (1x to 8x)
Partly (device selection)
Network congestion
10–60% reduction during peak hours
No
Building penetration
mmWave: >90% loss indoors. Sub-6: 20–40% loss
Yes (location near window)
Device category
Older devices may not support 4x4 MIMO or 256-QAM
Yes (device upgrade)
LTE vs 5G Sub-6GHz vs mmWave: The Honest Comparison
When people talk about 5G being "20x faster than LTE," they are comparing ideal lab 5G to real-world LTE. That's not a fair comparison. Here's what a realistic comparison looks like at the same signal quality in the same real-world urban environment.
Technology
Typical BW
Real-World DL
Real-World UL
Latency
Range
LTE (Cat-6)
20 MHz
30–80 Mbps
10–25 Mbps
20–50 ms
Excellent
LTE-A (Cat-16)
40–60 MHz
80–250 Mbps
20–60 Mbps
15–40 ms
Excellent
5G Sub-6 (NSA)
60–100 MHz
100–400 Mbps
30–80 Mbps
10–30 ms
Good
5G Sub-6 (SA)
80–100 MHz
150–600 Mbps
50–150 Mbps
5–20 ms
Good
5G mmWave
200–400 MHz
1,000–4,000 Mbps
200–800 Mbps
1–5 ms
Very limited
Why mmWave 5G Isn’t What the Marketing Suggests
Every carrier advertisement about "multi-gigabit 5G" is talking about mmWave. The speeds are real — you genuinely can get 2 to 4 Gbps download in optimal conditions. But there are three things those ads don't mention. First, mmWave has a range of roughly 100 to 300 meters in outdoor line-of-sight. Step inside a building and you may lose all signal — glass and concrete both block mmWave severely. Second, US mmWave deployment is concentrated in specific outdoor venues — stadiums, airports, convention centers, dense downtown blocks. Coverage away from those locations is minimal. Third, your phone has to support the specific mmWave bands your carrier uses, which not all devices do.
💡 Real-world scenario: A software developer working from a coffee shop with T-Mobile 5G pulled 340 Mbps consistently on mid-band Sub-6GHz (n41, 100 MHz) — enough for video calls, cloud uploads, and streaming simultaneously without any congestion. That same connection dropped to 120 Mbps during the lunch rush as more users joined the same sector. The theoretical peak for that configuration is around 750 Mbps. That 45% real-world efficiency is completely normal and expected.
Carrier Aggregation — The Real Reason Flagship Phones Are Faster
Carrier aggregation (CA) is one of the most underappreciated factors in cellular throughput. Your phone may be in an area where the carrier has a 20 MHz LTE channel on Band 4 and another 20 MHz channel on Band 12. Without CA, you'd get ~70 Mbps. With CA combining both channels into an effective 40 MHz, you'd get ~140 Mbps. Flagship phones support more carrier aggregation combinations than mid-range phones, which is part of why a $1,200 phone consistently outperforms a $400 phone on the same network — it's not just marketing.
Frequently Asked Questions
5G Sub-6GHz delivers 100 to 400 Mbps for most users in typical conditions, with excellent-signal peaks around 600 Mbps. 5G mmWave delivers 1 to 4 Gbps in line-of-sight outdoor conditions, but coverage is very limited. The theoretical 5G maximum of 20 Gbps requires conditions that don't exist in real deployments. Most 5G users see speeds 3 to 5 times faster than their previous LTE connection on the same carrier.
20 to 100 Mbps for standard LTE in typical conditions. LTE-Advanced with carrier aggregation reaches 100 to 250 Mbps. Average real-world LTE download speeds in the US are 25 to 50 Mbps. The theoretical LTE maximum (Cat-6) is 300 Mbps, but this requires 2-carrier aggregation and excellent signal. Upload is typically 5 to 25 Mbps on LTE.
Sub-6GHz uses frequencies below 6 GHz (600 MHz to 3.7 GHz). It covers large areas, penetrates buildings reasonably well, and delivers 100 to 600 Mbps typical speeds. mmWave uses 24 to 100 GHz frequencies, delivers 1 to 4 Gbps speeds, but has very short range (100 to 300 meters outdoors) and nearly zero building penetration. mmWave is deployed in stadiums, airports, and dense city blocks. Sub-6GHz is what provides 5G coverage across a city.
MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) uses multiple antennas to transmit several data streams simultaneously. 2x2 MIMO roughly doubles theoretical throughput vs single-antenna. 4x4 MIMO roughly quadruples it. 5G Massive MIMO uses up to 64 antenna elements on the base station, enabling complex beamforming and many simultaneous user connections. The MIMO capability of your device directly limits how much of the available network throughput you can use.
Carrier aggregation (CA) combines multiple frequency channels to increase total bandwidth. LTE-A aggregates up to 5 carriers (100 MHz total). 5G NR extends this with EN-DC (EUTRA-NR Dual Connectivity), simultaneously using LTE and 5G NR bands. In practice, CA is what takes a 20 MHz LTE connection to 40 or 60 MHz, roughly doubling or tripling speed. Flagship phones support more CA combinations than budget phones — it's a real speed differentiator.
Yes, for many households. 5G FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) delivers 100 to 400 Mbps on Sub-6GHz, sufficient for streaming 4K, gaming, and remote work. T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home serve over 6 million US households as of 2026. It works best where fiber isn't available or cable pricing is high. Limitations: speeds vary with network congestion, upload is lower than download, and it can't match gigabit fiber for heavy uploaders. But for typical households, it's a legitimate alternative.
Several reasons. Low-band 5G (Band n71 at 600 MHz) uses narrow bandwidth — often only 15 to 30 MHz — giving modest speed improvements over LTE. DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) 5G reuses existing LTE spectrum and often underperforms dedicated LTE channels. The 5G tower may also be overloaded. Check which 5G band your phone shows — "5G" on a low-band carrier often means barely faster than LTE.
SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio) measures signal quality at the receiver. Higher SINR enables higher modulation orders which carry more data per symbol. Above 25 dB SINR: 256-QAM or 1024-QAM, near-peak throughput. Below 5 dB: QPSK, minimum throughput. Moving 50 meters closer to a tower can change SINR by 5 to 10 dB. This is why your speed is so location-dependent — you can move from 50 Mbps to 200 Mbps just by walking to a window facing the tower.
Look up your phone model's specifications. Cat-4 = 150 Mbps DL (most older phones). Cat-6 = 300 Mbps DL (mid-range). Cat-12 = 600 Mbps DL (premium). Cat-16/18 = 1 Gbps DL (flagship). The category defines the maximum combination of bandwidth, MIMO, and modulation your device can use. You need both your device and the network to support the same category to achieve its peak speed.
EN-DC (EUTRA-NR Dual Connectivity) lets a 5G phone connect to both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station simultaneously. The LTE anchor handles control signaling; 5G NR adds data bandwidth. This is the non-standalone (NSA) 5G architecture used by most carriers today. Your device combines throughput from both connections. It's also why 5G-to-LTE handovers are seamless — the LTE anchor stays active throughout.
From 3GPP TS 38.306: Peak Throughput = (1/Ts) × number of carriers × [MIMO layers × Qm × f × Rmax × NRB × 12 × (1 - OH)]. In practical terms: Throughput ≈ Bandwidth × Spectral Efficiency × MIMO Layers. For 100 MHz with 256-QAM and 4x4 MIMO: 100 MHz × ~7.5 bps/Hz × 4 = ~3,000 Mbps theoretical peak. Real-world is 50 to 65% of this.
5G Sub-6GHz supports bandwidths of 5 to 100 MHz per carrier. 5G mmWave supports 50 to 400 MHz per carrier. LTE maxes at 20 MHz per carrier (though CA aggregates multiple). The wider bandwidth is the single biggest speed advantage of 5G over LTE — a 100 MHz 5G channel carries 5x more data than a 20 MHz LTE channel at identical spectral efficiency. Most Sub-6GHz 5G deployments use 60 to 100 MHz per carrier.
Honestly, for most tasks, not much in daily use. Streaming 4K Netflix uses 25 Mbps. A Zoom call uses 5 Mbps. Gaming uses 5 Mbps. Even heavy smartphone use rarely exceeds 50 Mbps sustained. The difference shows up when downloading large files (a 4K movie at 100 Mbps takes about 8 minutes; at 1 Gbps it takes under 1 minute) or when you're sharing a hotspot with multiple laptops. For most users, 100 Mbps LTE is functionally indistinguishable from 500 Mbps 5G day-to-day.