Check Your Viasat Internet Speed
Satellite internet is more sensitive to your specific setup than any other connection type. Everything from dish alignment, weather, and time of day can all affect how well it performs. Running the Viasat speed test regularly is the easiest way to know whether your connection is performing the way it should, or to see if something’s wrong with the connection. You’ll have test results in less than a minute; download speed, upload speed, and ping readings that you can measure against your plan details.
🔍 Pro Tip: Run this test at different times of day. Viasat performance on satellite tends to slow down during evening peak hours (roughly 7–11 PM), so a single good or bad result doesn’t tell the full story.
Understanding Your Viasat Speed Test Results
⬇️ Download Speed
Download speed indicates how fast data is transferred to your device; it’s the number behind how quickly a page loads or a show starts streaming. Viasat’s current flagship plan, Unleashed, advertises download speeds up to 150 Mbps in markets with enough satellite capacity, though real-world results depend heavily on your specific beam coverage and time of day.
⬆️ Upload Speed
Upload speed is a measurement of how fast data is sent from your device to a destination on the internet; video calls, cloud backups, and large file uploads depend on upload speed. This is where GEO (geosynchronous equatorial orbit) satellite internet, including Viasat, shows its biggest limitation: upload speeds sit around 3 Mbps regardless of plan. It’s an important consideration to know before you sign up, particularly if you work remotely and rely on video calls throughout the day.
⚡ Ping Rate (Latency)
Latency measures the round-trip delay between a request leaving your device and a response coming back. It’s measured in milliseconds, and the lower the number the better, or more responsive, your connection is. Because Viasat’s satellites sit in geostationary orbit roughly 22,000 miles above the equator, every request travels a long distance — twice. And for that reason, there’s not much to be done to improve latency on GEO satellite internet. Expect latency in the 600–700ms range on standard Viasat plans, which is high enough to notice on video calls and rules out fast-paced online gaming, even though it’s fine for browsing, email, and most streaming.
- Under 100 ms is the general target for browsing and streaming; Viasat can’t hit this.
- Under 30 ms is needed for competitive gaming; not realistic on any standard GEO satellite plan.
What Is a Good Viasat Speed?
The best possible speed you can get from Viasat satellite internet is 150 Mbps download speed. That’s plenty to browse, email, and stream video. But the speed and plan that’s right for you depends on your household needs. Use the table below to get an idea of what each Viasat plan can support.
| Household | Recommended Viasat Speed | Best-Fit Plan |
| 1–2 light users (browsing, email, video calls) | Up to 50 Mbps | Essentials |
| 3–4 users (streaming, remote work, moderate use) | Up to 150 Mbps | Unleashed |
| 5+ users / heavy simultaneous streaming | Up to 150 Mbps (shared across users) | Unleashed; but expect sluggishness with this many users |
Comparing Viasat Plans
| Plan | Download | Upload | Data | Contract | Starting Price |
| Essentials | Up to 50 Mbps | ~3 Mbps | 150 GB priority data | 12-month term | $39.99/mo for 3 months, then $69.99/mo |
| Unleashed | Up to 150 Mbps | ~3 Mbps | Unlimited (soft threshold ~850 GB before peak-hour deprioritization) | None — month-to-month | $69.99/mo for 3 months, then $99.99/mo |
Plans, prices, and speeds are current as of August 2026 and are subject to change at any time.
Cities with Fastest Viasat Internet Speeds
| City / Location | Region / Area Type | Typical Real-World Peak Speeds | Max Advertised Plan Speed |
| Maryville, TN | East Tennessee (Foothills) | ~112 Mbps | Up to 150 Mbps |
| Elizabethtown, NY | Adirondack Region | ~110 Mbps | Up to 150 Mbps |
| Hephzibah, GA | Augusta Metro Outskirts | ~92 Mbps | Up to 150 Mbps |
| Minneapolis Outskirts, MN | Upper Midwest Rural | ~58 Mbps | Up to 150 Mbps |
Source: FCC
| City | Speed |
| Houston, TX | 100Mbps |
| San Antonio, TX | 100Mbps |
| Phoenix, AZ | 100Mbps |
| Chicago, IL | 35Mbps |
| Brooklyn, NY | 35Mbps |
| Los Angeles, CA | 35Mbps |
| Miami, FL | 35Mbps |
| New York, NY | 35Mbps |
| Philadelphia, PA | 35Mbps |
| Bronx, NY | 35Mbps |
Viasat Internet Fastest Download Speeds
| Months Ago | Fastest Download Speed (Mbps) |
| 12 | 27.02 |
| 11 | 25.13 |
| 10 | 26.55 |
| 9 | 28.53 |
| 8 | 27.77 |
| 7 | 24.24 |
| 6 | 37.66 |
| 5 | 35.33 |
| 4 | 36.09 |
| 3 | 36.39 |
| 2 | 34.54 |
| 1 | 31.85 |
This table shows the range of download speeds recorded by Viasat users over the past 12 months, highlighting both average performance and the fastest speeds achieved. While results can vary based on location, weather, and other factors, this gives you a solid look at what’s possible with Viasat under ideal conditions.
Viasat Internet Average Download Speeds
| Months Ago | National Average Download Speed (Mbps) | Peak / Optimal Beam Speed (Mbps) |
| 12 | 10.15 | 28.10 |
| 11 | 10.42 | 27.85 |
| 10 | 10.88 | 29.30 |
| 9 | 11.25 | 31.05 |
| 8 | 11.90 | 32.40 |
| 7 | 12.65 | 34.10 |
| 6 | 14.93 | 38.20 |
| 5 | 14.10 | 36.50 |
| 4 | 14.85 | 37.10 |
| 3 | 14.50 | 36.80 |
| 2 | 13.90 | 35.20 |
| 1 | 14.22 | 34.75 |
What Internet Speed Do You Need?
u003c50 Mbps
Great for individuals browsing the web, checking email, and using basic apps.
50-100 Mbps
Great for streaming videos, video calls, and light use on a few devices.
100-200 Mbps
Great for 4K streaming, online gaming, fast downloads, and multiple devices.
200+ Mbps
Great for large households, remote work, gaming, and streaming on many devices.
Troubleshooting Slow Viasat Speeds
If your Viasat speed test results are consistently slower than your plan speed, work through these before contacting support.
- Rule Out Weather and Obstructions First. Unlike Wi-Fi troubleshooting, satellite performance starts with the dish itself: confirm nothing new is blocking its line of sight to the southern sky (tree growth, new construction, snow buildup on the dish) and check whether current weather in your area is heavy enough to cause temporary degradation.
- Check Wi-Fi Placement Second. Once the dish itself is ruled out, treat the rest like any home network: keep your router central and elevated, away from metal and thick walls, and add a Wi-Fi extender if your home is large enough to have dead zones.
- Test With a Wired Connection. Connect a device directly to your modem with an Ethernet cable and disable Wi-Fi on that device before retesting. If the wired result is close to your plan speed, the problem is your home Wi-Fi setup, not Viasat’s satellite connection itself.
- Time Large Downloads Around Peak Hours. Satellite bandwidth is shared across a wide geographic footprint, so evenings (roughly 7–11 PM) are when congestion hits hardest. If your plan includes Free Zone off-peak hours, schedule large downloads, backups, or updates during that window instead.
- Contact Viasat Support if Nothing Improves. If you’ve ruled out the dish, your Wi-Fi setup, and timing, reach out to Viasat directly; they can check for local network issues, equipment problems, or plan mismatches on their end that aren’t visible from a speed test alone.
Frequently Asked Questions: Viasat Speed Test
Is Viasat internet good?
For its type of internet connection, yes, Viasat is generally considered one of the stronger GEO satellite options, particularly since its Unleashed plan dropped hard data caps and contract requirements. It’s not a fair comparison to cable or fiber, though: the physics of satellite mean higher latency and lower upload speeds no matter which provider you choose. Viasat is a strong choice specifically when it’s genuinely your best available option, not when faster wired or fixed-wireless alternatives exist at your address.
Is Viasat internet good for gaming?
Not for anything fast-paced or competitive. Viasat’s latency typically runs 600–700ms, and that delay is a factor of geostationary satellite physics, not something a faster plan or better router can fix. Turn-based or slower-paced games are generally fine; shooters, competitive multiplayer, and anything requiring quick reaction time will feel frustratingly laggy regardless of your download speed.
How much does Viasat internet cost per month?
Viasat’s current lineup runs from $39.99/month (for the first 3 months, then $69.99/mo) for Essentials (50 Mbps, 12-month term) up to Unleashed at $69.99/month for the first three months, then $99.99/month afterward, with no contract and unlimited data. Exact pricing varies by location, since satellite capacity differs by region.
How do I test my Viasat internet speed?
Run the Viasat speed test. It takes less than a minute and checks download speed, upload speed, and ping. See our guide to understanding your speed test results for what the numbers mean. Since satellite performance varies more than wired connections, it’s worth testing at a few different times of day rather than relying on a single result, especially if you’re trying to determine whether a slow result is a real problem or just peak-hour congestion.
Why is my Viasat internet not working or slow?
Start with the dish itself ; check for anything blocking its view of the southern sky, from tree growth to heavy weather, will affect performance in a way no Wi-Fi troubleshooting can fix. If the dish is clear, it could be that there are too many connected devices, an outdated router, peak-hour congestion between 7 and 11 PM, or other common reasons for slow internet. A wired Ethernet test isolates whether the issue is your home network or the satellite connection itself.
Does Viasat throttle internet speeds?
Not in the traditional sense on the Unleashed plan, which has no hard data cap. But Viasat may deprioritize your connection after 850 GB of high-speed data in a month, which functions similarly to throttling but is usage-triggered rather than automatic. Viasat may also deprioritize speeds during network congestion. Essentials, the lower-cost plan, has a lower priority data allowance, after which speeds are reduced for the rest of the billing cycle.
Is Viasat internet available in my area?
Likely, yes. Viasat’s satellite coverage reaches nearly the entire continental U.S., which is the whole point of satellite as a technology. What varies by address is which specific plan and speed tier your local beam capacity supports, so checking availability at your exact address is still worth doing even though satellite itself is close to universally available.
