My data is slow. Is it me, the network, or a throttle?

Our metered plans have no throttle at all. Only the unlimited day pass has one, and it is printed as a number on the buy button: full speed to 2 GB a day, then 1 Mbps.

How to tell a slow cell from a slow plan

Run a speed test and compare it against the median on your country page. If you are near the median, the network is behaving and the site you are using is the problem. If you are far below it, the cell you are on is congested and switching networks usually clears it.

The two speed limits in the product, and where they apply

Two places, and both are printed before you buy. The unlimited day pass runs at full speed to 2 GB a day and then 1 Mbps for the rest of that day, and the limit does not carry forward into the day after. And in 88 of our 197 destinations there is no 5G at all, so the ceiling is whatever 4G gives you there, which is on each country page rather than buried in the terms. Metered plans carry no throttle at any point, so neither limit touches them.

What the rest of the category does

Airalo throttles unlimited plans near 3 GB a day and was measured at 10 to 22 Mbps by third party testing. Holafly publishes no fair use number at all and was measured near 7 Mbps before throttling and under 1 Mbps after. Saily bundles ad blocking audited at 28.6 percent data saved, which makes a slow connection feel faster without making it faster. Ours is 2 GB a day at full speed, printed on the buy button.

What we do automatically and what needs you

We never throttle a metered plan, at any point, for any reason. We publish a median and range for each destination rather than a best case. What needs you is the comparison: without a speed test and a country page open beside it, slow is a feeling and not a fault, and neither of us can act on a feeling.

The numbers, and where they came from

Across 197 destinations the fastest median is 158.7 Mbps and the slowest is 18 Mbps, on 264 upstream networks. 88 destinations are 4G only. Those figures are on the coverage page for each country, given as a median and range rather than a single best case reading.

What you can change, in order of effect

Four things are within your control and they are not equally worth doing. This is the order that actually helps.

• Move. A cell two streets away is often a different experience, and indoors on a lower floor is usually the worst place you can stand.
• Reselect the network manually from the partners named on your country page.
• Turn off the VPN for one test. It is almost always costing you speed.
• Airplane mode on, ten seconds, off, which forces a fresh registration and sometimes a better cell.