Ping Test NZ: How to Measure Latency and What Good Numbers Look Like

Ping is the number that decides whether a game feels responsive and whether a video call talks over itself, and it has almost nothing to do with the speed your plan is sold on. The test above measures it from your connection to Cloudflare’s Auckland edge, along with jitter. This guide explains what the numbers mean in New Zealand, why overseas servers are slow no matter what you pay, and how to bring a high ping down.

Ping, jitter and packet loss

Ping is the round trip: how long a small packet takes to reach a server and come back, in milliseconds. Jitter is how much that time varies from one packet to the next. Packet loss is the share of packets that never arrive. A game can tolerate a steady 40 ms far better than a ping that swings between 10 and 90 ms, and a video call breaks up on packet loss long before it breaks up on speed.

What each connection type delivers

The Commerce Commission measures latency alongside speed in its Measuring Broadband New Zealand programme. These are the averages from Report 28, tested in April 2026.

Fibre is in a different league. If a wired fibre connection tests above 20 ms to Auckland, something is adding delay — a VPN, Wi-Fi, or a device problem — and the section below deals with it.

Why overseas servers are always slower

Light in fibre travels at roughly two-thirds of its speed in a vacuum, and New Zealand is a long way from everything. Measured over the fortnight to 11 September 2026, round trips from Auckland ran at about 28 to 34 ms to Sydney, around 140 ms to Los Angeles, 120 to 268 ms to Singapore depending on the route, and about 265 ms to London. No plan changes that; it is distance.

That is why a game hosted in the United States will never feel like one hosted in Sydney, and why choosing a server region matters more than any setting on your modem. It is also why a VPN routed through Los Angeles adds 140 ms to everything, not only to the site you were trying to reach. Cloud gaming is even more sensitive, because the game itself runs on a remote server and every input makes the round trip; our cloud gaming guide explains how those services work.

What counts as good

How to run a ping test

The tool at the top of this page is the quickest option: it sends a series of small requests to Cloudflare’s Auckland edge and reports the median round trip and the jitter. The Chorus speed test also reports ping and jitter, to a Chorus server. For a specific game or service, the built-in tools are more accurate:

• Windows: open Command Prompt and type ping 1.1.1.1 for a general result, or the server’s address for a specific one. Add -n 50 to see variation.
• macOS and Linux: open Terminal and type ping 1.1.1.1; press Control-C to stop and read the min, average and max.
• Game clients usually show ping per server region in their server browser — use that number, not a generic test.

Run the test wired and then over Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi typically adds 2 to 10 ms and most of the jitter; on a congested 2.4 GHz band it can add far more.

Lowering a high ping

1. Use a cable for the gaming PC or console. This removes most jitter at a stroke.
2. Turn the VPN off, or connect to an Auckland server. A VPN through another country adds that country’s distance to every packet.
3. Pick the nearest game region. Sydney adds about 30 ms; anything further adds far more.
4. Stop uploads. A saturated upload — cloud backup, cameras, someone streaming to Twitch — inflates ping for everyone in the house. Upload is only 25 Mbps on Fibre 100.
5. Turn on QoS on the modem if it has it, and prioritise the gaming device.
6. Move off 2.4 GHz. Use 5 GHz or 6 GHz, or a mesh point near the device — our extender and mesh guide covers placement.
7. Change connection type if you are on fixed wireless or copper and fibre is available: fixed wireless sits near 50 ms and copper near 20 to 32 ms before Wi-Fi is even counted.

If ping is fine most of the time but spikes with drop-outs, that is a fault rather than a tuning problem. Our guide to connections that keep dropping out works through it, and the slow-internet guide covers the causes when speed and ping are both poor. Our main speed test guide explains how the different tests compare.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good ping in New Zealand?

Under 10 ms to a local server on fibre, 20 to 35 ms on copper or Starlink, and around 50 ms on 4G fixed wireless. To Sydney add about 30 ms; to the United States about 140 ms.

Why is my ping high on fibre?

Almost always Wi-Fi, a VPN routed overseas, or a saturated upload. Test with a cable and the VPN off; if it drops below 10 ms, the fibre is fine.

Does a faster plan lower ping?

No. Fibre 100 and Fibre Max both sit at 5 to 8 ms. Speed only affects ping indirectly, when a small upload allowance is saturated by other traffic.

What ping do I need for gaming?

Under 30 ms feels instant, under 60 ms is fine for most games, and over 120 ms is noticeable in anything fast. Server region matters more than anything in the house.

How do I check ping on Windows?

Open Command Prompt and type ping followed by an address, such as ping 1.1.1.1. The result shows minimum, maximum and average round-trip times.

Is Starlink good for gaming in NZ?

Reasonable: about 25 ms locally in the April 2026 measurements, better than 4G fixed wireless and copper ADSL, though jitter is higher than fibre.