WiFi Speed Chart

WiFi / 802.11 has been around since 1997 and was originally only capable of 1 to 2 Mbps. Since then multiple technology improvements have been made to the specification and technology to allow for much higher data rates. Listed below are the maximum WiFi speeds of various 802.11 technologies.

802.11 (legacy) – 1 to 2 Mbps
802.11b – 11 Mbps (2.4 GHz)
802.11g – 54 Mbps (2.4 GHz)
802.11a – 54 Mbps (5 GHz)
802.11n – 600 Mbps (2.4 and 5 GHz)
802.11ac (wave 1) = 1300 Mbps (5 GHz, 80 MHz, 3 streams)
802.11ac (wave 2) = 6933 Mbps (5 GHz, 160 MHz, 8 streams)
802.11ad = 7 Gbps (60 GHz)

The speeds above are sometimes known by different names based on the operating system.

Mac OS = “Transmit Rate”

Windows 7 & 8 = “Speed”

Android “Link Speed”

Regardless of the operating system, the above WiFi speeds are all what is known as PHY speeds..or the rate of the wireless connection. The speed the user/application will experience is typically called throughput and can be measured using WiFi speed test tools.