How to check internet speed with the command line in Linux

Today, TipsMake.com will read how to check the speed of the Internet from the command line via Terminal in various popular Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch Linux.

Note that because Internet speed is measured by actually uploading and downloading from the server, you need to install a third-party utility to upload and download test data to the server, then measure the transfer rate. Let's get It Started!

Check Internet speed in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and elementary OS

This tutorial was tested on Ubuntu 17.10, but will work on older versions, as well as Ubuntu derivatives, including Linux Mint, elementary OS, etc.

1. Launch Terminal.

2. You should install the Speedtest command line utility, which has been around for a while and is reliable. Use this command:

 sudo apt install speedtest-cli 

You must enter the root password to complete the installation.

3. After the installation is completed, go ahead and start checking the Internet speed. Use this command in Terminal.

 speedtest 

Output:

 Retrieving speedtest.net configuration. Testing from Time Warner Cable (xxx.xx.xxx.xx). Retrieving speedtest.net server list. Selecting best server based on ping. Hosted by BrescoBroadBand (Columbus, OH) [xx km]: xxx ms Testing download speed.............. Download: 18.62 Mbit/s Testing upload speed................ 

Check Internet speed in Fedora and derivatives

This tutorial was tested on Fedora 27, but will also work on older versions.

1. Launch Terminal.

2. We also use the same Speedtest utility in Fedora. The Speedtest utility is written in Python and so you need to have Python installed on your computer first.

 sudo dnf install python 

3. Install the Speedtest utility:

 sudo dnf install speedtest-cli 

4. Launch the utility:

 speedtest-cli 

Output:

How to check internet speed with the command line in Linux Picture 1

Check Internet speed in Arch Linux, Manjaro and derivatives

This tutorial was tested on Manjaro 17, but also works on older versions, Arch Linux and derivatives.

1. Launch Terminal.

2. Enter the following command to download the Speedtest utility using the wget command .

 wget -O speedtest-cli https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sivel/speedtest-cli/master/speedtest.py 

3. Make downloadable content possible by using the chmod + x command.

 chmod +x speedtest-cli 

4. Finally launch Speedtest to check your Internet speed.

 ./speedtest-cli