Which is faster, WiFi or mobile data?

Internet speed test: 4G/LTE or WiFi wins?

In purely theoretical situations, there isn't a huge difference between 4G LTE and WiFi speeds. The commercial version specifications for both include a maximum speed of 1000Mbps. However, depending on your use case, you can expect different performance.

The answer to the question: "WiFi speed vs. mobile data: Which is faster?" is "let's use both at the same time".

What determines whether WiFi or mobile data speeds are faster?

There are a few key factors involved in how fast you actually get from a WiFi or 4G LTE connection. In addition to the obvious technological differences, when determining actual connection speed you must consider:

- Infrastructure : Does it support new technologies? Is it continuously updated? How many simultaneous connections does it support?

- Coverage : Are there enough hotspots/cell towers to ensure good coverage?

- Interference phenomenon : Will the signal be interfered with by buildings, walls, other wireless devices, etc.?

- Client usage : Static or moving around? How many people are connected to the same hotspot or cell tower?

For example, let's say a customer goes to work by bus. They can connect to the bus's WiFi network, just like other passengers. They can also use 4G LTE connectivity. Because they are on the move, the mobile connection will most likely be faster. That's mainly because other passengers connect to the bus's WiFi network and get a portion of the bandwidth.

WiFi is typically faster than 4G LTE mobile data. However…

A recent study by OpenSignal demonstrated that mobile networks are beating WiFi speeds around the world in at least 33 countries. Accordingly, everything should be reconsidered. For example, why do smartphones automatically assume that WiFi networks are faster than mobile data connections?

There are many cases where WiFi speed is much worse than mobile data. And it pretty much has to do with coming across a bad (slow, not working) WiFi hotspot that the smartphone connects to.

What are smartphone manufacturers doing?

Phone manufacturers are constantly trying to make their products smarter when it comes to managing connections for users. Features like iPhone's WiFi Assist or Samsung's Adaptive WiFi are trying to solve this problem. Unfortunately, things didn't go as expected. The best they can do is switch between connections when a certain switching or latency threshold is reached.

So what is the goal here? Just determine which is faster - WiFi or mobile data - and then use that option? Or achieve the fastest speed in any given situation? If you're interested in the latter, you need a solution to combine both WiFi and mobile data together into one super connection, such as Speedify.

Speedify can link any 2 or more Internet connections and will intelligently distribute your online traffic between them for optimal performance.

Kareem Winters

Update 17 October 2023