CamMicGo Guides
What internet speed do you need for video calls? Zoom and Teams figures explained
Video calls need far less bandwidth than most people think — but they are sensitive to upload speed, latency and stability. Below are the figures published by Zoom and Microsoft, and what they mean for your connection.
Zoom: official bandwidth figures
Zoom publishes these recommended values (upload/download):
- 1:1 video call in 720p HD: 1.2 Mbps up and down.
- 1:1 or group video call in 1080p HD: 3.8 Mbps up / 3.0 Mbps down.
- Group video call in 720p HD: 2.6 Mbps up / 1.8 Mbps down.
- Gallery view: 2.0 Mbps for 25 videos, 4.0 Mbps for 49 videos.
- Audio only (VoIP): 60 to 80 kbps.
- Screen sharing without video: 50 to 75 kbps.
Microsoft Teams: official bandwidth figures
Microsoft gives per-user values in kilobits per second (upload/download):
- Audio: 10 kbps minimum, 58 kbps recommended, 76 kbps for best performance.
- Video, one-to-one: 150 kbps minimum, 1,500 kbps recommended, 4,000 kbps for best performance.
- Video, meetings: 150/200 kbps minimum, 2,500/4,000 kbps recommended, 4,000 kbps for best performance.
- Screen sharing in meetings: 250 kbps minimum, 2,500 kbps recommended.
According to Microsoft, the minimum supports video up to 240p, while the recommended value supports up to 1080p.
What this means in practice
- For one person in HD calls, about 4 Mbps in both directions covers Zoom and Teams recommendations with some margin.
- Add the needs of everyone on the same connection: two people in 1080p calls plus a streaming TV quickly add up.
- Upload is often the limit. Many home connections have a much lower upload than download, and upload is what carries your own video.
Latency and stability matter as much as speed
A fast connection can still give frozen video if packets arrive late or irregularly. Video calls react badly to high latency, jitter (variation in latency) and packet loss, which cause robotic audio, frozen frames and sudden drops in resolution.
- Prefer an Ethernet cable for important calls, or sit close to the Wi-Fi router.
- Use the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band when it is available and the router is not too far.
- Pause large downloads, cloud backups and game updates during the call.
- Close other video streams in the house if the connection is shared.
Check your connection before the call
Run the CamMicGo internet test a few minutes before the meeting, ideally from the room and device you will use. Look at upload and latency, not only download. If results vary a lot between runs, the connection is unstable: move closer to the router or switch to a cable.