Starlink speed & latency
Starlink Jitter Explained
Quick answer:
Jitter is how much your latency bounces around — and it can wreck a call or a game even when your download speed and average ping look fine. Here is what jitter is, why Starlink produces it, how to test yours in the browser, and how to make it steadier.
TL;DR
• Jitter is the variation in latency — how much your ping changes between samples.
• Our speed test now reports Jitter next to download, upload, and latency.
• On Starlink it comes mainly from satellite handovers, congestion, obstructions, and bufferbloat.
• Low, steady jitter matters more than a good average for calls and games.
•You can't stop the handovers, but you can remove the jitter you control.
A speed test that only shows download and upload tells you how much data moves, but not how steadythe connection is. That steadiness is jitter: the amount your latency varies from one moment to the next. If your ping reads 40 ms, then 95 ms, then 45 ms, the connection is technically “fast,” but the swing is what a video call or an online game actually feels. Jitter is the number that captures it.
What jitter actually is
Latency (ping) is the time for one round trip, in milliseconds. Jitter is how much that time changes between measurements. A connection with an average latency of 45 ms and almost no variation is far better for real-time use than one that averages 45 ms but bounces between 20 ms and 120 ms. Formally, jitter is the average difference between one latency sample and the next — the smaller that average change, the steadier your line. That is exactly how our test computes it (see how we measure).
Why Starlink produces jitter
Starlink is a low-Earth-orbit network: the satellites move fast overhead, so your dish regularly hands off from one satellite to the next. Each handoff can nudge the latency, and several other factors stack on top:
- Satellite handovers — the built-in rhythm of an LEO network; brief, repeated, and largely outside your control.
- Evening congestion — when many users in your cell are online, latency rises and wobbles more.
- Obstructions — trees or a roofline clipping the sky view cause momentary drops and spikes. The obstruction checker helps rule these out.
- Bufferbloat — latency climbing while a big upload or download saturates the link, which is why we sample jitter under load.
- Local Wi-Fi — a weak or busy Wi-Fi link adds its own variability before the traffic ever reaches the dish.
How to test your jitter
Run the speed test above. Alongside download, upload, and latency, the result now shows a Jitter figure in milliseconds, measured from the variation between repeated latency probes taken while a download is active — so it reflects how steady your connection stays when it is actually busy. If there are too few probes to measure it honestly, we show Not measured rather than a fake zero. For an independent check, open a terminal and run a continuous ping to a reliable host for a minute (for example ping 1.1.1.1) and watch how much the times move around.
What counts as good jitter
As a rough guide, jitter under about 30 ms is comfortable for video calls, and under roughly 5–10 msis ideal for fast-twitch competitive games; lower and steadier is always better. There is no single “Starlink jitter number,” because it depends on your sky view, the time of day, and what else is using the link — which is the whole reason to measure your own, at the hours you actually use it, rather than trust a headline figure.
How to reduce it
You cannot change the satellite handovers, but you can remove the jitter you control:
- Clear the dish's view of the sky — obstructions are a leading cause of spikes.
- Use a wired connection for the device on the call or in the game where you can.
- Avoid saturating the link (a large upload or download) during real-time sessions.
- Test during your real usage hours, and compare a Wi-Fi run with an Ethernet run.
Jitter, ping, and packet loss
These three describe different things and all matter for real-time apps. Ping is the round-trip time; jitter is how much that time varies; and packet loss is the share of packets that never arrive. A call can stutter from high jitter even when the average ping and the download speed both look healthy. For the latency side, see the ping & latency guide, and for dropped packets see the packet loss guide.
Don't just read — check your own setup.
Run a Starlink-focused speed test and compare download, upload, ping, and jitter against your real connection.
Related tools
Recommended next steps
Starlink Speed Test
Measure jitter alongside download, upload, and latency.
Obstruction Checker
Rule out sky-view blockers that cause latency spikes and jitter.
Ping & Latency Guide
How latency works on Starlink and what a normal result looks like.
How We Measure
Exactly how the browser test derives jitter and latency.
FAQ
What is jitter?
Jitter is the variation in latency — how much your ping changes from one moment to the next. If your latency is 40 ms, then 90 ms, then 45 ms, the swing between those numbers is the jitter. A low, steady latency has low jitter; a latency that jumps around has high jitter, even if the average looks fine.
How do I test my Starlink jitter?
Run our speed test — the result now reports Jitter alongside download, upload, and latency. We measure it as the average change between consecutive HTTP loaded-latency probes taken while a download is active, so it reflects how steady your connection stays under load. For a second opinion, run a continuous command-line ping (for example ping 1.1.1.1) for a minute and watch how much the times vary.
What is a good jitter number?
As a general guide, jitter under about 30 ms is comfortable for video calls, and under roughly 5–10 ms is ideal for fast-twitch online games; the lower and steadier, the better. There is no single 'Starlink number' because jitter depends heavily on your sky view, the time of day, and what else is using the link — which is exactly why you should measure your own.
Why does Starlink have jitter?
Starlink satellites are in low Earth orbit and move quickly, so your dish periodically hands off from one satellite to another. Those handovers, together with evening congestion, a partly obstructed sky view, and bufferbloat when the link is saturated, make latency rise and fall — which shows up as jitter. Local Wi-Fi adds its own variability on top.
What is the difference between jitter, ping, and packet loss?
Ping (latency) is how long one round trip takes. Jitter is how much that number varies between samples. Packet loss is the share of packets that never arrive. All three shape real-time apps: a call can stutter from high jitter or packet loss even when the average ping and the download speed look healthy.
How can I reduce Starlink jitter?
Clear the dish's view of the sky (obstructions are a leading cause of spikes), use a wired connection where you can, avoid saturating the link during a call or game, and test during the hours you actually use it. None of these change the satellite handovers themselves, but they remove the extra jitter you can control.