Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet: How Much Speed Are You Actually Losing?

Our Test Methodology

Broadband providers love to advertise "Gigabit speeds" and show happy families streaming in every room. But we didn't just read spec sheets for this article. The FindCheapBroadband Team performed real-world testing using our office connection in the UK to see if the reality matches the marketing.

We ran speed tests at three intervals: Wired directly, Wi-Fi next to the router, and Wi-Fi two rooms away (through two solid brick walls, simulating a typical UK home office setup). We ensured no other heavy downloads were running in the background, and we repeated each test five times to get an accurate average.

The Virgin Media 500Mb Test

First, it's important to note that Virgin Media lines are often "over-provisioned." This means they actually give you slightly more than the advertised 516 Mbps to account for traffic overheads. Because of this, our wired results were exceptionally high.

Analysis: The Ethernet cable pulled the full, consistent speed of the line (518 Mbps), maximizing every penny of the monthly bill. The Hub 5's Wi-Fi 6 was impressive at close range, only losing about 15% due to wireless overhead.

However, the moment we moved two rooms away, the laws of physics kicked in. 5GHz Wi-Fi signals (which provide the speed) struggle to penetrate dense brick. That "500Mb" connection essentially became a 165Mb connection. You are losing 68% of the speed you pay for just by being wireless in a different room.

Real World Download Times

Mbps numbers are abstract, but waiting for a download bar isn't. We simulated downloading a 50GB Game Update (e.g., Call of Duty: Warzone Season Update) and a standard 100GB AAA Game Install to see how much time you actually save.

Using a cable saves you an entire hour on a large game install compared to using Wi-Fi in a bedroom or home office. That is an hour of gaming time reclaimed simply by plugging in a wire.

Latency & Gaming Performance

For gamers, speed isn't everything—latency (ping) is king. We tested latency to a standard London game server to measure responsiveness.

Ethernet Result: 12ms (Stable).
It stayed at 12ms constantly. No spikes, no drama. Your inputs register instantly.

Wi-Fi Result: 15ms (Average) with Spikes to 85ms+.
While the average ping on Wi-Fi was only slightly higher, averages can be misleading. Every 30-60 seconds, likely due to interference from a neighbor's router or a microwave being turned on, we saw a massive spike. In a shooter game like Valorant or CS2, that spike is the specific moment you rubber-band, miss your shot, and get eliminated.

Stability & Jitter

Virgin Media uses DOCSIS technology (coaxial cable), which naturally has slightly higher "jitter" (variance in ping) than pure Full Fiber (FTTP) providers like BT or Hyperoptic. Adding Wi-Fi on top of this makes the issue significantly worse.

In our tests, the Ethernet connection smoothed out the natural jitter of the Virgin line, keeping it perfectly playable. Wi-Fi exacerbated it, leading to noticeable stuttering during peak evening hours (8 PM) when the airwaves are congested with other signals. If you are serious about competitive gaming, Wi-Fi introduces variables you simply cannot control.

The Mesh Wi-Fi Alternative

If running a cable isn't an option, standard Wi-Fi extenders are usually terrible. However, "Mesh" systems are the middle ground. Unlike a simple extender that cuts your speed in half to repeat the signal, a Mesh system uses a dedicated backhaul channel to talk to the router.

While we didn't chart it above, our tests with a generic Mesh system yielded speeds of roughly 350 Mbps in the "Far" room. This is much better than the 165 Mbps of the standard router, but still slower than the 518 Mbps of the Ethernet cable. It also added about 5-8ms of latency, making it great for streaming 4K video, but still inferior to a cable for twitch-shooters.

Verdict: When to Use Which