Cloud gaming is a video stream with a controller.
GeForce NOW asks for 25 Mbps for 1080p at 60 FPS; NVIDIA, read Sep 2026. Xbox Cloud Gaming asks for 20 Mbps for consoles, PCs and tablets; Xbox, read Sep 2026. PS5 cloud streaming recommends 23 Mbps for 1080p; PlayStation, read Sep 2026. Amazon Luna sets a minimum of 10 Mbps for 1080p; Amazon, read Sep 2026.
Four services, four pages, four ways of saying what they need. Each figure below is repeated word for word with the basis its page states, so a minimum is never set beside a recommendation as if they were the same thing.
What each service publishes
Download is the column that sizes a cloud session; upload appears only where a page names it. The basis is the page’s own word: a minimum where it says minimum, at least or required; a recommendation where it only recommends; unstated where the figure stands under a heading with no such word. NVIDIA’s figures are from the Windows PC section of its page; other device sections list different numbers.
| Platform | For | Down | Up | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce NOW | 720p at up to 60 FPS | 15 Mbps | unstatedunstated | |
| GeForce NOW | 1080p at 60 FPS | 25 Mbps | unstatedunstated | |
| GeForce NOW | 1440p at 120 FPS | 35 Mbps | unstatedunstated | |
| GeForce NOW | 4K at 120 FPS | 45 Mbps | unstatedunstated | |
| GeForce NOW | 1440p or 1080p at 240 or 360 FPS | 55 Mbps | unstatedunstated | |
| GeForce NOW | 5K at 120 FPS | 65 Mbps | unstatedunstated | |
| GeForce NOW | latency to an NVIDIA data center | minminimum | ||
| Xbox Cloud Gaming | mobile devices | 10 Mbps | unstatedunstated | |
| Xbox Cloud Gaming | consoles, PCs and tablets | 20 Mbps | unstatedunstated | |
| Xbox Cloud Gaming | any device | 20 Mbps | minminimum | |
| PS5 cloud streaming | to start a session | 5 Mbps | 5 Mbps | minminimum |
| PS5 cloud streaming | 720p | 13 Mbps | recrecommended | |
| PS5 cloud streaming | 1080p | 23 Mbps | recrecommended | |
| PS5 cloud streaming | 1440p | 38 Mbps | recrecommended | |
| PS5 cloud streaming | 4K | 52 Mbps | recrecommended | |
| PS Portal cloud streaming | to start a session | 5 Mbps | 5 Mbps | minminimum |
| PS Portal cloud streaming | 720p | 7 Mbps | minminimum | |
| PS Portal cloud streaming | 1080p | 13 Mbps | minminimum | |
| PS Remote Play | standard | 5 Mbps | 5 Mbps | minminimum |
| PS Remote Play | best performance | 15 Mbps | 15 Mbps | recrecommended |
| Amazon Luna | 1080p | 10 Mbps | minminimum |
PlayStation’s PS5 page recommends a figure per resolution and its PS Portal page sets a minimum per resolution; both are here, and nothing on this page compares one to the other. PS Remote Play streams your own console rather than a data center and is listed because its pages publish the same kind of figure.
The download side, and the plan that clears it
Every download figure on this page fits within Internet 100, up to 100 Mbps: the largest is GeForce NOW's 65 Mbps for 5K at 120 FPS. Internet 100 is $30/mo for 1 year, or $20/mo for 2 years with a Spectrum TV plan. Plans are compared on download only; speeds are up to and vary.
One 4K cloud session at GeForce NOW's 45 Mbps beside one 4K television stream at the highest published minimum, 25 Mbps, which HBO Max, Apple TV+ and ESPN each publish, is 70 Mbps: a plain sum of the two published download figures, no multiplier. Internet 100, up to 100 Mbps, clears it; $30/mo for 1 year, or $20/mo for 2 years with a Spectrum TV plan. The household planner adds television screens the same way.
See Spectrum Internet plansINTERNET OFFER: Limited-time offer; subject to change; new residential customers only (no Spectrum service in past 30 days). Standard rates apply after promo period or service change. Actual speeds (including wireless) vary and are not guaranteed. Activation fee additional; taxes may apply. Gig speeds require a compatible modem; see Spectrum.net/modem for list. Terms and conditions apply, subject to change. Not available in all areas. Restrictions apply. Spectrum Internet® is powered by fiber and connected to the premises by coaxial lines.
Spectrum's plan names give download speeds; check your plan's Broadband Facts label for upload. Where a service names an upload figure it is in the table: PS5 cloud streaming sets a minimum of 5 Mbps for to start a session; PlayStation, read Sep 2026.
Latency and the data center
A cloud game sends every button press to a data center and waits for the next frame, so the round trip matters as much as the speed. NVIDIA publishes a ceiling: GeForce NOW sets a minimum of less than 80 ms for latency to an NVIDIA data center; NVIDIA, read Sep 2026. Our speed test measures the round trip to our server before and during a download, which shows whether your connection’s latency rises under load; it is not the round trip to any game’s data center, and no plan speed is a latency figure.
Wired first, 5 GHz next
- GeForce NOW: “We recommend a hardwired Ethernet connection, or a router with a 5 GHz WiFi connection.” (NVIDIA, read Sep 2026)
- Xbox Cloud Gaming: “Where possible, it’s recommended that you play over a wired, Ethernet connection, but it’s also possible to play over 5 GHz Wi-Fi or 5G with capable devices.” (Xbox Wire, published Dec 2025)
- Amazon Luna: “We recommend using a wired network. If you're using a wireless router with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, try connecting using the 5 GHz band first.” (Amazon, read Sep 2026)
Common questions
How much internet speed does cloud gaming need at 1080p?
Each service publishes its own figure, and the pages use different words for it. GeForce NOW asks for 25 Mbps for 1080p at 60 FPS; NVIDIA, read Sep 2026. Xbox Cloud Gaming asks for 20 Mbps for consoles, PCs and tablets; Xbox, read Sep 2026. PS5 cloud streaming recommends 23 Mbps for 1080p; PlayStation, read Sep 2026, while the PS Portal page sets a minimum of 13 Mbps for the same resolution. Amazon Luna sets a minimum of 10 Mbps for 1080p; Amazon, read Sep 2026. A recommendation and a minimum are different things, so this page names the basis beside every figure and never ranks the services on one number.
Why do PlayStation's own figures disagree?
The PS5 cloud streaming page recommends a figure per resolution (13 Mbps for 720p, 23 Mbps for 1080p); the PS Portal support page sets minimums (7 Mbps for 720p, 13 Mbps for 1080p). Both are quoted in the table with their own basis. Where a figure is a floor the page says so; where it is a recommendation for a good experience it says that instead.
Which Spectrum Internet plan carries cloud gaming?
Every download figure on this page fits within Internet 100, up to 100 Mbps: the largest is GeForce NOW's 65 Mbps for 5K at 120 FPS. Internet 100 is $30/mo for 1 year, or $20/mo for 2 years with a Spectrum TV plan. Plans are compared on download only; speeds are up to and vary. One 4K cloud session at GeForce NOW's 45 Mbps beside one 4K television stream at the highest published minimum, 25 Mbps, which HBO Max, Apple TV+ and ESPN each publish, is 70 Mbps: a plain sum of the two published download figures, no multiplier. Internet 100, up to 100 Mbps, clears it; $30/mo for 1 year, or $20/mo for 2 years with a Spectrum TV plan.
Does cloud gaming use upload too?
A little, to carry your controller input and start the session. PS5 cloud streaming sets a minimum of 5 Mbps for to start a session; PlayStation, read Sep 2026. PS Remote Play recommends 15 Mbps for best performance; PlayStation, read Sep 2026. Spectrum's plan names give download speeds; check your plan's Broadband Facts label for upload.
Is WiFi good enough for cloud gaming?
The services say wired first, 5 GHz next. GeForce NOW: “We recommend a hardwired Ethernet connection, or a router with a 5 GHz WiFi connection.” (NVIDIA, read Sep 2026) Xbox Cloud Gaming: “Where possible, it’s recommended that you play over a wired, Ethernet connection, but it’s also possible to play over 5 GHz Wi-Fi or 5G with capable devices.” (Xbox Wire, published Dec 2025) Amazon Luna: “We recommend using a wired network. If you're using a wireless router with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, try connecting using the 5 GHz band first.” (Amazon, read Sep 2026) Latency matters as much as speed here: GeForce NOW sets a minimum of less than 80 ms for latency to an NVIDIA data center; NVIDIA, read Sep 2026.
Is cloud gaming part of Spectrum Internet?
No. Each service is its own membership on the connection you bring: GeForce NOW's page says a Premium membership is required for its higher resolutions and frame rates, PS5 and PS Portal cloud streaming need PlayStation Plus Premium, and Xbox Cloud Gaming and Amazon Luna have their own plans. Spectrum's own guide is quoted here only for what a connection carries.
Sources: each service’s own page, linked from its figure in the table above. Online play and broadcasting are on the internet for gaming page.
