This FPS test puts frame rates side by side so you can see what each one looks like on your own screen. Every lane moves the same craft at the same speed, but each lane shows a new picture at its own rate: 30, 60 or 120 frames per second, your screen's maximum, or any rate you pick. Above the motion, the counters show the frame rate this browser tab reaches right now, the average, the 1% low and the frame time. The FPS tester works with any monitor on Windows, Mac, Linux and ChromeOS computers, and on Android and iPhone.
How to use the FPS test
- Wait two seconds for the test to measure your screen. Lanes your screen cannot show are shaded and labelled.
- Under Frame rates to compare, turn rates on or off. Up to five lanes can run at once.
- Follow the craft in the top lane with your eyes, then move down the lanes. Lower frame rates look steppier and blurrier.
- Raise the Speed to make the difference bigger, or lower it on a small phone screen.
- Watch Browser frame rate and Skipped frames. If the browser cannot keep up, the lanes stutter for reasons that have nothing to do with the frame rate you are comparing.
- Press Copy results to save the readings, or Full screen to compare without the page around it.
What the readouts mean
| Readout | What it tells you | Normal result |
|---|---|---|
| Browser frame rate | Frames this tab drew in the last second | Equal to your refresh rate |
| Average | Frames per second since the test started | Equal to your refresh rate |
| 1% low | The frame rate of the slowest 1% of frames | Within a few fps of the average |
| Frame time | Average milliseconds per frame | 1000 divided by the frame rate |
| Skipped frames | Frames the browser missed in the last 2 seconds | 0 |
Frames per second and frame time are two views of the same thing: 30 fps is 33.3 ms per frame, 60 fps is 16.7 ms, 120 fps is 8.3 ms, 144 fps is 6.9 ms and 240 fps is 4.2 ms. A game that averages 60 fps but has frames of 50 ms mixed in feels worse than a steady 50 fps, which is why the 1% low matters.
What each frame rate looks like
- 30 fps. Each picture stays up for 33 ms, so the craft moves in visible jumps and smears. Fine for slow strategy games and films, tiring for fast motion.
- 60 fps. Smooth enough for most people, but at 960 pixels per second the craft still blurs by about 16 pixels.
- 90 to 120 fps. Half the blur of 60 fps. The stripes on the craft become readable and scrolling looks clean.
- 144 fps and above. Sharper again, and the mouse pointer feels more direct. Each step above this brings a smaller gain than the one before.
FPS and refresh rate are not the same thing
Frames per second is how many pictures the game or browser makes. The refresh rate, in hertz, is how many times the screen redraws. Your screen can never show more frames than its refresh rate, so a 60 Hz monitor running a game at 200 fps still shows at most 60 of them. When a game makes more frames than the screen shows, you get tearing unless V-Sync is on; when it makes fewer, you get stutter unless G-Sync or FreeSync is on. The refresh rate test shows what your screen runs at, and the screen tearing test shows what tearing and stutter look like.
The browser frame rate is lower than your refresh rate
On an idle computer the browser should match the screen. If it reads lower, try these in order:
- Turn off power saving. Plug in a laptop, switch Windows to its best performance power mode and turn off Chrome's Energy saver in Settings, Performance.
- Close what is running in the background. Games, video exports, many open tabs and screen recorders all take time from the browser.
- Turn on hardware acceleration. In Chrome it is Use graphics acceleration when available under Settings, System; in Edge the same switch is under Settings, System and performance. Without it the browser draws with the processor and falls far behind on fast screens. The webgl test shows whether the browser is using your graphics card or has fallen back to software.
- Watch the temperature. A laptop that runs hot slows its processor and graphics down, which shows here as a falling frame rate. Our guide to laptop overheating covers cleaning vents and fan settings.
- Check a phone's battery saver. Low Power Mode on iPhone and power saving modes on Android hold the screen to 60 Hz.
How to see FPS in your games
The browser frame rate tells you about the screen and the browser, not about a game. To watch a game's FPS on Windows, press Win + G and open the Performance widget in Xbox Game Bar. Steam shows FPS with its performance monitor, which you turn on under Settings, In Game. The NVIDIA app shows a statistics overlay, and AMD Software has a metrics overlay you can open with Ctrl + Shift + O. Many games also have an FPS counter in their own display or graphics menu.
Uneven motion at 60 fps on a fast monitor
On a 144 Hz monitor, the 60 fps lane does not step evenly. 144 refreshes do not divide by 60, so the screen shows some frames three times and others twice, and the motion limps. Lanes at rates that divide evenly into your refresh rate, such as 72 fps on 144 Hz or 120 fps on 240 Hz, step evenly. In games, variable refresh rate fixes this by making the screen wait for each frame. If your monitor has no G-Sync or FreeSync, cap the game at your refresh rate or at exactly half of it. If every lane looks the same on a monitor sold as 144 Hz, the 144hz monitor test checks whether it really runs at that rate.
What a browser FPS test cannot tell you
This test shows how frame rates look and whether your browser keeps up with your screen. It does not benchmark your graphics card in games, because a browser animation is far lighter than a game scene. To load the graphics card properly, use the gpu stress test and keep an eye on the gpu temperature while gaming. Frame rate also does not tell you how long the screen takes to react to your mouse; the input lag test explains how to measure that. For the classic three lane view at full, half and quarter rate, open the ufo test.
FPS test questions
What is a good FPS?
30 fps is playable for slow games but looks steppy. 60 fps is smooth and the standard for consoles and most monitors. 120 to 144 fps is what fast shooters aim for on high refresh monitors, and competitive players go to 240 fps and above. The best target is your monitor's refresh rate.
Can the human eye see more than 60 FPS?
Yes. Most people see a clear difference between 60 and 120 fps in this test, both in smoothness and in how sharp the moving craft looks. The gain gets smaller above about 144 fps, but trained players still notice 240 fps on fast motion.
Why can't I see the 120 fps lane?
Your screen runs at less than 120 Hz, so it cannot show 120 different pictures per second. The test shades lanes your screen cannot display. You need a monitor or phone with a 120 Hz or faster screen, set to that rate in display settings.
Does this FPS test show my game's frame rate?
No. It shows the frame rate of this browser tab. To see FPS inside games on Windows, press Windows key + G and open the Performance widget in Xbox Game Bar, or turn on Steam's performance monitor under Settings, In Game. NVIDIA and AMD apps have their own overlays too.
What does 1% low FPS mean?
It describes the slowest frames. This test sorts the recent frame times and converts the slowest 1% into a frame rate. A 1% low close to the average means even motion; a 1% low far below it means hitches you can feel even when the average looks good.
Why does 60 fps look uneven on my 144 Hz monitor?
144 is not a multiple of 60, so some 60 fps frames stay on screen for three refreshes and others for two. That uneven rhythm is called judder and the 60 fps lane shows it. In games, G-Sync or FreeSync removes it, or you can cap the game at 72 or 144 fps.