How to Display Your Download Speed on Your Windows 10 Taskbar

Evan Gower January 20, 2020

You probably download a lot more on your computer than you might think. From saving photos from a recent image search to downloading a game on Steam, your productivity throughout the day depends on keeping a fast and consistent download speed. A slow download speed can cause serious problems when you’re trying to stream a movie on Netflix or even just browse the web. Keeping an eye on your download and upload speeds in Windows is a great way to ensure your ISP is providing a stable internet connection without random slowdowns. We’re so reliant on the internet that, when our download speeds do fall below their standard spot, our entire computer feels slow.

How to Display Your Download Speed on Your Windows 10 Taskbar

Keeping your download speeds high is a great way to speed up Windows 10, and thankfully, there’s a way to keep track of your download and upload speeds without having to navigate away from what you’re doing. While it isn’t native to Windows 10, you can display your download speed in the taskbar through some great third-party apps. We recommend using Net Speed Monitor, a reliable and free tool that makes it easy to keep track of your speeds. Let’s look at how to set it up.

Net Speed Monitor Download and Installation Guide

The only thing of note about Net Speed Monitor is that it’s a little out of date. Still, it’s a great tool that works on Windows 10 even though it technically was designed for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

You’ll need to run the setup in compatibility mode to get it to work. Speaking of which, here are the steps for downloading and installing this app:

Click on the following (safe) link to download Net Speed Monitor for free.
Select Download Now. Select x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit). If you are not sure, just right-click on the This PC app on your Windows 10 computer and it will show the info.
When you try to open the downloaded file, an error will appear. This is because this is an older software tool for older OSs. Regardless, find the installation file and right-click on it.
Select Properties and go to the Compatibility section.
Select Run This Program in Compatibility Mode for the Previous Version of Windows.
Confirm with OK.
Launch the setup file once again. It should start the setup normally this time. Follow the instructions on the screen until the setup is done.
When the setup is complete, you won’t see the download speed on the taskbar just yet.

How to Enable Net Speed Monitor on Windows 10

You need to enable Net Speed Monitor in your taskbar for it to work. Follow the steps:

Right-click on the Windows 10 taskbar.
Choose Toolbars from the dropdown menu (the first option at the top).
Click on Net Speed Monitor to enable it.
You’ll be taken to a welcome screen for Net Speed Monitor. Select the preferred language and click Save to confirm. You don’t need to meddle with the other options as they’re all set.

When you’re done, you’ll be able to see your current download and upload speeds on the taskbar. Download is marked as D and upload as U. The values displayed are in Kbit/s (kilobit per second). Here is how it should look like:

Net Speed Monitor Tips

Most people will find the kilobit display confusing. But you can easily change the unit to megabits (Mbit/s). Here’s how:

Right-click on Net Speed Monitor on your Taskbar.
Click on Configuration.
Open the dropdown menu adjacent to Bitrate and choose Mbit/s.
Confirm the change with Apply. This is how it should look like:

Furthermore, you can also use MB/sec (megabyte per second) if you so wish.

Finally, you can even use Net Speed Monitor to track your data usage. You just need to right-click Net Speed Monitor on the taskbar and select Data Traffic. This can be of help to internet users who are on limited data plans.

Always Know Your Internet Speed

There you have it. Knowing your internet download and upload speed on Windows 10 is not difficult at all. It’s a shame there isn’t a native option for this. Hopefully, Microsoft will implement it one day. Until then, you can use Net Speed Monitor to your advantage.

Are you satisfied with your download or upload speed? Unfortunately, most of the time internet speed depends on your ISP. If you are not satisfied, consider upgrading your package or changing the ISP.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.