How much bandwidth do you actually need for cloud gaming?
Marketing pages quote 35 Mbps for 4K. Real-world numbers are more interesting — and more forgiving.
The numbers each service publishes
GeForce Now Ultimate at 4K/120 lists 35 Mbps as recommended. Xbox Cloud Gaming at 1080p/60 lists 20 Mbps. PS Plus Premium at 4K lists 38 Mbps. Boosteroid 1080p lists 15 Mbps. Luna 1080p lists 10 Mbps.
These are recommended numbers, not minimums. Most services will start streaming at 1080p with as little as 10 Mbps.
What we measured
On our reference 100 Mbps connection, actual throughput during a 4K/120 GeForce Now session averaged 28 Mbps — comfortably below the recommended 35.
Xbox Cloud Gaming at 1080p/60 averaged 14 Mbps. PS Plus Premium at 4K averaged 31 Mbps. Boosteroid 1080p averaged 13 Mbps. Luna 1080p averaged 9 Mbps.
What matters more than raw bandwidth
Two factors matter more than absolute bandwidth above ~25 Mbps: jitter and packet loss. A 25 Mbps connection with 1ms jitter outperforms a 100 Mbps connection with 10ms jitter every time.
Run a sustained 5-minute speed test using a tool that reports jitter (fast.com works), not just a peak Mbps number.
Practical recommendations
On a 25 Mbps connection: any service at 1080p/60 is fine. Skip 4K tiers.
On a 50 Mbps connection: GeForce Now Ultimate at 1440p is the sweet spot.
On a 100 Mbps+ connection: any service at any tier, no caveats.
On Wi-Fi: subtract roughly 30% from the wired number. Wi-Fi 6 or 6E with a strong signal is fine for everything up to 4K.