What is my monitor's refresh rate?
Refresh rate is how many times per second your display redraws, measured in hertz. Press start below and the test times how often the browser can present a frame, which on a healthy system matches your refresh rate.
— Hz
Peak
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Keep this tab focused and visible. Background tabs and power saving modes throttle frames and produce lower readings.
This runs locally in your browser. No device data is uploaded.
What the number should look like
Expect a reading close to 60, 120, 144, 165 or 240 depending on your hardware. Slight fractions are normal — displays do not run at exactly round numbers, and a short sample rounds off. A reading of 59.9 instead of 60 is nothing to worry about.
A reading dramatically below what you paid for is the interesting case, and it is far more often a setting than a fault.
If a high-refresh monitor reports 60 Hz
Check the refresh rate in your display settings first. Both Windows and macOS default to 60 Hz on a new connection, and plenty of people run 144 Hz panels at 60 for months without realising.
If the setting is already correct, suspect the cable or the port. Older HDMI versions cannot carry a high refresh rate at higher resolutions, and a cable bundled with a different device may quietly cap you. DisplayPort is usually the safer connection for high-refresh monitors.
Laptops add one more variable: battery saver modes drop the panel to 60 Hz to save power, and some browsers throttle frame rate on battery regardless of the display.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a variable refresh rate display affect the reading?
- Yes. With G-Sync or FreeSync active the refresh rate tracks what is on screen, so the number can sit below the panel maximum or drift while measuring. Disable variable refresh for a stable reading.
- Why does the number drop when I switch tabs?
- Browsers throttle frame rate in background tabs to save power. Keep the tab focused and visible while measuring, or the reading will be meaninglessly low.
More about this test
The full refresh rate test page covers how the test works and what the common faults look like.
Open the Refresh Rate Test →