Plug and Check

Display

Refresh Rate Test: How Many Hz Is Your Screen?

See your screen's real refresh rate in hertz, spot dropped frames and compare 30 fps, 60 fps and full-speed motion. Takes 3 seconds in your browser.

Runs in your browser. Your measurements never leave this device. No upload, no sign-up.

Your refresh rate –Hz Measuring for 3 seconds…
Frame time–msTime between two frames
Dropped frames–Gaps longer than 1.5 frames

Motion comparison

All three blocks move at the same speed. The top one is redrawn 30 times a second, the middle one 60 times, the bottom one on every refresh of your screen. On a 60 Hz screen the bottom two look the same; on a faster screen the bottom one moves more smoothly.

Your report

Run the test above. Your results will appear here as plain text you can paste into a support chat, a return request or a forum post.

How to check your refresh rate

  1. Close busy apps and tabs, keep this tab in front, and plug a laptop into power.
  2. Wait three seconds while the test counts frames. Don't scroll or switch tabs while it runs.
  3. Read your refresh rate and the closest common rate, highlighted in the row underneath. Press Measure again to repeat it.
  4. Watch the moving blocks. The smoother the bottom block looks next to the others, the faster your screen.
  5. If the number is lower than your monitor's rating, set the rate in your system settings as shown below, then measure again.

How the test works

Your screen redraws its picture a fixed number of times a second. That is its refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz): a 60 Hz screen shows a new image every 16.7 milliseconds, a 144 Hz screen every 6.9 ms. Your browser draws web pages in step with the screen and tells each page when a new frame begins.

The test records those moments for three seconds, takes the typical gap between them and turns it into a rate. It uses the median gap, so a few slow frames can't pull the result down, and then averages the steady frames to see through browsers that round their timers to whole milliseconds. The result is usually within a fraction of a hertz of your screen's real rate.

A dropped frame is a gap longer than one and a half normal frames, where the browser missed a refresh and the old image stayed up longer. A few dropped frames come from a busy computer and say nothing about the monitor. The comparison underneath shows what the rate means in practice: three blocks move at the same speed, redrawn 30 times a second, 60 times a second and on every refresh.

Getting the refresh rate you paid for

The test shows 60 Hz on a high refresh rate monitor

Many monitors start at 60 Hz until you choose a higher rate. Set it for the right screen, then measure again.

Windows 11

  1. Open Settings → System → Display → Advanced display.
  2. If you have more than one screen, pick the monitor at the top of the page.
  3. Choose the highest value in Choose a refresh rate. If Windows asks whether to keep the change, choose to keep it.

macOS

  1. Open System Settings → Displays and select your display.
  2. Choose a rate from the Refresh rate menu. On 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, ProMotion adjusts the rate up to 120 Hz on its own.

The rate you want isn't offered

High refresh rates need a connection fast enough to carry them, and a graphics driver that knows the monitor.

  1. Use DisplayPort, or an HDMI port and cable recent enough for your monitor (HDMI 2.0 for 4K at 60 Hz, HDMI 2.1 for 4K above that), or the cable that came with the monitor.
  2. On a desktop computer, plug the monitor into the graphics card's outputs, not the ones on the motherboard.
  3. Check the monitor's own menu for a setting that limits the input, such as a DisplayPort or HDMI version option.

Graphics software

  1. Update the graphics driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel, or through Windows Update.
  2. Check the refresh rate in NVIDIA Control Panel, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition or Intel's graphics app, which can offer rates that Windows doesn't list.

The test reads about half your rate, or lower than your settings

  1. Keep this tab in front: browsers slow down pages in background tabs and minimized windows.
  2. Turn off power saving. Battery saver on a laptop, Low Power Mode on an iPhone or iPad, and Chrome's Energy Saver (in Chrome's Settings → Performance) can halve the rate.
  3. With more than one screen, move the browser window to the screen you want to measure and press Measure again. Some setups follow the main screen's rate instead.
  4. With variable refresh rate (G-SYNC, FreeSync or ProMotion) the screen may run slower when little changes, so readings can vary from run to run.

Safari shows 60 Hz on a 120 Hz screen

Safari keeps most pages near 60 frames a second to save power, even on 120 Hz ProMotion screens, and every browser on iPhone and iPad uses Safari's engine. Your screen still runs faster for the system and apps. On a Mac, Chrome and Edge usually show the full rate.

Motion stutters even at the right rate

Stutter with many dropped frames means the computer can't keep up, not that the screen is faulty.

  1. Close busy apps and tabs, and plug a laptop into power.
  2. Turn on graphics acceleration: in Chrome, Settings → System → Use graphics acceleration when available; in Edge, the same switch under Settings → System and performance.
  3. In Firefox, open Settings → General → Performance and keep Use recommended performance settings on.

Common questions

How do I check my monitor's refresh rate?

Open this page and wait three seconds: the test counts how often your browser draws a new frame, which follows your screen's refresh rate. To see the rate your system is set to, open Settings → System → Display → Advanced display on Windows 11, or System Settings → Displays on a Mac.

Why does the test show 60 Hz on my 144 Hz monitor?

Your system is probably still set to 60 Hz: many monitors start there until you choose a higher rate in Settings → System → Display → Advanced display on Windows 11, or System Settings → Displays on a Mac. The cable matters too, because an older HDMI cable or port may not carry high refresh rates. Use DisplayPort or the cable that came with the monitor.

Is this refresh rate test accurate?

It measures the rate your browser draws at, which matches your screen in most cases and is usually within a fraction of a hertz. It reads lower when the tab is in the background, when a battery saver is on, or when the browser limits pages to 60 frames a second, as Safari does by default. Run it twice with nothing else busy to be sure.

What are dropped frames?

A dropped frame is a refresh your browser missed, so the previous image stayed on screen twice as long. A few during the test are normal and usually mean your computer was busy. Many of them, or stutter in the moving blocks, point to a busy computer rather than a faulty monitor.

Why does Safari show 60 Hz on my 120 Hz Mac or iPhone?

Safari keeps most web pages near 60 frames a second to save power, even on 120 Hz ProMotion screens, and every browser on iPhone and iPad uses Safari's engine. Your screen still runs at up to 120 Hz for the system and apps. On a Mac, Chrome and Edge usually show the full rate.

Does a higher refresh rate make a difference?

Yes, for anything that moves: at 144 Hz a new image arrives about every 7 milliseconds instead of every 16.7 at 60 Hz, so scrolling, the mouse pointer and games look smoother and respond sooner. The moving blocks on this page show the difference on a fast screen. For still images and text it changes nothing.

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