How to check your refresh rate
- Open the page and wait a second or two. The big number settles on your screen’s refresh rate in Hz.
- Watch the three balls. The top one moves on every frame; the others move at 60 and 30 frames per second for comparison.
- If the result looks wrong, keep the tab in front, leave the mouse still and press Measure again.
How it works
Every time your screen refreshes, the browser gets a chance to draw a new frame. The test records the time of each frame, takes the gaps between them and averages the ones close to the typical gap, so a single hiccup doesn’t drag the result down. The result is shown in Hz with a guess at the nearest common rate, like 60, 120, 144 or 240 Hz.
The number is what your browser actually gets, not just what the screen is capable of. That makes it useful for checking that a high-refresh monitor is really running at its full rate.
When the result is lower than expected
- Display settings. On Windows, look under Display, Advanced display, and pick the refresh rate. On a Mac, look in Displays settings.
- Cable and port. Some older HDMI cables and ports can’t carry high refresh rates at high resolutions. DisplayPort or a newer HDMI cable may be needed.
- Power saving. Laptops and phones often lower the rate on battery.
- Browser limits. Some browsers cap animation at 60 frames per second in some situations. Try another browser to compare.