Performance · Website glossary

Latency

Quick answer · What is Latency?

The delay between initiating an operation and receiving a response or result.

IN PRACTICE

Latency: an example

A request to a distant service spends time traveling across the network before useful data returns.

KEEP IN MIND

Latency and bandwidth measure different limits; a large connection capacity does not remove round-trip delay.

Put the idea to work

Frequently asked questions

What is a practical example of Latency?

A request to a distant service spends time traveling across the network before useful data returns.

Does a high-bandwidth connection remove latency?

Latency and bandwidth measure different limits; a large connection capacity does not remove round-trip delay.

Which concepts should I read alongside Latency?

Bandwidth: The data-carrying capacity of a network connection; hosting plans also use the word for an allowance of transferred data.
Time to First Byte: TTFB measures the time from a request's start until the first byte of its response arrives.