Refresh Rate Test
This tool counts how many frames your browser renders per second, which — since browsers sync rendering to your display — gives a close estimate of your monitor's refresh rate in Hz. Let it run for at least 15-30 seconds for a stable reading.
requestAnimationFrame fires, which browsers throttle to match your display's vsync — it is not a direct hardware query. Background tabs, GPU throttling, browser extensions, and variable refresh rate (VRR/G-Sync/FreeSync) displays can all cause the reading to drift or land between standard values. For an exact spec, check your OS display settings or monitor's OSD menu.More Hardware Test Tools
A refresh rate test — or Hz test, if that's the term you searched — measures how many times per second your monitor redraws the entire screen, in Hertz (Hz): a 60Hz display redraws 60 times a second, a 144Hz display 144 times. This test counts how often your browser's animation frame callback fires, which is synced to your display's vsync timing, to estimate that rate live. It won't be as exact as a hardware query, but it's a fast way to sanity-check whether a monitor, cable, or GPU setting is actually delivering the Hz it's supposed to.
Common Refresh Rates
- 60Hz — The long-standing default for TVs, office monitors, and budget laptops; fine for general use and most streaming video, which is usually shot at 24-30fps anyway.
- 75-90Hz — A modest step up offered by some budget "gaming" monitors and a handful of phones; a noticeable but not dramatic improvement in scrolling and cursor smoothness over 60Hz.
- 120Hz — Standard on modern flagship phones (iPhone ProMotion, most Android flagships) and many TVs, useful for both smooth UI scrolling and console gaming at 120fps.
- 144Hz — The mainstream gaming-monitor standard for years; widely considered the point where most people can reliably feel the difference from 60Hz in fast-moving content.
- 165-180Hz — A common factory-overclocked variant of 144Hz panels, marketed as a small extra margin over the base spec.
- 240Hz — Aimed at competitive esports players in fast-twitch shooters, where the display can keep up with very high in-game frame rates.
- 360Hz+ — The current high end, first popularized around 2020 on esports-focused monitors; the perceptible gain over 240Hz is small for most players and depends on a GPU that can actually push frame rates that high.
Refresh Rate vs. Frame Rate — Not the Same Thing
These two terms get used interchangeably in casual conversation, but they describe different layers of the pipeline. Refresh rate is a fixed property of the monitor's hardware — how often it physically redraws the panel, in Hz. Frame rate (FPS) is how many unique frames your GPU renders per second for whatever content is being displayed, and it's entirely dependent on the game, video, or app, plus your hardware's ability to keep up. A 144Hz monitor doesn't force a game to run at 144 FPS; if the game only manages 90 FPS, the monitor still refreshes 144 times a second, it just redraws some frames more than once. Conversely, if a game renders more frames than the monitor can display and vsync is off, you get screen tearing — visible misalignment where part of one frame and part of the next are shown in the same refresh.
How the Browser Actually Measures This
This tool relies on requestAnimationFrame, a browser API originally built for smooth web animations, which schedules its callback to run right before the browser paints the next frame — in practice, synced to your display's vsync signal. By counting how many of these callbacks fire in a second, the page gets a close live estimate of the actual refresh rate the browser is rendering at. It's not a direct hardware query the way an OS display panel performs, so treat it as a strong estimate rather than a certified spec sheet number — for board-level certainty, your monitor's on-screen display (OSD) menu or your OS's display settings report the configured rate directly.
Checking Refresh Rate in Windows and macOS
This browser-based Hz checker is a fast sanity check, but your OS has its own built-in refresh rate checker too. On Windows 10/11, go to Settings → System → Display → Advanced display, select your monitor, and the "Refresh rate" dropdown shows every rate the display and cable currently support — this is also where you'd manually switch a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor up from a default of 60Hz if Windows didn't detect it correctly out of the box. On macOS, System Settings → Displays → Advanced (or holding Option while clicking "Scaled") exposes refresh rate options for displays that support more than 60Hz, though Apple's own Retina laptop panels with ProMotion show the setting under a "120Hz" or "Auto (up to 120Hz)" style toggle instead.
Variable Refresh Rate (VRR): G-Sync, FreeSync, and HDMI VRR
Fixed-Hz displays run at one rate no matter what's being shown, which is why frame rates that don't evenly divide the refresh rate can cause stutter or tearing. Variable Refresh Rate technology — branded as NVIDIA G-Sync, AMD FreeSync, or the generic HDMI 2.1/DisplayPort VRR standard — lets the monitor dynamically match its refresh rate to the GPU's actual output frame rate in real time, within a supported range (commonly 48-144Hz or similar), eliminating tearing without the added input lag that traditional vsync introduces. On a VRR display, a live requestAnimationFrame-based test like this one will track whatever rate is currently being rendered rather than one fixed number, so don't be surprised if the reading moves around more than it would on an older fixed-rate panel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is refresh rate, and how is it different from FPS?
Refresh rate is how many times per second your monitor redraws the image, a fixed hardware property measured in Hz. Frame rate (FPS) is how many unique frames your GPU produces per second, which depends on the content and can be higher or lower than the refresh rate.
Why does this test show a number that isn't exactly 60 or 144?
This tool counts requestAnimationFrame callbacks, which track vsync closely but not perfectly — timer rounding, background load, and browser throttling can shift the reading a few Hz. Let it run 15-30 seconds for a more reliable average.
Can I actually get a higher refresh rate than my monitor is rated for?
Sometimes — many panels are rated conservatively and can be pushed higher using a custom resolution in NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Software, a practice known as monitor overclocking. Results vary widely by panel and aren't guaranteed.
Does the browser I'm using affect the result?
Yes. Desktop Chrome, Edge, and Firefox sync tightly to the real refresh rate. Some mobile browsers and embedded webviews cap animation frames at 60Hz even on higher-Hz phone screens, and laptop battery-saver modes can throttle the reading below the panel's rated spec.
What refresh rate is actually good for gaming?
144Hz is the point where most people clearly feel the difference from 60Hz and remains the mainstream gaming-monitor standard. 240Hz and 360Hz target competitive esports players chasing every millisecond, with diminishing returns for most other games.
Why do laptop readings sometimes look inconsistent?
Laptops often throttle the GPU on battery power to save energy, which can make requestAnimationFrame fire less consistently even though the panel's rated Hz hasn't changed. Plug in and close other GPU-heavy tabs before testing for a steadier reading.
What is Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and does it change this test?
VRR (G-Sync, FreeSync, HDMI VRR) lets the monitor match its refresh rate to the GPU's real-time output instead of running at one fixed Hz, to prevent tearing without extra input lag. On a VRR display, this test's reading will fluctuate with whatever rate is currently being rendered.
Related Tools
See how your frame rate holds up under real rendering load with the FPS Test, check for pixel-response trailing with the Ghosting Test, check how fast your mouse reports position with the Mouse Polling Rate Test, or test button responsiveness with the full Mouse Test.