A display’s refresh rate, measured in hertz, is how many times per second it redraws the image. A 60 hertz screen redraws sixty times a second, while a 120 hertz screen redraws twice as often, which makes motion look smoother and reduces perceived lag in games and scrolling. The number is not always obvious from a product name, and operating system settings can cap a capable screen at a lower rate. This tester estimates the rate by timing the browser’s animation frames, which are synchronised to the display’s refresh cycle, and reports the measured rate. It is an estimate rather than a laboratory measurement, because browsers and power settings can influence frame timing, but it reliably distinguishes a 60 hertz screen from a high refresh rate one.
Quick Answer: Click Measure Refresh Rate and keep the page visible for a second. The estimated rate in hertz appears when measurement finishes.
Free Online Tool
Display Refresh Rate Tester
Estimate your screen refresh rate from animation frame timing.
How to Use the Display Refresh Rate Tester
- Keep this page visible and avoid switching tabs during the short measurement.
- Click Measure Refresh Rate to start timing animation frames.
- Wait about one second while the tool collects frame intervals.
- Read the estimated refresh rate and the number of frames measured.
- If the result looks low, check your operating system’s display settings for a refresh rate cap before concluding the screen is limited.
Key Features
- Frame interval measurement using the browser’s animation frame timing, synchronised to the display.
- Estimated hertz reporting, with the frame count shown so the measurement’s basis is transparent.
- Short measurement window of about one second, so the test is quick and unobtrusive.
- Fallback messaging where animation frame timing is unavailable in the browser.
- Local measurement with no data sent anywhere.
Best Practices and Tips
- Run the test with the browser window on the display you want to measure, since multi monitor setups can have different rates per screen.
- Close video playback during measurement, because a busy GPU can disturb frame timing and lower the estimate.
- A result near 60, 120 or 144 hertz is normal; small deviations from round numbers are measurement noise, not a fault.
- If a high refresh screen reports 60 hertz, check both the display settings and the cable, since either can cap the rate.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Measuring while the tab is in the background, where browsers throttle animation frames and the estimate collapses.
- Treating a single slightly low reading as proof of a faulty screen, when frame timing naturally varies by a few hertz.
- Confusing refresh rate with frame rate: a game can render fewer frames than the display refreshes, which is a different limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the browser measure refresh rate?
The browser calls an animation callback once per display refresh when the page is visible. By recording the time between callbacks over many frames and averaging, the tool estimates how many refreshes occur per second, which is the refresh rate in hertz.
Why is the result an estimate?
Frame timing is affected by system load, power settings and browser scheduling, so individual intervals vary slightly. Averaging over dozens of frames gives a stable estimate that identifies the rate class, such as 60 or 120 hertz, rather than a laboratory precise value.
My screen is 144 Hz but the test shows 60 Hz. Why?
The most common causes are a display setting capped at 60 hertz, a cable or port that cannot carry the higher rate, or a power saving mode. Check the operating system’s display settings first, since the setting there overrides what the hardware can do.
Does a higher refresh rate matter for ordinary use?
It makes scrolling and cursor movement visibly smoother and reduces motion blur, which many people notice immediately. For office work it is a comfort improvement, while for gaming it also reduces the delay between an action and its appearance on screen.