Why can't browsers do real ICMP ping?

ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) requires raw socket access that browsers intentionally block for security. This tool uses HTTP fetch timing as a practical approximation of network latency.

What does 'packet loss' mean here?

If a fetch request times out or fails with a network error, it counts as a lost packet. The packet loss percentage is the proportion of failed requests out of total attempts.

Why are some sites unreachable?

Many servers block CORS preflight requests or do not respond to OPTIONS requests from foreign origins. If a site blocks cross-origin requests you will see 100% packet loss even if the site is up.

How accurate is the latency measurement?

Browser fetch timing measures total HTTP round-trip time including TCP handshake, TLS negotiation, and server response — typically 5-50ms higher than raw ICMP ping due to protocol overhead.

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Ping Test

Visual network ping simulator with latency graphs

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About this tool

Simulate pinging any domain or URL directly from your browser using the Fetch API for timing. See latency in milliseconds for each of 4 requests, packet loss simulation, and min/avg/max statistics — all visualised in a live-updating SVG bar chart. Note: browsers cannot send raw ICMP packets, so this tool uses HTTP OPTIONS/HEAD request timing as a close approximation of network round-trip time.

How to use

1 Enter a domain name or full URL (e.g. example.com or https://example.com).
2 Click 'Start Ping' to begin sending 4 timed fetch requests.
3 Watch the SVG bar chart update live as each request completes.
4 View the summary showing min, avg, max latency and packet loss percentage.

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