💻Web Performance Budgets Updated for 2026
Your site's performance budget just got a major update
TL;DR
The web performance budgets for 2026 have been updated with new network test parameters and device recommendations to better emulate the 75th percentile user experience. Median mobile page sizes have more than doubled since 2015, reaching 2.6 MiB.
Web performance budgets for 2026 have been updated to reflect the evolving landscape of mobile and desktop web usage. The new standards include network test parameters of 9 Mbps downlink, 3 Mbps uplink, and 100 millisecond RTT, and recommended devices like the Samsung Galaxy A24 4G and HP 14 to test against. These changes aim to better emulate the 75th percentile user experience. Median mobile page sizes have more than doubled since 2015, reaching 2.6 MiB, and mobile JavaScript payloads have more than doubled since 2015, reaching 680 KiB and 1.3 MiB at P50 and P75. This update is crucial for developers aiming to optimize their sites for real-world user experiences. The budget calculator now considers pages built in JS-light and JS-heavy styles, with budget growth for three seconds at 600+ KiB and a full megabyte of extra headroom at five seconds.
Key Points
New network test parameters for 2026: 9 Mbps downlink, 3 Mbps uplink, and 100 millisecond RTT.
Recommended devices for testing: Samsung Galaxy A24 4G (mid-2023 release) and HP 14 (Celeron N4500 laptop, 2021 release).
Median mobile page size now 2.6 MiB, more than 2.5x larger than a decade ago.
Mobile JavaScript payloads have more than doubled since 2015, reaching 680 KiB and 1.3 MiB at P50 and P75.
Budget growth for three seconds is 600+ KiB, and a full megabyte of extra headroom at five seconds.
Why It Matters
If you're optimizing a mobile site for real-world performance, the new 2026 web performance budgets are a must-read. Median mobile page sizes are now 2.6 MiB, and mobile JavaScript payloads have more than doubled since 2015. This means your site's performance budget needs to be adjusted to account for these changes. The new budgets also consider pages built in JS-light and JS-heavy styles, with budget growth for three seconds at 600+ KiB and a full megabyte of extra headroom at five seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this matter?
If you're optimizing a mobile site for real-world performance, the new 2026 web performance budgets are a must-read. Median mobile page sizes are now 2.6 MiB, and mobile JavaScript payloads have more than doubled since 2015. This means your site's performance budget needs to be adjusted to account for these changes. The new budgets also consider pages built in JS-light and JS-heavy styles, with budget growth for three seconds at 600+ KiB and a full megabyte of extra headroom at five seconds.
What happened?
The web performance budgets for 2026 have been updated with new network test parameters and device recommendations to better emulate the 75th percentile user experience. Median mobile page sizes have more than doubled since 2015, reaching 2.6 MiB.
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