What is My Refresh Rate? How to Check Your Monitor's Hz

Your refresh rate is the number of times per second your monitor redraws the image on screen, measured in Hertz (Hz). A 60Hz display refreshes 60 times each second; a 144Hz display refreshes 144 times. The higher the number, the smoother motion looks — and the more responsive your computer feels. If you're wondering "what is my refresh rate?", this guide shows you how to check it in under 30 seconds on Windows, macOS, and online, plus what's considered a good refresh rate today. You can also run our free frame rate test to see your real-time on-screen performance.

What is Refresh Rate?

Refresh rate is a hardware property of your monitor that describes how many times per second it can update what's shown on screen. It's measured in Hertz, abbreviated as Hz. A higher refresh rate produces smoother motion, less blur during fast movement, and a more responsive feel when you move the cursor, scroll, or play games.

Refresh rate is closely related to — but not the same as — frame rate (FPS). We'll cover the difference in detail further down.

How to Check Your Refresh Rate?

There are several quick ways to find out what refresh rate your monitor is currently running at. The fastest is to check directly in your operating system's display settings, but you can also confirm it with an online test. Here is a rundown of how to do so on all the most popular operating systems. 

Check Your Refresh Rate on Windows 11

  1. Right-click anywhere on your desktop and select Display settings.
  2. Scroll down and click Advanced display.
  3. If you have more than one monitor, pick the one you want to check from the dropdown.
  4. Look for Refresh rate — the current Hz value is shown there.

Check Your Refresh Rate on Windows 10

  1. Right-click the desktop and select Display settings.
  2. Scroll down and click Advanced display settings.
  3. Click Display adapter properties for your monitor.
  4. Open the Monitor tab — the active refresh rate is shown under Screen refresh rate.

Check Your Refresh Rate on macOS

  1. Open the Apple menu and click System Settings (or System Preferences on older versions).
  2. Select Displays.
  3. Hold the Option key and click Scaled to reveal additional refresh rate options.
  4. The currently selected refresh rate is shown next to the Refresh rate field.

Check Your Refresh Rate on Linux

On most Linux distributions, you can run the following command in a terminal:

  • xrandr — lists all connected displays along with their currently active refresh rate (look for the asterisk next to one of the listed values).

On Wayland-based systems, the equivalent option is usually in Settings → Displays → Refresh rate.

Check Your Refresh Rate Online

You can also verify your refresh rate without digging through system settings by using an online tool. Our Frame Rate Test measures the actual frames per second your browser is rendering, which on a properly configured system will match your monitor's refresh rate.

Run the Frame Rate Test

If the measured FPS is consistently lower than your monitor's advertised Hz, your browser, GPU, or OS configuration may be capping the refresh rate.

Check Your Refresh Rate on a Smartphone

Most modern smartphones expose this in their display settings:

  • iPhone (ProMotion models): Settings → Accessibility → Motion → Limit Frame Rate. When this is off, the display runs up to 120Hz.
  • Android: Settings → Display → Refresh rate (or "Motion smoothness" on Samsung devices). You'll typically see options like 60Hz, 90Hz, or 120Hz.

Common Monitor Refresh Rates

Modern displays are sold at several standard refresh rates. Each is suited to different uses:

  • 60Hz — the long-standing standard for office monitors, laptops, and entry-level displays. Adequate for general computing and video playback.
  • 75Hz — a small step up, common on budget gaming and productivity monitors.
  • 120Hz — the entry point to high-refresh gaming and ProMotion-class phones. Visibly smoother than 60Hz.
  • 144Hz — the long-running sweet spot for PC gaming, offering a major improvement in motion clarity and input feel.
  • 165Hz — a popular upgrade from 144Hz with marginal real-world differences.
  • 240Hz — used by competitive esports players for the lowest possible input latency.
  • 360Hz and 540Hz — niche, top-end displays aimed at professional competitive gaming.

What is a Good Refresh Rate?

The right refresh rate depends on what you do with your computer:

  • Browsing, office work, video: 60Hz is sufficient. Higher refresh rates make scrolling and cursor movement feel snappier, but it's not a requirement.
  • Casual gaming: 75Hz to 120Hz delivers noticeably smoother gameplay without needing a top-tier GPU.
  • Competitive gaming: 144Hz is the standard target; 240Hz is preferred by esports players.
  • Creative and cinematic work: 60Hz is fine, since most video content is mastered at 24, 30, or 60 FPS.

For most people, 144Hz is the best price-to-performance refresh rate in 2026 — a clear upgrade over 60Hz without the diminishing returns of 240Hz and above.

Refresh Rate vs. Frame Rate: What's the Difference?

Refresh rate and frame rate are closely related but describe two different things:

  • Refresh rate (Hz) is a property of your monitor — the maximum number of times per second the display can redraw.
  • Frame rate (FPS) is a property of your computer's output — the number of frames your GPU actually produces per second.

Your effective on-screen smoothness is capped by whichever number is lower. A 144Hz monitor can't show more than 144 FPS, even if your GPU is rendering 300. And a GPU pushing only 40 FPS will look choppy on a 144Hz display because the screen has frames to spare with no fresh content to show. The ideal setup is for your hardware to comfortably produce FPS at or above your monitor's refresh rate.

Why Your Refresh Rate Might Be Lower Than Your Monitor Supports

Plenty of people buy a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor and end up running it at 60Hz without realizing it. Common reasons include:

  • Default Windows or macOS setting: most operating systems default to 60Hz and don't automatically switch to your monitor's maximum.
  • Wrong cable: an old HDMI cable or a low-bandwidth DisplayPort cable may not carry enough data for high refresh rates at high resolutions.
  • Wrong port: some HDMI ports on a monitor or GPU are limited to lower refresh rates. DisplayPort is usually the safest choice for high-Hz gaming.
  • Outdated GPU drivers: older drivers can prevent the maximum refresh rate from appearing as an option.
  • Resolution mismatch: at very high resolutions (4K, 5K), some monitors lower the maximum refresh rate due to bandwidth limits.

If your refresh rate looks too low, check each of these before assuming your monitor is faulty.

How to Change Your Refresh Rate

On Windows 11

  1. Right-click the desktop and choose Display settings.
  2. Click Advanced display.
  3. Pick the monitor you want to change.
  4. Under Refresh rate, select your preferred Hz from the dropdown.

On Windows 10

  1. Right-click the desktop and select Display settings.
  2. Click Advanced display settings, then Display adapter properties.
  3. Open the Monitor tab and choose a refresh rate from the dropdown.
  4. Click OK to apply.

On macOS

  1. Open System Settings → Displays.
  2. Hold the Option key and click Scaled to reveal the refresh rate options.
  3. Select the refresh rate you want.

After changing it, run our frame rate test to confirm the new setting is active.

Why Refresh Rate Matters

Smoother Motion

A higher refresh rate shows more intermediate positions of any moving object, reducing motion blur and making fast action — scrolling, panning, gaming — feel dramatically smoother.

Lower Input Lag

On a 60Hz monitor, each frame is shown for ~16.7 ms. On 144Hz, that drops to ~6.9 ms, and on 240Hz to ~4.2 ms. That means visual feedback from your mouse, keyboard, or controller appears on screen sooner — a real advantage in competitive games.

Easier on the Eyes

Many people report less eye strain and fatigue on high-refresh displays, especially during long sessions of scrolling, reading, or office work, because the on-screen motion feels less jittery.

Frequently Asked Questions About Refresh Rate

What is my refresh rate?

Your refresh rate is the number of times per second your monitor redraws its image, measured in Hertz (Hz). You can check it in your operating system's display settings or with our online Frame Rate Test.

Is 60Hz enough for gaming?

60Hz is playable for most single-player and casual games, but 120Hz or 144Hz feels significantly smoother and more responsive. For competitive online games, 144Hz or higher is strongly recommended.

Is a higher refresh rate always better?

Up to a point. Going from 60Hz to 144Hz is a major, easily noticeable upgrade. From 144Hz to 240Hz the difference is real but subtler, and from 240Hz to 360Hz most non-professional users won't see much. Your GPU also needs to be able to produce enough FPS to take advantage of the higher refresh rate.

What's the difference between refresh rate and frame rate?

Refresh rate (Hz) is how fast your monitor can redraw the image. Frame rate (FPS) is how fast your computer produces those images. Your visible smoothness is capped by whichever is lower.

Does refresh rate matter for watching movies?

Not really. Most movies are mastered at 24 FPS, so a 60Hz monitor is more than enough. Some platforms support 24Hz playback specifically for cinematic content, which avoids the judder that comes from playing 24 FPS on a 60Hz screen.

Why is my refresh rate stuck at 60Hz?

The most common causes are: an OS that didn't auto-switch to your monitor's maximum Hz, a low-bandwidth cable, an HDMI port limited to 60Hz, or outdated GPU drivers. Check each of these before assuming a hardware fault.

Knowing your refresh rate — and how it interacts with your frame rate — helps you get the most out of your monitor, whether you're gaming competitively, editing video, or just want a smoother day-to-day experience. Run a quick test below to see exactly how many frames your browser is rendering right now.

Frame Rate Test