diff --git a/cli/speedtest.go b/cli/speedtest.go
index 6dd0f10c4ea28..3ab9822b2a71e 100644
--- a/cli/speedtest.go
+++ b/cli/speedtest.go
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ import (
 
 func speedtest() *cobra.Command {
 	var (
-		direct   bool
-		duration time.Duration
-		reverse  bool
+		direct    bool
+		duration  time.Duration
+		direction string
 	)
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
 		Annotations: workspaceCommand,
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ func speedtest() *cobra.Command {
 					return client.WorkspaceAgent(ctx, workspaceAgent.ID)
 				},
 			})
-			if err != nil {
+			if err != nil && !xerrors.Is(err, cliui.AgentStartError) {
 				return xerrors.Errorf("await agent: %w", err)
 			}
 			logger := slog.Make(sloghuman.Sink(cmd.ErrOrStderr()))
@@ -94,17 +94,22 @@ func speedtest() *cobra.Command {
 			} else {
 				conn.AwaitReachable(ctx)
 			}
-			dir := tsspeedtest.Download
-			if reverse {
-				dir = tsspeedtest.Upload
+			var tsDir tsspeedtest.Direction
+			switch direction {
+			case "up":
+				tsDir = tsspeedtest.Upload
+			case "down":
+				tsDir = tsspeedtest.Download
+			default:
+				return xerrors.Errorf("invalid direction: %q", direction)
 			}
-			cmd.Printf("Starting a %ds %s test...\n", int(duration.Seconds()), dir)
-			results, err := conn.Speedtest(ctx, dir, duration)
+			cmd.Printf("Starting a %ds %s test...\n", int(duration.Seconds()), tsDir)
+			results, err := conn.Speedtest(ctx, tsDir, duration)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 			tableWriter := cliui.Table()
-			tableWriter.AppendHeader(table.Row{"Interval", "Transfer", "Bandwidth"})
+			tableWriter.AppendHeader(table.Row{"Interval", "Throughput"})
 			startTime := results[0].IntervalStart
 			for _, r := range results {
 				if r.Total {
@@ -112,7 +117,6 @@ func speedtest() *cobra.Command {
 				}
 				tableWriter.AppendRow(table.Row{
 					fmt.Sprintf("%.2f-%.2f sec", r.IntervalStart.Sub(startTime).Seconds(), r.IntervalEnd.Sub(startTime).Seconds()),
-					fmt.Sprintf("%.4f MBits", r.MegaBits()),
 					fmt.Sprintf("%.4f Mbits/sec", r.MBitsPerSecond()),
 				})
 			}
@@ -122,8 +126,9 @@ func speedtest() *cobra.Command {
 	}
 	cliflag.BoolVarP(cmd.Flags(), &direct, "direct", "d", "", false,
 		"Specifies whether to wait for a direct connection before testing speed.")
-	cliflag.BoolVarP(cmd.Flags(), &reverse, "reverse", "r", "", false,
-		"Specifies whether to run in reverse mode where the client receives and the server sends.")
+	cliflag.StringVarP(cmd.Flags(), &direction, "direction", "", "", "down",
+		"Specifies whether to run in reverse mode where the client receives and the server sends. (up|down)",
+	)
 	cmd.Flags().DurationVarP(&duration, "time", "t", tsspeedtest.DefaultDuration,
 		"Specifies the duration to monitor traffic.")
 	return cmd
diff --git a/cli/testdata/coder_speedtest_--help.golden b/cli/testdata/coder_speedtest_--help.golden
index fa8cb952a866c..f3ba1eac6ae13 100644
--- a/cli/testdata/coder_speedtest_--help.golden
+++ b/cli/testdata/coder_speedtest_--help.golden
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ Usage:
   coder speedtest <workspace> [flags]
 
 Flags:
-  -d, --direct          Specifies whether to wait for a direct connection before testing speed.
-  -h, --help            help for speedtest
-  -r, --reverse         Specifies whether to run in reverse mode where the client receives and
-                        the server sends.
-  -t, --time duration   Specifies the duration to monitor traffic. (default 5s)
+  -d, --direct             Specifies whether to wait for a direct connection before testing speed.
+      --direction string   Specifies whether to run in reverse mode where the client receives
+                           and the server sends. (up|down) (default "down")
+  -h, --help               help for speedtest
+  -t, --time duration      Specifies the duration to monitor traffic. (default 5s)
 
 Global Flags:
       --global-config coder   Path to the global coder config directory.
diff --git a/docs/cli/coder_speedtest.md b/docs/cli/coder_speedtest.md
index 084389ade9270..b1fadf60ec82e 100644
--- a/docs/cli/coder_speedtest.md
+++ b/docs/cli/coder_speedtest.md
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@ coder speedtest <workspace> [flags]
 ### Options
 
 ```
-  -d, --direct          Specifies whether to wait for a direct connection before testing speed.
-  -h, --help            help for speedtest
-  -r, --reverse         Specifies whether to run in reverse mode where the client receives and the server sends.
-  -t, --time duration   Specifies the duration to monitor traffic. (default 5s)
+  -d, --direct             Specifies whether to wait for a direct connection before testing speed.
+      --direction string   Specifies whether to run in reverse mode where the client receives and the server sends. (up|down) (default "down")
+  -h, --help               help for speedtest
+  -t, --time duration      Specifies the duration to monitor traffic. (default 5s)
 ```
 
 ### Options inherited from parent commands