About the Typing Speed Test
The Typing Speed Test measures how fast and how accurately you type. Pick a length from 15 seconds to 2 minutes, choose common words, everyday sentences or quotes from classic books, and start typing. Correct letters turn green, mistakes turn red, and your words per minute and accuracy update as you go.
It is a quick way to check your speed before a job application that asks for a WPM number, to track progress while learning touch typing, or to warm up before a long writing session. Optional punctuation and numbers make the test harder and closer to real work.
When the time is up, you see your net speed, your raw speed, your accuracy and your count of correct and wrong characters. Your best result for each test length is kept in your browser, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Pick the length and textChoose 15 s, 30 s, 1 min or 2 min, and Common words, Sentences or Quotes. Tick Punctuation or Numbers for a harder word test.
- Click the textClick or tap the text box. The timer does not start until your first key.
- Type what you seeType the text as shown, including capitals and punctuation. Fix mistakes with Backspace if you want; only the final text is scored.
- Watch the live numbersSeconds left, words per minute and accuracy update four times a second.
- Read your resultAt the end you get speed, raw speed, accuracy and correct versus wrong characters. Press Esc or Restart to try again with new text.
Key features
Four test lengths
15 seconds for a quick burst, 30 seconds or 1 minute for a standard test, 2 minutes for a steadier measure.
Three kinds of text
Random common English words, natural everyday sentences, or opening lines from books like Pride and Prejudice and Moby-Dick.
Harder modes
Punctuation adds capitals, commas, periods and other marks; Numbers mixes in numbers from 0 to 999.
Standard WPM
Speed uses the usual definition of a word as five characters, including spaces, so results compare with other tests.
Personal best
Your top speed for each length is saved on this device, as long as accuracy was at least 80%.
Works on phones
The test uses a hidden text field, so the on-screen keyboard works too, with autocorrect and autocapitalize turned off.
Examples
How the numbers are calculated
Speed counts correct characters, divided by five, per minute. Raw speed counts every character you typed, right or wrong. Accuracy is correct characters divided by all characters typed.
| Test | Typed | Speed | Raw | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 s | 50 right, 10 wrong | 40 | 48 | 83% |
| 1 min | 300 right | 60 | 60 | 100% |
| 1 min | 200 right | 40 | 40 | 100% |
In the first test, 50 correct characters are 10 words, and 15 seconds is a quarter of a minute, so the speed is 40 WPM. The 10 wrong characters count for raw speed (60 ÷ 5 × 4 = 48) but not for speed.
What is a good typing speed?
| Speed | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Under 30 WPM | Hunting for keys, often with two fingers |
| 40 to 55 WPM | A typical adult who types every day |
| 60 to 80 WPM | A practiced touch typist; meets most job requirements |
| Over 90 WPM | Very fast; common among transcriptionists and programmers who type a lot |
A large 2018 study by Aalto University, based on tests from 168,000 volunteers, found an average of about 52 words per minute. Office jobs that state a requirement often ask for 40 to 60 WPM with high accuracy.
Quotes
In Quotes mode, the result names every book you reached. Typing 260 characters in 30 seconds, starting with the Great Gatsby line, ends with "Texts: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby; Herman Melville, Moby-Dick." and a speed of 104 WPM.
Tips
- Aim for 95% accuracy or more before you push for speed. Fixing mistakes costs more time than typing a little slower.
- Keep your eyes on the text, not on the keyboard. Looking down breaks your rhythm, and touch typing is where real speed comes from.
- Rest your fingers on the home row (ASDF and JKL;) and return to it after each key. The small bumps on F and J help you find it without looking.
- Practice in short daily sessions. Ten minutes a day improves speed faster than one long session a week.
- If a key seems to miss or double up, check it with the Keyboard Test before blaming your technique.
Common mistakes and limits
- Comparing 15-second scores with 1-minute scoresShort tests are easier to sprint through. Use 1 minute or longer for a number you put on a job application.
- Ignoring accuracyA high speed at 85% accuracy means one wrong character in seven. Many employers look at accuracy first.
- Expecting corrected mistakes to count against youOnly the final text is scored. A typo you fixed with Backspace costs time, not accuracy.
- Typing on a phone and expecting desktop speedsThumb typing is usually much slower. Compare phone results only with other phone results.
- Clearing the browser and losing your bestPersonal bests live in this browser's storage. Clearing site data or using a private window resets them.