Typing Speed Test
Click the box and type the text below. The timer starts on your first keystroke.
How WPM and accuracy are calculated
Words per minute is not a count of words. The standard used almost everywhere, including here, defines a word as five characters including spaces, so typing 250 characters in a minute is 50 WPM regardless of whether the text was full of long words or short ones. That convention exists precisely so that results are comparable across different passages.
The timer starts on your first keystroke, not when the page loads, so reading the passage first costs nothing. Accuracy is the share of characters typed correctly, and it is the number worth watching — raw speed with poor accuracy is slower in practice than moderate speed with clean input, because every correction costs more time than the character saved.
Where typical speeds sit
- Under 30 WPM — hunt and peck, or touch typing still being learned.
- 40 WPM — roughly the average for an adult who uses a computer daily.
- 60-70 WPM — comfortable touch typing, the level most office work assumes.
- 80-100 WPM — fast, and usually the ceiling for people who never trained deliberately.
- Above 120 WPM — competitive territory, reached by a small number of people with sustained practice.
Getting faster without getting sloppier
The single biggest gain for most people is keeping their eyes off the keyboard. Looking down forces you to relocate your hands after every glance, and the cost of that is far larger than any gain from seeing the keys. If you cannot yet type without looking, practising slowly while not looking beats practising quickly while looking.
Beyond that, speed comes from rhythm rather than force. Aim for an even pace where difficult letter combinations take the same time as easy ones, keep your wrists off the desk, and let the fingers return to the home row after every reach. Bursts of speed followed by corrections produce a worse result than a steady, unhurried pace.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good typing speed (WPM)?
The average typing speed is around 40 words per minute. 60–70 WPM is good, and professional typists often exceed 100 WPM with high accuracy.
How can I type faster?
Learn touch typing (all ten fingers without looking), prioritise accuracy before speed, and practise regularly. Speed follows once the motions become automatic.
How is WPM calculated?
One "word" is standardised as 5 characters. WPM is the number of characters you typed divided by 5, per minute, adjusted for the mistakes you made.
What is the fastest typing speed ever recorded?
Stella Pajunas famously reached 216 WPM on an IBM electric typewriter in 1946, a record still cited today. On modern keyboards, top competitive typists sustain well over 200 WPM in short online bursts. For context, even 100 WPM puts you far ahead of most people.
Is it worth switching from hunt-and-peck to touch typing?
Yes, though expect a temporary dip: your speed drops for a couple of weeks while your fingers learn the home-row positions. Most people pass their old hunt-and-peck speed within a month of daily practice, and touch typing also frees your eyes to stay on the screen and reduces fatigue.
How long does it take to learn touch typing?
With focused practice of 15–30 minutes a day, most learners memorise the key positions in about two weeks and reach a comfortable 40–50 WPM within two to three months. Consistency matters far more than session length — short daily drills beat occasional marathons.
Why does my WPM vary between tests?
Scores naturally swing by 10–20% depending on the passage's vocabulary and punctuation, your familiarity with the keyboard, and even the time of day. This test also draws a random passage each round, so difficulty varies slightly. For a reliable number, take several rounds and use your average, not a single best run.