How the CPS test works
CPS means clicks per second. Pick a length, from one second to a minute, and click inside the box as fast as you can. The timer starts with your first click. When it stops you get your clicks per second, your total, the range your score falls in, and a bar for each second so you can see where you sped up or tired.
This click speed test counts the moment the button goes down: one press is one click, however long you hold it. Two presses closer together than 10 ms are left out, because a finger can't do that and a bouncing switch can. Even two-finger butterfly clicking needs the button to come back up between presses. If any presses are dropped, the result says so, and the mouse test can show whether your mouse double clicks on its own.
Switch to Right to time your right button, which matters in games where you place blocks or aim with it. Your best score for each length and button is kept in your browser, on this device only.
What's a good CPS?
Most people land around 6 or 7 clicks per second with ordinary clicking. The ranges under the test are rough guides by technique, not a leaderboard:
- Under 5: relaxed.
- 5 to 8: typical ordinary clicking.
- 8 to 11: fast ordinary clicking, or the start of jitter clicking.
- 11 to 15: jitter clicking.
- 15 to 25: butterfly clicking.
- Over 25: drag clicking.
The length changes the score. A one-second click test rewards a single burst, and one click more or less moves the result by a whole point. Over ten seconds or more your arm settles into a pace it can hold. Compare like with like: the 5-second and 10-second tests are the ones people usually share.
Click techniques
- Regular clicking. One finger presses and lets go. Comfortable, accurate and right for almost everything. Most people reach 6 to 8 CPS this way.
- Jitter clicking. You tense your forearm and wrist so your finger vibrates on the button. It reaches 10 to 14 CPS, but it tires you quickly and shakes your aim.
- Butterfly clicking. Two fingers, usually index and middle, take turns on the same button. 15 to 25 CPS is common with practice. Some games and servers treat very high rates as a macro.
- Drag clicking. You slide a dry fingertip along the button so the friction makes it bounce many times. It can pass 25 CPS, but it depends on the mouse as much as the hand, it wears switches out, and many servers don't allow it.
A plain word on strain: jitter and drag clicking load the tendons in your hand and forearm hard. Keep tries short, rest between them, and stop if anything aches, tingles or goes numb. No score is worth a sore wrist.
Does the mouse matter?
Less than you'd think for ordinary clicking. Switches with a crisp, quick reset help a little. For butterfly and drag clicking, the switch and the shape of the button matter more, and a light mouse makes jitter clicking easier to control. If you are shopping, the mouse finder sorts by weight, shape and use, and our best ultralight gaming mice are a good place to start for fast clicking.
Curious how your thumbs compare? Try the spacebar counter next.
Questions
How is CPS worked out?
Clicks divided by seconds. 42 clicks in a 5-second test is 8.4 CPS. While the test runs, the live figure uses the time so far.
Does the click test work on a phone?
Yes. Tap the box. Taps with more than one finger count separately. Phone scores aren't comparable with mouse scores, so compare like with like.
Do right clicks count?
Only when you choose Right. In Left mode only the left button counts, and the right-click menu stays closed inside the box either way.
Can I take the CPS test with a keyboard?
Yes. With the box focused, Space or Enter counts as a click, for anyone who can't use a mouse. For a keyboard score, the spacebar counter is the fairer test.
Why are some of my clicks left out?
Presses less than 10 ms after the one before can only come from a switch bouncing, so they don't count. If it happens often, run the mouse test and look for unintended double clicks.