Typing test

How the typing test works

Pick a length, from 15 seconds to two minutes, and a kind of text: common English words, or real sentences with capitals and punctuation. Then start typing. The timer starts with your first letter, so no time is lost finding the keys. Letters you get right turn dark, mistakes turn red, and a word you leave with a mistake in it stays underlined. Press Backspace to fix a letter, or to step back into the previous word if it has a mistake. Tab or Esc starts over with new words.

When the time is up you get your words per minute, your accuracy, how many keystrokes were mistakes, and a line showing your speed through the test. Your best score for each length and kind of text is kept in your browser, on this device only. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. On a phone or tablet, tap the words to bring up the keyboard.

How WPM is calculated

Words vary in length, so a typing speed test doesn't count words. It counts characters and divides by five: in WPM, a word is any five characters, spaces included. That standard makes a score from one text comparable with a score from another. Typing 250 characters in a minute is 50 WPM, whether they were short words or long ones.

• Net WPM is the big number. It counts only the characters that are right when the time runs out: letters in the right place, plus the space after each word typed exactly. A mistake you go back and fix costs you the time it took, nothing more. A mistake you leave in doesn't count.
• Raw WPM counts every character you typed, mistakes included, even ones you deleted. It measures how fast your fingers move. A big gap between raw and net means speed is being lost to errors.
• Accuracy is the share of your keystrokes that were right when you made them. Fixing a mistake doesn't erase it from accuracy.
• Consistency looks at your raw speed in each second. 100% would mean every second was exactly as fast as the others; bursts and pauses pull it down.

Short tests usually give higher scores, because anyone can keep a fast pace for 15 seconds. The 60-second test is the one most people compare, so use it when you want a number to share.

What's a good WPM?

Around 40 WPM is the figure usually quoted as an average typing speed. A large 2018 study by researchers at Aalto University, based on people who chose to take an online typing test, found an average of about 52 WPM, so the people who take tests like this one tend to be a little quicker than everyone else. The ranges under the test are rough guides, not a leaderboard:

• Under 25: getting started, often still looking at the keys.
• 25 to 45: average for everyday typing.
• 45 to 65: above average, comfortable touch typing.
• 65 to 90: fast. Most people who type this quickly have touch typed for years.
• 90 to 120: very fast, the territory of competitive typists.
• Over 120: exceptional.

Accuracy matters as much as speed. Above about 95% you are in good shape; below that, slowing down a little usually raises your net WPM, because every mistake costs a correction later.

How to type faster

• Learn to touch type. Rest your fingers on the home row, with your index fingers on F and J (feel for the small bumps), and let each finger cover its own column. It feels slower for the first week or two, then passes your old speed.
• Stop looking at the keys. Your eyes should stay on the text. Every glance down costs time and breaks your rhythm.
• Go for accuracy first. Type at a pace where you rarely make mistakes. Speed follows; fixing errors is slower than avoiding them.
• Read ahead. Look at the next word while your fingers finish the current one. The test always shows the next line for this reason.
• Keep a steady rhythm. An even pace beats bursts and pauses. Your consistency score shows how even you are.
• Practice little and often. Ten minutes a day does more than an hour once a week.
• Sit well. Keep the keyboard at elbow height, your wrists level rather than bent up, and your shoulders loose.

Does the keyboard affect typing speed?

Less than practice does, but it does matter for comfort, and comfort decides how long you can type well. A few things make a difference:

• Mechanical keyboards give each key its own switch, so every press feels the same and registers at a consistent point. Tactile and clicky switches tell your finger the key has registered, which helps some typists stop pressing all the way down. Linear switches are smooth with no bump. None of them is faster for everyone; it comes down to what you like.
• Low-profile keyboards, like most laptop keyboards, have short key travel. Many people find them quick and light for typing, and the low height keeps your wrists flatter. Others miss the feedback of a taller key.
• Layout and size matter more than people expect. A tenkeyless or 75% board brings your mouse closer, and a split ergonomic keyboard keeps your wrists straight, though it takes a week or two to adjust. If you switch to a different layout such as Dvorak or Colemak, expect your speed to drop for a while before it can improve.

If you are shopping, the keyboard finder sorts boards by size, switch feel and connection, and our best ergonomic keyboards are a good start if you type for hours. Before you blame your typing, check the board itself: the keyboard test shows every key you press and finds keys that are dead, stuck or chattering.

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