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Typing Speed Test

Type common words as fast and accurately as you can. How many words per minute?

Type
Speed
Takes
about 1 min
Result in
words per minute

Typing Speed

~1 min

  1. Choose 30 or 60 seconds.
  2. Type the highlighted word, then press Space for the next one.
  3. The clock starts on your first letter. Your result is words per minute.
Seconds

Common English words, all lower case. A mistake you fix still costs accuracy.

Your result: — WPM

How it's measured

Try another challenge

  • CPS Test

    Click as fast as you can for 5 or 10 seconds.~15 sec

  • Mental Math

    Solve as many sums as you can in a minute.~1 min

  • Reaction Time

    See how quickly you react to a signal.~30 sec

  • Verbal Memory

    Seen this word before, or new?~1-3 min

  • Digit Symbol

    Match each symbol to its digit, fast.~1 min

  • Reading Speed

    Read a short story, then answer three questions.~2 min

How does the typing speed test work?

Choose 30 or 60 seconds. Words appear in a box; type the highlighted one and press Space to move to the next. The clock starts on your first letter, so you can read the first line before you begin. The words come from a list of 224 of the most common English words, all lower case, so the test is about your fingers rather than your spelling.

How is words per minute calculated?

By convention, a "word" in typing tests is five characters, spaces included, so long and short words count fairly. Your WPM is the characters of the words you typed exactly right, each with its space, divided by five, per minute. A word with any mistake left in it doesn't count.

Two more numbers come with it. Raw speed counts everything you typed, right or wrong. Accuracy is the share of keystrokes that were right when you pressed them, so a mistake you go back and fix still lowers it.

What is a good typing speed?

Around 50 words per minute is average. In the largest study of typing so far, by Aalto University and the University of Cambridge in 2018, about 168,000 people took an online test and the average was 52 WPM; the fastest reached around 120. They typed full sentences rather than single common words, so treat 52 as a rough guide to compare with.

How to type faster

  • Accuracy first. Every mistake costs the backspace and the retype. The same study found that the fastest typists also made the fewest errors.
  • Look at the screen, not the keys. Touch typing, with each finger in charge of its own keys, is what lets speed keep growing with practice.
  • Read ahead. While your fingers finish one word, your eyes should already be on the next.

For a timed test of a different kind of speed, try the Mental Math Test or the CPS Test.

Questions

What is the average typing speed?
About 52 words per minute: the average of some 168,000 people in a 2018 online study by Aalto University and the University of Cambridge. The authors note that trained typists in the 1970s and 80s typically reached 60 to 90.
How is WPM calculated?
Characters typed correctly, spaces included, divided by five, per minute. Five characters count as one word, so long words aren't penalised.
Does a mistake I correct still count?
It lowers your accuracy, because the wrong key was pressed. It doesn't lower your WPM once the word is fixed, apart from the time the fix took.
Can I take the test on a phone?
Yes: the box opens your phone's keyboard. Typing with thumbs on glass is a different skill from a physical keyboard, so compare phone results only with phone results.
Is anything saved?
No. What you type is checked in your browser and nothing is sent or stored.