Typing speed test
A straight typing test: pick a length, start typing, and watch your speed and accuracy update live. Correct characters are marked in green and mistakes in red as you go, so you can see where you are losing time.
How to use the typing speed test
- Choose a test length and a passage.
- Start typing — the clock begins on your first keystroke, not before.
- Read your words per minute, accuracy and raw speed when the time runs out.
How it works
Words per minute is a standardised measure, not a count of actual words: every five correct characters counts as one word, including spaces. That convention exists so that a passage of long words and one of short words can be compared fairly. Raw speed counts everything you typed; net WPM counts only the characters that matched.
For context, around 40 WPM is typical for an adult who types regularly, 60 to 70 is fast, and professional transcriptionists work above 90. Accuracy matters more than the headline number — at 95% accuracy you are stopping to fix a mistake every twenty characters, and that correction costs more time than the speed gained.
Common questions
What is a good typing speed?
About 40 WPM is average, 60–70 is fast, and over 90 is professional. For most office work, 50 WPM with high accuracy is more useful than 70 with errors.
How is WPM calculated?
Correct characters divided by five, divided by minutes elapsed. The five-character convention is the long-standing standard.
How can I type faster?
Accuracy first, speed second. Touch typing without looking down, then gradually increasing pace while keeping accuracy above 97%, beats trying to go fast straight away.