How the typing test works
Press Start test and a short passage appears. Start typing and the clock begins on your first key. Correct characters turn dark, mistakes are highlighted in red, and you can use Backspace to fix them. The test ends when you reach the last character.
Your result is a single number: words per minute multiplied by accuracy. The result screen also shows the raw speed and accuracy separately.
What is a good typing speed?
| Score | Rating |
|---|---|
| 90 WPM or more | Exceptional |
| 70 to 89 WPM | Fast |
| 52 to 69 WPM | Above average |
| 38 to 51 WPM | Average |
| 25 to 37 WPM | Below average |
| Under 25 WPM | Beginner |
The figure most often quoted for an average adult is about 40 WPM. A 2018 study by researchers at Aalto University and the University of Cambridge collected typing data from 168,000 volunteers and found an average of 52 WPM, though people who choose to take an online typing test are probably faster than the general population.
How WPM is measured
Words vary in length, so typing tests use a standard word of five characters. Spaces and punctuation count. The phrase “quick brown fox” is 15 characters, which makes it exactly three standard words.
Raw speed is characters divided by five, divided by minutes. This test then multiplies by accuracy, the share of your keystrokes that were correct. A keystroke that you later fixed with Backspace still counts as an error, because the fix cost you time.
What fast typists do differently
The Aalto study found some clear patterns among the quickest typists.
They make fewer mistakes. Speed and accuracy went together. The fastest group did not type recklessly and fix things later. They hit the right key the first time.
They overlap keystrokes. Fast typists press the next key before fully releasing the previous one. The researchers called this rollover typing, and it was strongly linked to high speed.
They do not all touch type by the book. Many fast typists used fewer than ten fingers. What they shared was consistency: the same finger for the same key every time, and eyes on the screen instead of the keyboard.
How to type faster
- Put accuracy first. Slow down until you can type a passage with almost no errors, then let speed come back. Fixing mistakes is the largest time sink for most people.
- Stop looking at the keyboard. Keep your eyes on the text. It feels slower for a week or two and then becomes much faster.
- Return to the home row. Resting your fingers on A S D F and J K L ; gives every key a consistent starting point.
- Read one word ahead. Fast typists look at the next word while their fingers finish the current one.
- Practice in short sessions. Ten minutes a day beats an hour once a week. Track your results in the Your scores panel and look at the average, not the single best run.
Typing on a phone
The test works on touchscreens too. Tap the passage to bring up the keyboard. Turn off autocorrect if it keeps changing words, because the test checks every character exactly. Phone scores are usually lower than keyboard scores, though the gap is smaller than you might think. In the Aalto mobile study, people typing with two thumbs averaged about 38 WPM.
When your hands need a break, test your reflexes with the reaction time test or your pointer control with the aim trainer.