Typing Speed Test

2026-10-12

Find out how fast you type. Take a timed test of 15 to 120 seconds, or type a set number of words, and see your net and gross speed in words per minute, your accuracy and a graph of your speed during the test.

How to use the typing speed test

1. Under “Test settings” choose a timed test of 15, 30, 60 or 120 seconds, or a fixed word count of 10, 25, 50 or 100 words. The default is 60 seconds.
2. Choose the text: common English words in random order, or whole sentences. “Punctuation” adds capital letters and punctuation marks, “Numbers” adds digits.
3. Click the text (tap it on a phone) or simply start typing. The clock starts with your first character.
4. Type what you see. A wrong character is struck through and highlighted; press Backspace to go back and fix it.
5. When the time is up, or you have typed the last word, the result replaces the text. Press Enter or choose “Try again” for a new text with the same settings.
6. “Restart” or the Esc key stops a test at any moment and loads a new text. A stopped test is not saved.

How it works

The test compares what you type with the text, one character at a time. Every character you enter, right or wrong, moves the caret one place forward, and Backspace removes the last one. Speed is given in words per minute (WPM). So that long and short words count the same, a “word” is fixed at five characters, spaces and punctuation included:

characters is the number of characters standing in your typed text when the test ends. minutes is the typing time: the chosen duration in a timed test, or the time from your first to your last character in a word-count test. uncorrected errors are the characters that still differ from the text at the end; each one costs a whole word, and net WPM never goes below zero. The key presses are all the character keys you pressed, including those you deleted later; Backspace itself is not counted. A mistake you correct therefore lowers your accuracy but not your net speed, while a mistake you leave lowers both. Speeds and accuracy are rounded to one decimal place.

In the graph, the thin line is the speed in each single second and the thick line is the running average, which ends at your gross speed.

Pauses. If the text field loses focus – you click elsewhere, press Tab or switch to another window – the test is paused. The clock stops and the text is hidden, so a pause cannot be used to read ahead. “Continue typing” or any letter key brings the text back, and the clock starts again with the next character you type.

Examples

Example 1 – a clean minute. You type 250 characters in a 60-second test with no mistakes.
gross = (250 / 5) / 1 = 50 WPM, net = (50 − 0) / 1 = 50 WPM, accuracy = 100 × 250 / 250 = 100%.

Example 2 – errors left in the text. In a 30-second test you type 140 characters and leave 3 of them wrong.
gross = (140 / 5) / 0.5 = 56 WPM, net = (28 − 3) / 0.5 = 50 WPM, accuracy = 100 × 137 / 140 = 97.9%.

Example 3 – errors corrected. In a 60-second test your final text has 300 characters, all correct, but on the way you hit 12 wrong keys and fixed each one with Backspace. That is 312 character key presses, 300 of them correct.
gross = net = (300 / 5) / 1 = 60 WPM, accuracy = 100 × 300 / 312 = 96.2%.

Example 4 – a word-count test. You finish a text of 120 characters in 24 seconds (0.4 minutes) with 2 uncorrected errors.
gross = (120 / 5) / 0.4 = 60 WPM, net = (24 − 2) / 0.4 = 55 WPM, accuracy = 100 × 118 / 120 = 98.3%.

What is a good typing speed?

There is no official scale, and published figures differ because studies use different texts, test lengths and ways of counting errors. Treat these ranges as a rough guide for a one-minute test on a physical keyboard:

For essays, emails and notes, about 40 WPM or more usually keeps typing from slowing down your thinking. Jobs that consist mainly of typing, such as data entry or transcription, often ask for more and normally state their own speed and accuracy requirement. Accuracy matters at every speed: aim for 96% or better before you chase a higher number.

Why test length and text type change the result

A short test is a sprint: there is no time to tire and a few easy words can lift the number, so results are usually higher and vary more from run to run. A single error also weighs more. Every uncorrected error costs 4 WPM in a 15-second test, 2 WPM in 30 seconds, 1 WPM in 60 seconds and 0.5 WPM in 120 seconds. One or two minutes give a steadier picture.

Short, common, lower-case words are the fastest to type. Sentences with capital letters and punctuation need the Shift key and are slower, and numbers are slower still for most people. Compare results only between tests with the same settings. The page keeps a best result for each test length, whatever text type you chose.

How to improve your typing speed

• Accuracy first. Slow down until you rarely need Backspace.
• Use all ten fingers. Touch typing from the home row, with your eyes on the screen, removes the search for each key.
• Practise briefly and often. Ten minutes a day does more than an hour once a week.
• Read ahead. Keep your eyes one or two words in front of the one you are typing.

Frequently asked questions

What does WPM mean?

Words per minute. A word is counted as five characters, including spaces, so 250 characters typed in one minute are 50 WPM.

What is the difference between gross and net WPM?

Gross WPM counts everything you typed. Net WPM subtracts one word for every error left in the text. With no uncorrected errors the two numbers are equal.

Why do I get a different result on another typing test?

Tests differ in their word lists, their length, how they penalise errors and whether they count real words or five-character words. Differences of several WPM are normal.

Can I take the test on a phone or tablet?

Yes. Tap the text and type on the on-screen keyboard; the text moves to the top of the screen so the keyboard does not cover it.

Is what I type sent or stored anywhere?

No. The test runs entirely in your browser. Your settings, your last 20 results and your best scores are saved only in this browser’s local storage; “Clear history” deletes the results. Nothing is uploaded.

Related tools

• Typing Practice — touch typing lessons that teach the keys finger by finger.
• Typing Game — type the falling words before they reach the bottom line.
• Reaction Time Test — measure how quickly you react to a signal.
• Word Counter — count the words and characters in a text you have written.
• Voice Dictation — turn speech into text.