What the human benchmark reaction time test is
The human benchmark style of reaction time test is about as simple as a test can be. A panel shows one color, you wait, the color changes and you click. The time between the change and your click is your reaction time, in milliseconds.
This page offers a test in that style. This site is independent. It is not affiliated with humanbenchmark.com and is not endorsed by it.
The 273 ms median
Human Benchmark, the best known site for this test, reports a median of 273 ms across its users. A median is the middle value: half of the recorded results are faster and half are slower.
That figure is higher than the 200 to 250 ms found in lab studies of young adults. The reason is hardware, not people. Screens, mice and browsers typically add 20 to 50 ms to an online result.
So 273 ms is best read as a typical online score on everyday devices.
How this independent version scores
The test above follows the same idea, with its own scoring rules.
- The panel is red, then turns green after a random wait of about 1.5 to 5 seconds.
- You click, tap or press Space.
- You get five tries, and the score is the average of the five.
- A click before green cancels that try and it is repeated.
- Scores are saved in your browser and shown in the Your scores panel.
Because the score is a five-try average, one lucky click cannot carry a run.
Comparing your score with 273 ms
| Your average | Against the 273 ms median |
|---|---|
| Under 230 ms | Well ahead, in the fast band on this site |
| 230 to 259 ms | Ahead |
| 260 to 299 ms | Around the median, the average band on this site |
| 300 ms or more | Behind, often because of the device |
Treat the comparison as approximate. Your score depends on your device, and any two sites can differ in how they time and average results.
Where to go from here
The full guide to this test is on the reaction time test page. For score bands and how they relate to typical results, see the human reaction time test. To understand what a browser can and cannot measure, read the online reaction time test page.