Typing Speed Test: Find Out Your Real Typing Speed

Typing Speed Test

Find out what your typing speed is. One passage takes about a minute.

How many words per minute can you type?

Type the passage exactly as shown. The clock starts on your first key and stops when you reach the end.

Test your typing speed

Press Start test, wait for the passage and begin typing. The clock starts on your first key and stops when you reach the last character. Correct characters turn dark, mistakes show in red, and you can use Backspace. When you finish you get a score, your raw WPM and your accuracy.

How to take a fair reading

A typing speed is only useful if it reflects how you normally type. A few habits keep the reading honest.

Use your everyday setup. Your usual keyboard, chair and desk. A borrowed laptop measures the laptop as much as it measures you.
Warm up once. Do one run and ignore it. Cold fingers are slower.
Take three runs. Passages vary. Some have longer words or more punctuation than others.
Average them. Add the three scores and divide by three. That is your typing speed.
Keep the bad runs. Restarting every time you stumble makes the number look better than your real typing.

Reading the number

The score is words per minute multiplied by accuracy, with a word counted as five characters. About 40 WPM is the commonly quoted adult average. On this site 38 to 51 is rated average, 52 to 69 above average, 70 to 89 fast and 90 or more exceptional.

Look at raw WPM and accuracy together. If the raw figure is well above the score, errors are the problem. If accuracy is near perfect and the speed is modest, you can afford to push a little harder.

What the number does not tell you

This is a copy-typing speed. The words are in front of you and all you do is reproduce them. Writing your own emails or reports is slower, because you are also deciding what to say.

The test also measures you on one device. A phone result and a keyboard result are different measurements, so track them separately.

Keep a record

Your runs are saved in the Your scores panel in this browser. Come back in a week and take three more for comparison. The typing test practice page has a short daily routine, and the average typing speed page shows how your result compares with other people. For how the figure is worked out, see the WPM test page.

Typing Speed Test FAQ

What is my typing speed?

Take the test above three times and average the scores. That average, in words per minute adjusted for accuracy, is a fair answer.

How do I test my typing speed fairly?

Use your normal keyboard, sit as you usually do and do one warm-up run that you ignore. Then take three runs and use the average, not the best one.

Why does my typing speed change between runs?

Passages differ in difficulty and your focus varies. Some movement between runs is normal, which is why an average is more reliable than a single result.