The world record typing speed
Two names come up whenever typing records are discussed.
| Typist | Peak speed | Machine | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stella Pajunas | 216 WPM | IBM electric typewriter | Reached in 1946 |
| Barbara Blackburn | 212 WPM | Dvorak keyboard | Long listed by Guinness as the fastest English-language typist |
Stella Pajunas reached 216 WPM in 1946 on an IBM electric typewriter. It is the figure usually quoted as the world record.
Barbara Blackburn peaked at 212 WPM. She typed on a Dvorak keyboard, a layout with a different letter arrangement from QWERTY, and Guinness long listed her as the fastest typist in the English language.
What those numbers mean
At five characters per word, 216 WPM is 1,080 keystrokes in a minute, or 18 every second. The commonly quoted adult average of about 40 WPM is a little over 3 keystrokes a second.
Both figures are peaks, the best pace reached over a short stretch. Nobody keeps that up through a working day.
Why modern online records are hard to compare
Treat any comparison with scores posted online with care, for several reasons.
- Test length. A short burst on a few familiar words gives a higher figure than a long test.
- Text. Lowercase common words with no punctuation are quicker to type than prose with capitals, numbers and symbols.
- Error rules. Some tests report raw speed. Others, like this one, multiply by accuracy.
- Hardware. A modern keyboard and an electric typewriter from the 1940s are very different machines.
- Verification. A speed measured in front of witnesses and a score posted from home are not the same kind of evidence.
Because of this there is no single agreed table of typing records, and the two historical figures above remain the usual reference points.
How your score relates
Take the test above. Your score is WPM multiplied by accuracy on a short passage of normal English.
On this site, 90 or more is rated exceptional. That is less than half of either record, which shows how far out the records sit. A 2018 study by Aalto University and the University of Cambridge found an average of 52 WPM among 168,000 volunteers. It also found that the fastest typists made fewer errors and used rollover typing, pressing the next key before releasing the last.
The useful comparison is with your own past results. See good typing speed for the rating bands, average typing speed for what most people manage, and the speed typing test page for technique.