How to take the typing test
- Choose the test length and the text: lowercase words, or words with punctuation and capital letters.
- Click or tap the box and type the highlighted word. The clock starts with your first keystroke, so take your time to get ready.
- Press Space after each word. Letters turn dark when right and red when wrong; Backspace fixes a mistake while you are still in that word.
- When time runs out you see your net and raw speed, accuracy, correct and incorrect words, a character breakdown and a second-by-second speed chart.
- Restart gives a new set of random words — or press Tab then Enter, or Esc.
Everything happens in your browser: the words are shuffled on your device and nothing you type is uploaded or stored.
How your score is calculated
Speed is measured in words per minute (WPM), where one “word” is any five characters, spaces included — the only fair way to compare a test full of “a” and “the” with one full of “mountain” and “yesterday”.
- Net WPM (your typing speed) = characters of correctly typed words, including the space after each one ÷ 5 ÷ minutes. A word counts only if every letter is right and nothing is extra. The word you are typing when time runs out counts if every letter so far is right.
- Raw WPM = every character you typed ÷ 5 ÷ minutes — mistakes, deleted letters and spaces included. Raw minus net is the speed your errors cost.
- Accuracy = correct keystrokes ÷ all keystrokes × 100. Each character is compared with the one expected at that position (the word followed by a space). Backspace is not a keystroke, but a wrong letter stays counted after you fix it.
- Characters: correct and incorrect letters were typed in place of a letter of the word; extra letters went past its end; missed letters were skipped by pressing Space early. Spaces are not part of this breakdown.
Worked example
In a 1-minute test you type 52 words. 50 are perfect and have 250 letters; with the 50 spaces after them that is 300 characters, so net speed is 300 ÷ 5 ÷ 1 = 60 WPM. Counting the two wrong words, deleted letters and all spaces, you pressed 330 character keys: raw speed 330 ÷ 5 ÷ 1 = 66 WPM. If 315 of the 330 matched the expected character, accuracy is 315 ÷ 330 = 95.5%. The same 300 characters in a 30-second test would be 300 ÷ 5 ÷ 0.5 = 120 WPM.
What is a good typing speed?
| Speed | What it means |
|---|---|
| Under 40 WPM | Common for people who look at the keyboard or type with a few fingers; learning touch typing helps most here. |
| 40 WPM | US federal job announcements on USAJOBS define a “qualified typist” as someone who types 40 words per minute on a 5-minute sample with three or fewer errors. |
| 52 WPM | The average of 168,000 volunteers in a 2018 online typing study by Aalto University and the University of Cambridge (Dhakal et al., CHI 2018). |
| 60–90 WPM | What professionally trained typists typically reached in the 1970s and 80s, according to the same study. |
| 120 WPM | The speed of the fastest volunteers in that study. |
The study also found that faster typists make fewer mistakes, and that self-taught typists using fewer than ten fingers can be as fast as touch typists — a consistent technique matters more than the finger count.
Which test length should you choose?
| Length | Best for |
|---|---|
| 15 seconds | A sprint or warm-up. Scores run high, and one slip moves the result a lot. |
| 30 seconds | A quick check; still a little above your sustained speed. |
| 1 minute | The standard length most people quote, and the best for tracking progress. |
| 2 minutes | Closer to job typing tests, which often run 3 to 5 minutes: shows whether speed and accuracy hold up. |
Tips to type faster
- Accuracy first. Every error costs the time to notice, delete and retype it. Slow down until accuracy stays above about 95%, then build speed.
- Home row. The bumps on the F and J keys let you find your position without looking.
- Read ahead to the next word while your fingers finish the current one.
- Little and often. A few 1-minute tests a day beat one long session a week; the chart shows where you slow down — usually right after a mistake.
- Add punctuation and capitals once lowercase words feel easy: real text is full of Shift presses and commas.
To measure your own texts, the word counter and character counter count words, characters and reading time; the stopwatch times longer typing drills.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between net WPM and raw WPM?
Raw WPM counts every character you typed, including mistakes and letters you deleted. Net WPM counts only the characters of words you typed exactly right. The gap between the two is the speed your errors cost you; with high accuracy the two numbers are close.
Why is a word counted as five characters?
Words have different lengths, so typing tests use a standard word of five characters, spaces included. That makes a score comparable whatever the text: 300 correct characters in one minute is 60 WPM whether they came from short or long words.
Can I go back and fix a word after pressing Space?
No. Space submits the word, like on most typing tests. You can fix mistakes with Backspace while you are still in the word; a wrong letter still counts against accuracy, but the word can still count as correct for net WPM.
Does the typing test work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Tap the box to open your keyboard and type as usual. Phone keyboards may still autocorrect or suggest words even though the field asks them not to; turn off autocorrect in the keyboard settings for a fair result. Accented letters count as one character however your keyboard produces them, and paste is disabled so every character is really typed.
Last updated: October 15, 2026