Typing Speed Test

About this test

In typing, one word is conventionally five typed characters, spaces included. That unit is what makes different languages and passages comparable. On that basis, the average speed of an adult who uses a keyboard every day without having learned touch typing sits around 40 words per minute. People trained to type blind land between 60 and 80, and transcription jobs expect 80 to 100.

Several things weigh on the result besides you. Keyboard layout first: the same text on qwerty and on azerty doesn't require the same travel, and accented characters cost time when the key isn't under a finger. Then the mechanics: long key travel and a stiff spring slow down fast sequences. Autocorrect and spellcheck are disabled here, which typically costs ten per cent to people who lean on them without realising. Finally accuracy: you can strike very fast and still finish behind someone steady, because every wrong character is excluded from the score.

This test measures copying a plain passage shown on screen, which is the easiest case. Composing means thinking at the same time, and transcribing a voice forces someone else's pace: both come out slower. A single minute is also a short measurement, easily dragged down by one bad opening line.

How it works

The timer starts on your first keystroke and runs for sixty seconds. Only correct characters are counted, meaning those that match the displayed text exactly, then divided by five to get words and by the elapsed time to get words per minute. The accuracy figure is the share of correct characters across everything you typed.