How the Typing Speed Test Works
Our online typing test measures your keyboard dexterity by tracking exactly how many characters you can accurately type within a set timeframe (15, 30, 60, or 120 seconds). When you begin typing, the timer starts automatically. The test highlights correct characters in green and mistakes in red, calculating your final scores based on standardized typing metrics.
What WPM and Accuracy Mean
WPM (Words Per Minute) is the standard measurement for typing speed. In professional settings, a "word" is standardized as exactly 5 characters or keystrokes (including spaces).
- Raw WPM: Your gross typing speed. This is calculated by dividing your total keystrokes (both correct and incorrect) by 5, and then dividing by the time in minutes.
- Net WPM: Your true speed. This factors in your mistakes, penalizing you for uncorrected errors to give a realistic measure of productive typing speed.
- Accuracy: The percentage of correct keystrokes out of your total strokes.
Understanding Your Result
A score of 40 WPM is considered an average typing speed. If you score between 60 and 80 WPM, you are well above average and suitable for most professional office environments. Scores above 100 WPM represent elite touch-typing skills often seen in programmers and professional transcriptionists.
How to Improve Typing Speed
The key to typing faster is building muscle memory without looking at the keyboard (touch typing). Place your index fingers on the 'F' and 'J' keys, which usually have small physical bumps. Always focus on maintaining high accuracy first—if you type too fast and make errors, correcting them will lower your Net WPM significantly more than if you had just typed slightly slower.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does backspacing lower my WPM?
Backspacing takes time away from typing new words, which naturally lowers your final WPM. However, it prevents an uncorrected error penalty from destroying your Net WPM.
Is it better to type fast or accurately?
Accuracy is far more important. A high raw WPM with terrible accuracy results in a very low Net WPM in the real world.