What Is My Typing Speed? How to Measure WPM, Read Your Score, and Improve

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You know roughly how fast you type. But do you know your actual number? Most people haven't measured since a school typing class — or never have. Here's how to get your real WPM in two minutes and what to do with the result.

Check your typing speed free: Typing Speed Test — Free, No Signup

How to Measure Your Typing Speed

Go to the Typing Speed Test
Click Start and begin typing the text shown
The test runs for 60 seconds
Your WPM and accuracy appear when the time is up

For a reliable baseline: Take the test 3 times in a row and average the results. Single results vary by 5–10 WPM depending on focus, fatigue, and which words appear in the passage. An average of 3 tests gives you your real number.

What WPM Means

WPM stands for words per minute. In typing tests, one "word" is standardised at 5 characters — including spaces and punctuation. So "hello" is 1 word, "I am" is also 1 word (4 characters + 1 space).

This standardisation means your WPM is comparable across any test or passage, regardless of how long or short the words are.

Gross WPM — your raw speed before accounting for errors.

Net WPM — gross WPM minus a penalty for errors. Most tests (including this one) report net WPM. What matters is net WPM — typing fast with errors is less useful than typing accurately at moderate speed.

What Your Score Means

Under 30 WPM — hunt-and-peck typing. You're looking at the keyboard to find each key. Functional but slow for any volume of text. This is the biggest jump to make.

30–50 WPM — developing typist. Mix of touch typing and key-hunting. Average for casual computer users who haven't practised formally.

50–70 WPM — proficient. Comfortable touch typing. Most office workers fall here. Sufficient for the majority of jobs.

70–90 WPM — fast. Full touch typing with good accuracy. Above average for the general population.

90–120 WPM — advanced. Comparable to professional transcriptionists and experienced writers. Top 5–10% of typists.

120+ WPM — expert. Competitive typist territory. Rare outside of professional typists and people who type for a living.

If you got 55 WPM, you're in the proficient range — above average and sufficient for most jobs. If you got 35 WPM, you're in the developing range — a few weeks of practice will push you into the proficient tier.

Accuracy Matters More Than Raw Speed

A typist at 80 WPM with 90% accuracy produces less usable output than a typist at 65 WPM with 99% accuracy. Every error means stopping to correct — which slows net output and breaks flow.

Rule: Target 95%+ accuracy before trying to push your speed higher. If your accuracy drops significantly when you type faster, you're above your efficient speed. Slow down until accuracy stabilises, then gradually push again.

The test shows both WPM and accuracy — check both numbers, not just WPM.

Why Your Score Varies Between Tests

A 5–10 WPM swing between attempts is normal. Contributing factors:

Word difficulty — passages with common short words (the, and, it, is) produce higher WPM than passages with long technical words (configuration, authentication).

Fatigue — your third test in a row will typically be slightly slower than your first.

Focus — distraction, background noise, or interruption mid-test drops WPM noticeably.

Warmup — many typists are 5–8 WPM faster after the first test as their fingers warm up.

This is why averaging 3 tests gives a better baseline than relying on a single result.

How to Improve Your Typing Speed

1. Learn touch typing if you haven't — using all 10 fingers without looking at the keyboard. The single biggest improvement for hunt-and-peck typists. Free resources like Keybr or TypingClub teach the technique in structured lessons. Worth doing before anything else.

2. Practice consistently for 15–20 minutes daily — motor skills develop through repetition over time, not through occasional long sessions. Daily short practice beats weekend sessions.

3. Focus on your problem keys — most typists have specific keys or key combinations that slow them down (often: p, q, z, x, numbers, symbols). Identify yours and drill them specifically.

4. Don't look at the keyboard — even if you already touch-type partially. Every time you glance down, you lose speed and flow. Cover your hands if you have to.

5. Test every 1–2 weeks — tracking progress is motivating and shows what's working. Your baseline on day 1 becomes your comparison point two months later.

Realistic Progress Timeline

Starting point	After 4 weeks	After 3 months
20–30 WPM (hunt-and-peck)	35–45 WPM	55–65 WPM
35–50 WPM (partial touch typing)	50–60 WPM	65–75 WPM
55–70 WPM (full touch typing)	65–75 WPM	75–85 WPM

These assume 15–20 minutes of deliberate practice daily. Most people can reach 65–75 WPM with a few months of consistent effort, regardless of starting point.