Typing Speed Test
How fast can you type? Find out in 60 seconds.
Average Typing Speed Benchmarks
The average adult types 38-40 words per minute (WPM). An office worker who types regularly averages 50-60 WPM. A skilled typist hits 70-80 WPM. Professional transcriptionists and data entry specialists type 80-100 WPM. Court stenographers using specialized machines exceed 200 WPM. The fastest recorded typist, Barbara Blackburn, sustained 150 WPM for 50 minutes and peaked at 212 WPM on a standard keyboard.
For most jobs, 50-60 WPM with high accuracy is sufficient. Speed without accuracy is worthless — a 90 WPM typist who makes errors every other word is slower than a 60 WPM typist who rarely makes mistakes, because corrections take time. Focus on accuracy first and speed follows naturally as muscle memory develops.
How to Actually Type Faster
Touch typing — keeping your eyes on the screen rather than the keyboard — is the single biggest speed improvement most people can make. The home row position (ASDF for the left hand, JKL; for the right) keeps your fingers over the most-used keys. Every key on the keyboard is assigned to a specific finger, and learning these assignments eliminates the hunting and pecking that caps most people at 30-40 WPM.
The learning curve takes 2-4 weeks of deliberate practice. During that period, you will type slower than your current speed because you are retraining muscle memory. This temporary slowdown discourages most people, which is why most people never learn. Push through the 2-week valley and you will emerge at 50-60 WPM with a clear path to 80+. Free tools like TypingClub and Keybr provide structured lessons.
What is a good typing speed?
For general use: 40+ WPM is functional, 60+ is proficient, 80+ is advanced. For specific roles: data entry requires 60-80 WPM, transcription requires 80-100 WPM, and programming (where speed matters less than thinking) requires 40-60 WPM with high accuracy.
How is WPM calculated?
WPM = (total characters typed / 5) / minutes elapsed. The "5" represents the average word length in English. A correctly typed 300-character paragraph in 1 minute = 60 WPM. Only correctly typed characters count — errors reduce your effective WPM.