Typing Speed Test

Typing speed is measured in words per minute, where a "word" is standardised as five characters including spaces, so that a passage full of short words and one full of long words score the same. Accuracy matters as much as raw speed: a fast typist who corrects every third word is slower in practice than a steady one who does not.

How WPM and accuracy are scored

Gross WPM = (characters typed ÷ 5) ÷ minutes elapsed. Net WPM = gross WPM − (uncorrected errors ÷ minutes), which is the figure most tests report. Accuracy = correct characters ÷ total characters typed × 100. The test starts its clock on the first keystroke and stops when the passage is complete, so pausing to read ahead counts against you exactly as it would in real work.

When to use this test

Use it to get a baseline before starting touch-typing practice, then retest weekly on a similar passage. Average adult typing speed is around 40 WPM; competent office typists sit at 50–70; transcriptionists and programmers who touch-type often exceed 80. Aim to raise accuracy above 97% before chasing speed — errors compound, and the habit of looking at the keyboard is what caps most people in the 30s.

Worked example

You type a 300-character passage in 75 seconds with 6 uncorrected errors. Gross WPM is (300 ÷ 5) ÷ 1.25 = 48. Net WPM is 48 − (6 ÷ 1.25) = 43.2, and accuracy is 294 ÷ 300 = 98%. Cutting the errors to 2 while keeping the same pace raises net WPM to 46.4 — a bigger gain than most people get from trying to type faster.