Speed is measured from first keystroke to last word. Level changes reset the test.
About Typing Speed Test
A typing speed test measures how quickly and accurately you can type, reported in words per minute. The convention is that one "word" equals five characters including spaces, which is why WPM is comparable across different texts rather than depending on how long the actual words happen to be.
Raw speed on its own is a misleading number. A test that counts every keystroke rewards someone who types quickly and wrongly, so this test tracks accuracy alongside WPM — that pairing is what makes the result meaningful. For context, casual typists usually land somewhere between 30 and 40 WPM, competent office typists sit around 50 to 70, and professional transcriptionists work above 90. Accuracy above 95 percent matters more than raw speed for almost every real task, because correcting mistakes costs more time than typing slightly slower would have.
How to Play Typing Speed Test
- Start typing the displayed text. The timer begins on your first keystroke, not before.
- Type the passage as it appears. Correct and incorrect characters are highlighted as you go.
- Keep going until the time runs out or you finish the passage.
- Read your WPM and accuracy, then retake the test to track improvement over time.
Tips & Strategy
- Prioritise accuracy over speed. Backspacing to fix a typo costs more time than the fraction of a second you saved by rushing it.
- Keep your eyes on the text, not the keyboard. Touch typing feels slower for the first few weeks and is far faster after that.
- Rest your fingers on the home row (ASDF and JKL;) between keystrokes so every key is reached from a consistent starting position.
Frequently Asked Questions
Total characters typed divided by five, divided by elapsed minutes. The five-character convention makes scores comparable regardless of the actual word lengths in the passage.
Around 40 WPM is average for casual typists, 50 to 70 is solid for office work, and above 90 is professional territory. Sustained accuracy above 95 percent matters more than the raw number.
They are tracked separately as accuracy, so you can see whether a high WPM came at the cost of correctness. A fast, inaccurate run is not a good result.
Short, regular practice beats occasional long sessions. Learn touch typing properly, keep accuracy above 95 percent, and let speed follow — it does, reliably.