Typing Speed Test

What is a typing speed test?

A typing speed test measures how many words you can type per minute (WPM) and how accurately you type them. This free typing speed test gives you a short passage of plain English, starts a countdown the moment you press your first key, and shows your live gross WPM, net WPM, accuracy and error count as you go. Every character you type is coloured green when it matches the passage and red when it does not, so you can see exactly where your fingers slip. You can choose a 30-second sprint, the standard 1-minute test, or a 2-minute test that rewards steady rhythm over short bursts.

Typing speed matters for students, data-entry and office jobs, programmers, writers, and anyone preparing for a government or company typing test. Measuring it regularly is the easiest way to see whether your practice is actually working.

How to use this tool

1. Pick a test length — 30, 60 or 120 seconds. One minute is the most common benchmark.
2. Pick a difficulty — Easy uses short everyday words, Medium uses normal sentences with commas, Hard adds numbers, symbols, quotes and long words.
3. Click in the typing box and start typing — the timer only starts with your first keystroke, so take your time to get ready.
4. Watch the highlights — green means correct, red means wrong (a red block means a missed space). Use Backspace to fix mistakes if you want a higher net score.
5. Read your result card — when time runs out you get net WPM, gross WPM, accuracy, correct characters, uncorrected errors and total typos.
6. Copy or share your score, then press Restart for a fresh passage. Your best score for each test length is saved in this browser.

How WPM and accuracy are calculated

Typing tests use a standard "word" of 5 characters (spaces and punctuation included), so long and short words are treated fairly. This tool uses these formulas:

• Gross WPM = (all characters typed ÷ 5) ÷ minutes
• Net WPM = (correct characters ÷ 5) ÷ minutes
• Accuracy = correct characters ÷ characters typed × 100

A character is "correct" when it matches the passage at the same position at the moment the test ends. If you fix a mistake with Backspace, it counts as correct, but it still appears in the "Typos made" counter so you can see how often you needed to correct yourself.

Worked example: in the 60-second test you type 300 characters and 10 of them are wrong when the timer stops. Gross WPM = (300 ÷ 5) ÷ 1 = 60. Correct characters = 290, so net WPM = (290 ÷ 5) ÷ 1 = 58. Accuracy = 290 ÷ 300 × 100 = 96.7%. In the 30-second test the same 150 correct characters would give (150 ÷ 5) ÷ 0.5 = 60 net WPM.

What is a good typing speed?

• Under 25 WPM — beginner, often still looking at the keys.
• 25–40 WPM — typical casual typist.
• 40–60 WPM — comfortable, efficient for most office work.
• 60–80 WPM — fast; suits data entry, transcription and writing-heavy jobs.
• 80+ WPM — very fast touch typist.

Many recruitment typing tests ask for a minimum speed together with a minimum accuracy, so always look at both numbers. Check the exact rules of the exam you are preparing for, because some tests use different word lengths, penalties or durations.

Use cases

• Checking your baseline before starting a touch-typing course, then re-testing weekly.
• Practising for job or exam typing tests with the 2-minute mode for stamina.
• Training with the Hard passages if you write code, reports or spreadsheets full of numbers and symbols.
• Friendly competitions with classmates or colleagues using the copyable result text.

Tips to type faster

• Keep your index fingers on F and J (the keys with small bumps) and return to this home row after every word.
• Accuracy first: a typo costs you the wrong character plus the time to delete it. Slow down until you are above 95% accuracy, then push speed.
• Look at the passage, not at your hands. The highlights show your mistakes, so you do not need to watch the keyboard.
• Type in a steady rhythm rather than fast bursts followed by pauses.
• Practise 10–15 minutes a day; short daily sessions beat one long session a week.
• On phones, turn off auto-correct suggestions if they change your words — the box already asks the browser not to auto-correct, but some keyboards ignore it.

Limitations & notes

The test compares your text character by character with the passage, so an extra or missing letter shifts the rest of the line and marks the following characters wrong until you fix it — just like most online typing tests. Pasting is disabled. Results depend on your device and keyboard: phone and tablet speeds are normally lower than on a physical keyboard. Your best score is stored only in your browser (local storage); clearing site data or using private mode will remove it. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. All passages were written for this tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between gross WPM and net WPM?

Gross WPM counts every character you typed, right or wrong, divided by 5 and by the minutes taken. Net WPM counts only correct characters, so it falls when you leave mistakes uncorrected. Net WPM is the fairer measure of useful typing speed.

When does the timer start?

The timer starts on your first keystroke in the typing box, not when the page loads. You can read the first line of the passage before you begin.

Why is one word counted as five characters?

Real words vary in length, so typing tests use a standard word of 5 characters including spaces and punctuation. This makes scores comparable between passages with short and long words.

Does correcting a mistake help my score?

Yes. A corrected character counts as correct in net WPM and accuracy. The Typos made counter still records that you made the mistake, so you can track how clean your typing is.

Can I take this typing test on a mobile phone?

Yes. The test uses a normal text box, so it works with on-screen keyboards on Android and iPhone. Mobile scores are usually lower than on a physical keyboard, and keyboard auto-correct can introduce errors.

Where is my best score saved?

Your best net WPM for each test length is saved in your browser's local storage on this device. It is not uploaded anywhere, and it disappears if you clear your browser data.

Which test length should I choose?

Use 60 seconds for a standard score you can compare with others. Use 30 seconds for quick practice, and 120 seconds to test stamina, since speed usually drops a little over longer tests.

Related tools

Word Counter · Character Counter · Random Sentence Generator · Text to Handwriting · Spin the Wheel · Online Stopwatch