How to take the typing test
- Pick a length: 15, 30, 60 or 120 seconds. The default is 60.
- Click or tap the input box and type the highlighted word. The timer starts with your first character.
- Press Space to move to the next word. Correct words turn green and wrong ones turn red.
- Use Backspace to fix the word you’re on. Once you press Space, that word is locked in.
- Keep going until time runs out, then read your result. Restart gives you a fresh set of words.
How WPM and accuracy are calculated
In typing tests, a “word” is any 5 characters, spaces included. That keeps scores fair whether the text has short or long words. The test uses these formulas:
- WPM = (correct characters ÷ 5) ÷ minutes. Correct characters are letters typed in the right place, plus the space after each word you got fully right.
- Raw WPM = (all characters typed ÷ 5) ÷ minutes. It counts every character, including mistakes and ones you deleted.
- Accuracy = correct key presses ÷ all key presses. Backspace doesn’t count as a key press.
- Errors = key presses that didn’t match the text.
For example, 250 correct characters in a 60-second test is 250 ÷ 5 = 50 words, divided by 1 minute: 50 WPM. The same 250 characters in a 30-second test is 50 ÷ 0.5 = 100 WPM.
The words come from a list of common English words built into the page. Your browser’s cryptographic random generator picks them, so every test is different. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Gross WPM vs net WPM
You’ll see two kinds of speed on typing sites. Gross WPM counts everything you typed, the same as raw WPM here. Net WPM takes mistakes into account. A common way is gross WPM minus uncorrected errors per minute. This test’s main WPM counts only correct characters, so it already leaves mistakes out and is close to a net score.
WPM conversion table
Characters per minute is WPM × 5. Words per hour is WPM × 60. The last column is how long 500 standard words (2,500 characters) would take at that speed.
| WPM | Characters per minute | Characters per second | Words per hour | 500 words takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 100 | 1.7 | 1,200 | 25 min |
| 30 | 150 | 2.5 | 1,800 | 16 min 40 s |
| 40 | 200 | 3.3 | 2,400 | 12 min 30 s |
| 50 | 250 | 4.2 | 3,000 | 10 min |
| 60 | 300 | 5 | 3,600 | 8 min 20 s |
| 70 | 350 | 5.8 | 4,200 | 7 min 9 s |
| 80 | 400 | 6.7 | 4,800 | 6 min 15 s |
| 90 | 450 | 7.5 | 5,400 | 5 min 33 s |
| 100 | 500 | 8.3 | 6,000 | 5 min |
| 120 | 600 | 10 | 7,200 | 4 min 10 s |
| 150 | 750 | 12.5 | 9,000 | 3 min 20 s |
Typing slower than you’d expect? Make sure every key works with the keyboard test, and check that fast combos aren’t being dropped with the keyboard ghosting test. For gaming speed, try the APM test or the reaction time test.