Typing Test
This free typing test measures how fast and how accurately you type. Choose a 30 second or 60 second typing speed test, type the passage on screen, and watch your WPM, accuracy, character count and errors update live — then see your gross WPM, net WPM and accuracy the moment the timer runs out.
Click or tap the passage and start typing. The timer starts on your first keystroke.
What is a typing test?
A typing test is a short timed exercise that measures how many words you can type per minute and how many of those keystrokes were correct. Because a typist's rhythm varies so much from word to word, every test fixes a word as five characters, spaces included. That turns typing speed into a character rate: WPM = (characters typed / 5) / minutes. Type 300 characters in 60 seconds and the arithmetic is 300 / 5 = 60 words per minute.
A single run produces two speeds. Gross WPM counts every character you produced, right or wrong. Net WPM counts only the characters that matched the passage, so it is the honest measure of usable output: 285 correct characters in 60 seconds is (285 / 5) / 1 = 57 net WPM. Accuracy is the third number — correct characters divided by characters typed. Those same 285 correct characters out of 300 typed give 285 / 300 = 95.0% accuracy, with 15 errors along the way.
Net WPM and accuracy pull in the same direction, which is why a careful typist so often beats a fast careless one. A run of 60 gross WPM at 85% accuracy lands near 51 net WPM, while 50 gross WPM at 99% accuracy lands near 49.5 — almost identical output, with far less correction work. Practise accuracy first, and raw speed tends to follow on its own.
How to use
- Choose a test length — 30 seconds for a quick check, or 60 seconds for a score you can compare against a job requirement.
- Pick a passage. There are four of them, so a second run is never the same text as the first.
- Click or tap the passage and start typing. The countdown begins on your first keystroke, not on the click.
- Watch the live readouts: WPM, accuracy, characters and errors update as you type, with the seconds counting down beside them.
- When the timer reaches zero the result panel opens with gross WPM, net WPM, accuracy and errors. Press Restart for another run, or the clipboard icon to copy the summary.
Example
Suppose you finish a 60 second test having typed 300 characters, of which 285 match the passage and 15 do not. Gross WPM treats a word as five characters, so 300 / 5 = 60 gross WPM. Net WPM uses only the characters that were right: (285 / 5) / 1 = 57 net WPM. Accuracy is correct characters over characters typed: 285 / 300 = 95.0%. The fifteen wrong keystrokes are the error count, and the gap between 60 gross and 57 net is exactly what those mistakes cost you.
Run the same pace for 30 seconds instead and the rates roughly double: 300 characters in 30 seconds is (300 / 5) / 0.5 = 120 gross WPM, which is why one minute is the fairer test. Now take a slower, cleaner typist who types 240 characters in 60 seconds with only 2 errors: gross is (240 / 5) / 1 = 48 WPM, accuracy is 238 / 240 = 99.2%, and net WPM is (238 / 5) / 1 = 47.6, which the tool rounds to 48. That is why net WPM, not gross, is the figure worth quoting.
Who is this for?
- Job applicants practising for typing tests: clerical, data entry, transcription and government roles often set a pass mark, and a 60 second run gives you the same net WPM figure the employer measures.
- Students building speed: short daily runs show whether lecture notes, essays and exam answers are actually getting quicker week by week.
- Professionals benchmarking: journalists, developers, support agents and transcribers can log a baseline, then test again after changing keyboard, laptop or workflow.
- Anyone improving accuracy: if your error count is high, the accuracy percentage shows how much speed mistakes are costing, and net WPM shows the gain when you slow down.
What WPM means in practice
Because a word is counted as five characters, every speed translates into a fixed character rate. The table below converts common typing speeds into characters per minute and into the volume you would type across a five minute burst.
| Typing speed | Characters per minute | Words in 5 minutes | Characters in 5 minutes | Typical level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 WPM | 100 | 100 | 500 | Beginner |
| 40 WPM | 200 | 200 | 1,000 | Common job baseline |
| 60 WPM | 300 | 300 | 1,500 | Above average |
| 80 WPM | 400 | 400 | 2,000 | Fast |
| 100 WPM | 500 | 500 | 2,500 | Very fast |
Words are counted as five characters, the standard used by typing tests, so 40 WPM is the same as 200 characters per minute. Rounded to whole figures for a steady pace.
Common use cases
- Recruitment typing tests: rehearse the exact format — timed passage, net WPM, error count — before sitting an employer's test.
- Keyboard and setup checks: compare a new laptop, mechanical keyboard or desk position against your old score.
- Note-taking speed: lecture, meeting and interview notes are much easier when your hands can keep up with speech, which sits around 120 to 150 words per minute.
- Warm-up before writing: a single 60 second run loosens the fingers before a long transcription or writing session.
Pro tips
- Accuracy first, then speed: 60 gross WPM at 85% accuracy nets about 51 WPM, while 50 gross WPM at 99% accuracy nets about 49.5. Clean typing buys nearly the same output with far fewer corrections.
- Look at the screen, not your hands: the passage highlights the next character for you, so watching your fingers only slows the loop between eye, brain and key.
- Know the benchmarks: 40 WPM is a common job baseline and 60 to 70 WPM is above average for a casual typist, so aim for a clean 40 before chasing a fast 80.
- Practise in short daily sessions: 10 to 15 minutes a day beats one long weekly session, because speed comes from repeated letter patterns rather than endurance.
FAQ
What is a good typing speed?
Around 40 WPM is the baseline most employers ask for, 60 to 70 WPM is above average for a casual typist, and 80 WPM or more is genuinely fast. Above 100 WPM you are in competition territory, where a dedicated typist can reach 120 to 150 WPM.
How is WPM calculated?
WPM = (characters typed / 5) / minutes, because a word is standardised as five characters including spaces. Type 300 characters in 60 seconds and you get 300 / 5 = 60 WPM.
What is net WPM?
Gross WPM counts every character you typed, right or wrong, while net WPM counts only the characters that matched the passage. Net WPM is therefore always equal to or lower than gross WPM, and it is the number worth quoting to an employer.
How long is the typing test?
You choose 30 seconds or 60 seconds in the duration menu. A 60 second run is the standard most jobs use for a typing requirement, because it smooths out a lucky or unlucky start.
Can I retake the test?
Yes, as often as you like. Press Restart for a fresh run of the same passage, or pick a different passage from the menu so you are not reciting text you have already memorised.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Tap the passage and the on-screen keyboard appears, and the tool counts what you type exactly as it does on a laptop. Most people score lower on a glass screen than on a physical keyboard.
Is my typing data sent anywhere?
No. Every keystroke is measured inside your own browser, and nothing is uploaded, stored or shared, so the page keeps working offline once it has loaded.
Is this typing test free?
Yes. It is free with no sign-up, no download and no limit on how many runs you complete.
How can I type faster?
Fix accuracy first. Slow down to the speed at which you make almost no mistakes, keep your eyes on the screen instead of your hands, and practise for 10 to 15 minutes a day so common letter patterns become automatic.
What is typing accuracy?
Accuracy is correct characters divided by total characters typed, shown as a percentage. Typing 300 characters with 285 correct gives 285 / 300 = 95.0% accuracy.
Do punctuation and capital letters count?
Yes. Every character in the passage counts, including spaces, commas, full stops and capitals, so a missing capital letter is an error even when the other letters are right.
Is a 1 minute typing test accurate enough?
A one minute typing test is a good snapshot and is what most employers use, but a short run swings on a single clumsy word. Run it a few times and take your middle score as the honest figure.
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