FastFingers / Guides / Good typing speed
What is a good typing speed?
Typing speed is measured in words per minute (wpm), where one word is 5 characters including spaces. A commonly cited average is around 40 wpm.
Typical ranges
| Speed | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Under 30 wpm | Hunt and peck, or still learning the keys |
| 30 to 50 wpm | Around average for everyday computer users |
| 50 to 70 wpm | Comfortable touch typist |
| 70 to 100 wpm | Fast; enough for most typing-heavy jobs |
| Over 100 wpm | Very fast, usually years of practice |
These are rough guides, not official standards. Speeds on short tests of common words are higher than on real text with punctuation.
WPM, raw speed and accuracy
WPM counts only correctly typed characters. Raw speed counts every key you pressed, right or wrong. Accuracy is the share of key presses that were right. If your raw speed is much higher than your wpm, slowing down slightly will make you faster overall.
Check yours
Take a free typing test, then read how to increase your typing speed.
Questions
What is the average typing speed?
Around 40 wpm is the figure most often quoted for average computer users.
How is wpm calculated?
Correct characters divided by 5, divided by the minutes taken.