Free typing test

How this typing test is scored

Speed is measured in words per minute (WPM), where one "word" is any five characters, spaces and punctuation included. Counting characters instead of real words keeps the score fair: a passage full of long words doesn't punish you, and one full of short words doesn't flatter you.

• WPM: the characters you typed correctly, divided by five, divided by the minutes the test ran. This is the number employers and most typing sites mean by "typing speed".
• Raw speed: every character you typed, right or wrong. The gap between raw speed and WPM is how much your mistakes cost you.
• Accuracy: the share of your keystrokes that were right when you pressed them. Fixing a typo with Backspace still counts the original mistake, so accuracy shows how cleanly you typed, not just how the final text looks.
• Mistakes: the number of wrong keystrokes during the test, including ones you went back and fixed.

Different sites calculate these slightly differently, which is why the same person can get different scores in different places. Our guide to how WPM is calculated walks through the math.

What's a good typing speed?

• Under 30 WPM: still building the basics. Usually hunt-and-peck or the early weeks of touch typing.
• About 40 WPM: roughly average for an adult who types regularly.
• 50 to 60 WPM: above average and comfortable for most office and school work.
• 65 to 75 WPM: the range of a typical professional typist. Many data entry and transcription jobs ask for around 60.
• 90 WPM and up: fast. At this level rhythm and accuracy matter more than how quickly your fingers move.

Speed means little without accuracy. Aim for 95% or better. A fast score full of errors is slower in real work, because every mistake has to be found and fixed afterward.

Which test length should you pick?

Short tests flatter you. In 30 seconds you can hold a sprint pace and may never meet a hard word. Longer tests show your real working speed, because fatigue and awkward passages catch up with you.

• 30 seconds: a warm-up, or a check on your top speed.
• 1 minute: the standard. Good for tracking progress from day to day.
• 3 minutes: closer to real writing. Expect a few WPM less than on the 1-minute test; that's normal.
• 5 minutes: the length many employers use for pre-hire typing tests. If you're preparing for one, practice at this length.

How to get an accurate result

1. Sit the way you normally type, with your fingers resting on the home row: A S D F for the left hand, J K L ; for the right.
2. Take the test at least three times and look at the average, not your single best run. One score can swing by 5 to 10 WPM depending on the passage and how warmed up you are.
3. Keep your eyes on the text, not the keyboard. Looking down costs more time than almost any typo.
4. Fix mistakes the way you would in real typing. Stopping to correct every letter breaks your rhythm, but leaving errors in drags your WPM down.

How to raise your score

A typing test measures your speed; it doesn't build it. Speed comes from short, focused practice on most days: drilling the keys and letter pairs that slow you down, typing real text, and nudging your pace up while keeping accuracy high. BossTyper's 30 lessons take you from the home row to the full keyboard, the daily challenge gives you one new text a day to measure yourself against, and races give you a reason to come back tomorrow.