Typing is one of those skills most people never practise on purpose. We type for hours every week, emails, documents, messages and code, yet many of us still look at the keyboard, use four or five fingers and fix a typo every few words. A modest improvement adds up: if you type for two hours a day, going from 35 to 50 words per minute gives you back a noticeable chunk of every working week.
This guide explains how typing speed is measured, why accuracy matters more than raw speed, and a practice plan that works in a few weeks. You can measure your starting point right now with the Typing Speed Test.
How typing speed is measured
Typing speed is measured in words per minute (WPM). Because words vary in length, tests use a standard "word" of five characters, including spaces. Typing 250 characters in one minute counts as 50 WPM, whatever the actual words were.
Most tests report several numbers:
- Net WPM: speed counting only correct characters. This is the number that matters.
- Raw WPM: speed counting everything you typed, including mistakes.
- Accuracy: the share of typed characters that were correct.
- Characters per minute (CPM): correct characters per minute, without dividing by five.
The gap between raw and net WPM is the cost of your mistakes. If your raw speed is 60 and your net speed is 48, a fifth of your effort is going into characters you will have to delete.
Take an honest baseline
Before practising, measure where you are:
- Open the Typing Speed Test and choose Easy words and 1 minute.
- Type normally. Do not race; type the way you do at work.
- Note your net WPM and accuracy. Your result is saved as your personal best for that difficulty and length.
- Repeat two or three times and take the average. One test is noisy.
The test blocks pasting and counts the word you were halfway through when time runs out, so the numbers reflect real typing.
Accuracy first, speed second
The most common mistake in practice is racing. Fast, sloppy typing trains your fingers to make the same errors, and every error costs a backspace and a correction, which is slower than typing it right the first time.
A good rule: keep accuracy at 95 percent or higher. If it drops below that, slow down until it comes back. Speed follows accuracy naturally as movements become automatic. Once you are consistently accurate at a given speed, push a little faster.
Learn the home row and use all ten fingers
Touch typing means typing without looking, with each finger responsible for specific keys. Your fingers rest on the home row: left hand on A, S, D and F, right hand on J, K, L and the semicolon, with thumbs on the space bar. Most keyboards have small bumps on F and J so you can find them without looking.
From the home row, each finger reaches up and down to its column of keys. Switching to touch typing usually makes you slower for a week or two. That dip is normal and temporary; people who push through typically end up much faster than with their old method.
The on-screen keyboard in the Typing Speed Test lights up each key as you press it, which helps you check your finger habits without looking down at your hands.
A practice plan for the next four weeks
Short, regular practice beats long, occasional sessions. Fifteen minutes a day is enough.
| Week | Focus | Daily routine |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accuracy and posture | Three 1-minute Easy tests; stay above 95% accuracy even if slow |
| 2 | Touch typing | Five 1-minute Easy tests without looking down at all |
| 3 | Longer words | Three 1-minute Medium tests, one 2-minute Easy test |
| 4 | Endurance and difficulty | One 3-minute Medium test, two 1-minute Hard tests |
Track your net WPM and accuracy each day. Your personal best for each difficulty and length is saved in your browser, so you can see progress at a glance.
Typing code is a different skill
Programmers type a lot of symbols: brackets, braces, dots, quotes, equals signs and underscores. These live on the edges of the keyboard and often need the Shift key, which slows most people down even if they type prose quickly.
Use Code mode in the Typing Speed Test to practise words like function(), Object.keys(obj) and border-radius. Two tips specific to code:
- Practise the Shift key with the opposite hand. For a symbol on the right side of the keyboard, hold Shift with your left little finger, and vice versa.
- Learn your editor's shortcuts for brackets and auto-completion. The fastest code typists type less, not just faster.
Breaking through a plateau
Almost everyone hits a point where daily practice stops raising their score. When that happens:
- Find your problem keys. Watch which letters or combinations you miss most and practise words that contain them.
- Practise slightly above your comfort speed for short bursts, then return to accurate typing.
- Change the difficulty. Hard and Code words force new finger movements that carry over to everyday typing.
- Rest. Skills often consolidate after a day or two off.
Comfort and setup matter
- Sit with your forearms roughly level with the keyboard and your wrists relaxed, not bent upwards.
- Keep the screen at eye level so you are not tempted to hunch.
- Take breaks. Short pauses every half hour help both accuracy and comfort.
- Choose a keyboard you like. Key travel and layout make a difference; a full-size keyboard is often easier to touch type on than a cramped laptop.
Typing speed and your career
Some jobs, such as data entry, transcription, customer support and administrative roles, test typing speed during hiring, and job posts may state a minimum WPM. Practise at the same length as the test you expect, often 1 to 5 minutes. For everyone else, faster typing simply means less time on emails, reports and documents. Pair it with clear writing; the Word Counter and Grammar Checker help keep what you type concise and correct. If you are writing a resume, our guide on writing an ATS-friendly resume covers how to present skills, including typing speed when a role asks for it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good typing speed?
It depends on your work. Rather than chasing a particular number, focus on improving your own net WPM while keeping accuracy high.
Why is my phone typing speed so different?
On-screen keyboards rely on thumbs and autocorrect. Speeds are usually lower than on a physical keyboard, and the techniques are different.
How long does it take to improve?
With daily practice, many people see clear gains within a few weeks. Learning touch typing from scratch takes longer, with a temporary slowdown at first.
Is my personal best saved?
Yes, in your browser, for each difficulty and test length.
Should I turn on the typing sounds?
Some people find the feedback helpful; others find it distracting. Sound is off by default and can be switched on with one click.
Faster typing comes from accurate habits repeated every day, not from occasional races. Take your baseline in the Typing Speed Test, keep accuracy above 95 percent, and check back each week to see your personal best climb.
