How to read your score
- Words per minute (WPM): how much text you typed correctly per minute. As usual for typing tests, one word is 5 characters, spaces included [3]. Only words you typed exactly right count, plus the correct start of the word you were on when time ran out.
- Accuracy: the share of your keystrokes that were right when you pressed them. A mistake you fixed with Backspace still lowers your accuracy.
- Mistakes left: wrong or missing letters in words you finished without fixing them.
- Raw speed: everything you typed, right or wrong, per minute. A big gap between raw speed and WPM means mistakes are costing you speed.
What is a good typing speed?
On a physical keyboard, about 50 words per minute is average. In a study of 168,960 volunteers, the mean was 52 WPM; the fastest 10% typed over about 78 WPM, and the slowest 10% under about 26 WPM [1]. On a phone, the average in a study of 37,370 volunteers was 36 WPM [2]. So 40 WPM is a little below average on a keyboard and a little above it on a phone.
Quick facts
- What it measures: how fast and accurately you copy a text you can see, on the device in front of you.
- Average on a keyboard: 52 WPM, with 1.2% of letters left wrong, in 168,960 volunteers [1].
- Average on a phone: 36 WPM, with 2.3% left wrong, in 37,370 volunteers [2].
- What fast typists do: they press the next key before letting go of the last one. This "rollover" predicted speed better than anything else, and fast typists used more fingers [1].
- Phone vs keyboard: results are kept apart. A phone keyboard and a physical keyboard are different skills, so we only compare like with like.
How the typing test works
- Pick a length: 30 or 60 seconds.
- Start typing. The clock starts with your first key. Letters turn dark when they are right and red when they are wrong; Backspace fixes them. Space moves to the next word.
- Time is up. Your text is scored on our server: it rebuilds the same text and counts the words you typed right.
The texts are short everyday passages written for this test, in a new order every time. Pasting is turned off, and on a physical keyboard text that appears in one go (a paste or autofill) is not counted. On a phone, swipe typing and word suggestions are allowed, because that is how many people type on phones. If you share your score, your friend gets the same text.
What affects your typing speed?
- Technique. In the large keyboard study, typing training itself made only a small difference (about 5 WPM), but rollover and using more fingers went with much faster typing [1].
- The device. Phones are slower: 36 WPM on average against 52 on keyboards [1, 2]. Typing with two thumbs was fastest on phones, and one finger slowest [2].
- Autocorrect. On phones, people who used autocorrect typed faster on average than people who used no aids [2].
- Age. On phones, teenagers were fastest and people in their fifties slowest [2].
- The text. Long words, capitals and punctuation slow everyone down, which is why your score changes a little from text to text.
What this test can and can't tell you
The test measures typing skill: how fast and accurately you copy text on this device today. It doesn't measure intelligence, and it is not a test for any learning difficulty or health condition.
A score from 30 seconds is a quick snapshot; 60 seconds is steadier. Typing tests on other websites count words and mistakes in different ways, so compare your score with your own earlier runs here, on the same kind of keyboard.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average typing speed?
How is words per minute calculated?
Typing tests count a "word" as 5 characters, spaces included [3]. Here, WPM is the number of correctly typed characters (in correctly typed words, with their spaces) divided by 5 and by the minutes typed. Raw speed counts every character you typed.
Is 60 WPM good?
Why is my typing speed lower on my phone?
Phone keyboards are small and have no keys to feel. In large studies, people typed about 36 WPM on phones and 52 on keyboards [1, 2]. That is why this test keeps phone and keyboard results apart.
How can I type faster?
Practise with your eyes on the screen, not the keys, and use more fingers. In the large keyboard study, fast typists used more fingers and pressed the next key before letting go of the last one [1]. Accuracy first: every mistake costs time to fix.
Is the Helibrain typing test really free?
Yes. The typing test and your full result are free: no sign-up, no email, no payment. We save results to build fair comparisons, as our privacy policy explains. Helibrain makes money from its app, which you don't need for this test.
Related tests
- Click speed testHow many times you click, tap or press the spacebar in a few seconds.
- Aim trainerHow fast and how accurately you hit targets with a mouse or a finger.
- Reaction time testHow fast you react when a signal appears.
Want to work on this daily? The Helibrain app has a free plan and paid plans.
Sources
- Dhakal V, Feit AM, Kristensson PO, Oulasvirta A (2018). Observations on typing from 136 million keystrokes. Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, paper 646. doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3174220
- Palin K, Feit AM, Kim S, Kristensson PO, Oulasvirta A (2019). How do people type on mobile devices? Observations from a study with 37,000 volunteers. Proceedings of MobileHCI 2019, 1–12. doi.org/10.1145/3338286.3340120
- Wobbrock JO (2007). Measures of text entry performance. In MacKenzie IS, Tanaka-Ishii K (eds), Text Entry Systems, 47–74. doi.org/10.1016/B978-012373591-1/50003-6
How we made this page: written by the Helibrain team from the studies listed above, and reviewed by Robert (biophysics PhD candidate) on 4 November 2026. We update it when the sources change.