What is a good typing speed?
Typing speed is measured in words per minute (WPM). Around 40 WPM is a common everyday pace for adults who type regularly, 60 WPM or more is fast, and anything above 90 WPM is the territory of very practised typists.
How WPM is calculated
Because real words vary in length, typing tests don't count actual words. They count characters and divide by five, treating every five characters (including spaces) as one "word":
WPM = (correct characters ÷ 5) ÷ minutes
Example: in a 30-second test you type 160 characters correctly. That's 32 "words" in half a minute, or 64 WPM.
The 30-second test in Typing Monsters uses exactly this formula and only counts characters you typed correctly, so mistakes lower your score rather than padding it.
Rough typing speed ranges
These bands are a practical guide rather than an official standard. Results vary with the test, the text and the keyboard you use.
| WPM | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Under 25 | Beginner. Often looking at the keys or typing with a few fingers. |
| 25–40 | Developing. Comfortable for short messages, slow for long documents. |
| 40–55 | Typical. A common pace for adults who type every day. |
| 55–75 | Fast. Typing stops being the bottleneck for most office work. |
| 75–100 | Very fast. Usually a trained touch typist. |
| 100+ | Exceptional. Competitive typists and some professional transcribers. |
Accuracy matters as much as speed
A raw WPM number means little without accuracy. Typing 70 WPM at 85% accuracy produces a lot of errors to go back and fix, and in real work that is often slower than a clean 55 WPM. As a rule of thumb, aim for at least 95% accuracy before trying to push speed. Jobs that test typing usually look at both numbers, and many tests subtract errors from the final score.
Why your score changes from test to test
- Test length. Short tests (30 or 60 seconds) tend to produce higher numbers than 5-minute tests, because fatigue and concentration lapses matter more over time.
- Text difficulty. Common short words are faster than technical terms, numbers or punctuation-heavy text.
- Keyboard. A familiar full-size keyboard beats a laptop you rarely use, and both beat a phone screen.
- Warm-up. Most people score noticeably better after a few minutes of typing than on their very first attempt of the day.
For a fair comparison over time, use the same test at the same time of day, and track the average of a few attempts instead of your single best.
How long does it take to get faster?
It varies widely, but a beginner who switches to proper touch typing typically drops in speed for the first week or two, then overtakes their old "hunt and peck" speed within a few weeks of short daily practice. Gains of 10–20 WPM over a couple of months are common. After about 60 WPM, progress slows and comes from reading ahead, steady rhythm and drilling weak keys. Our touch typing tips cover each of these.
Typing speed on phones
Thumb typing on a phone is generally slower than a physical keyboard, though autocorrect and swipe typing narrow the gap. Treat phone and keyboard scores as two separate skills and don't compare one against the other.
Find your WPM
Open Typing Monsters and choose 30s typing test under the Play button. You'll get your WPM and accuracy in half a minute, then you can jump straight into the game to practise.
Take the test