Typing Speed Test and WPM Calculator
Take a quick typing test, or put in your own numbers to get gross and net WPM, accuracy, CPM and keystrokes per hour. What you type never leaves this page.
Click or tap the text and start typing. The clock starts on your first key. Esc restarts.
Wrong characters you didn't fix. Leave 0 for gross speed only.
Fixed with backspace. They lower accuracy, not net speed.
1 is the usual rule. Some tests take off more.
Only for words. 5 = standard words. Real English text is nearer 6 with the space.
5 = standard words. Use about 6 for everyday English, counting the space.
How your typing speed is worked out
Your numbers, step by step. 5 characters count as 1 word.
- 1
Count what you typed
1,250 charactersspaces count too
- 2
Every 5 is a word
1,250 ÷ 5= 250 words
- 3
Divide by minutes
250 ÷ 5 min= 50 gross WPM
- 4
Take off errors
10 errors ÷ 5 min50 − 2 = 48 net99.2% accurate
Read more: the formula, a worked example and speed bands
The formula
words = characters typed ÷ 5
gross WPM = words ÷ minutes
net WPM = gross WPM − (errors left in × words per error) ÷ minutes
accuracy = (characters − errors left in) ÷ (characters + mistakes fixed) × 100
CPM = characters ÷ minutes; KPH = CPM × 60
Every character counts, including spaces and punctuation. Counting 5 characters as one word is the common convention used by typing tests, so a long word like "information" counts as more than two words and "a" plus its space counts as less than half a word. Net WPM never goes below 0.
Worked example
You type 1,250 characters in 5 minutes and leave 10 errors in.
- Words: 1,250 ÷ 5 = 250 standard words.
- Gross speed: 250 ÷ 5 minutes = 50 WPM.
- Errors: 10 ÷ 5 minutes = 2 a minute, so net speed is 50 − 2 = 48 WPM.
- Accuracy: (1,250 − 10) ÷ 1,250 = 1,240 ÷ 1,250 = 99.2%.
- Characters a minute: 1,250 ÷ 5 = 250 CPM, so 250 × 60 = 15,000 keystrokes an hour (1,240 ÷ 5 × 60 = 14,880 net).
Time to type: 1,000 words at 40 WPM takes 1,000 ÷ 40 = 25 minutes. If your words average 6 characters with the space, that's 6,000 characters = 1,200 standard words, so 1,200 ÷ 40 = 30 minutes.
How the live test scores you
Each character you type is checked against the passage. Right ones turn green, wrong ones red. When the time is up (or you finish the text), the test counts the characters you typed, the ones still wrong, and every wrong key you pressed along the way, then uses the formulas above. Mistakes you fixed with backspace lower your accuracy but not your net speed. Easy mode removes capitals and punctuation; hard mode switches off backspace.
Rough speed guide
| Net WPM | Rough label used here |
|---|---|
| Under 20 | Getting started |
| 20–34 | Steady |
| 35–49 | Comfortable |
| 50–69 | Quick |
| 70–89 | Fast |
| 90 and over | Very fast |
These labels are a plain-English guide, not an official scale. Employers and exams set their own rules: some take off more than one word per error, some count keystrokes differently for KPH, and some don't allow backspace. Check how the test you are sitting is marked. The practice passages were written for this site.
Common questions
How is words per minute (WPM) worked out?
Typing tests count every 5 characters you type, spaces and punctuation included, as one word. Divide the characters by 5, then by the minutes taken. 1,250 characters in 5 minutes is 250 words ÷ 5 = 50 WPM.
What is the difference between gross and net WPM?
Gross WPM is your raw speed, counting everything you typed. Net WPM takes off the mistakes you left in: errors ÷ minutes is subtracted from the gross speed. 50 gross WPM with 10 errors in 5 minutes is 50 − 2 = 48 net WPM.
How is typing accuracy worked out?
Accuracy is the characters you got right ÷ the keys you pressed for characters × 100. With 1,250 characters and 10 left wrong, that is 1,240 ÷ 1,250 = 99.2%. In Advanced you can add mistakes you fixed with backspace, which also count against accuracy.
What is KPH (keystrokes per hour)?
KPH is the number of keys pressed in an hour, often used for data-entry jobs. Here each character counts as one keystroke, so KPH = characters per minute × 60. 250 characters a minute is 15,000 KPH. Some employers count keystrokes differently, so check how a test you are sitting measures it.
Is my typed text saved or sent anywhere?
No. The test runs entirely in your browser. What you type stays on the page and is gone when you leave or restart. The share link carries only your result numbers, never your text.
What is a good typing speed?
There is no single official scale. As a rough guide, under 20 WPM is getting started, 35–50 WPM is comfortable for everyday work and 70 WPM or more is fast. Jobs set their own targets, so check the advert if you are practising for one.
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Made by Zulu Calculator, part of AlphaZulu LLC. Formulas are shown in full and rule figures are checked against official sources; see how we build calculators.