Benchmarks
Average Typing Speed: What's Normal, Good and Fast?
"Is my typing speed good?" is one of the most common questions people ask after their first typing test. The honest answer depends on who you compare yourself with, and on how the test was scored. Here's what's typical, what research says, and how to read your own number.
The short answer
| Speed (net WPM) | How it compares |
|---|---|
| Under 25 | Beginner. Usually hunt-and-peck typing. |
| 25–40 | Around the typical casual typist. |
| 40–55 | Average to above average. Fine for most everyday work. |
| 55–70 | Good. Faster than most people; meets most job requirements. |
| 70–90 | Fast. Professional typists and heavy writers. |
| 90–120 | Very fast. A small minority of typists. |
| 120+ | Exceptional. Competitive typists. |
These bands assume net WPM (speed after mistakes) on ordinary English text with about 95% accuracy or better.
What research tells us
The figure most often quoted for adults is around 40 WPM. One of the largest studies of real typing, published in 2018 by researchers at Aalto University and the University of Cambridge, analysed keystrokes from around 168,000 volunteers who took an online typing test. They found an average of roughly 52 WPM. Because the participants chose to take a typing test, they're probably faster than the population as a whole, so the true average is likely somewhat lower.
The same research group later studied tens of thousands of people typing on mobile phones and found an average of about 36 WPM, a reminder that phone and keyboard speeds shouldn't be compared directly.
Interestingly, the fastest typists in these studies didn't simply move their fingers faster. They made fewer errors, and they overlapped keystrokes, pressing the next key before releasing the previous one. That's a habit that comes naturally with touch typing.
Average typing speed by group
- Students: highly variable. Students who learned keyboarding at school often type 35–55 WPM; self-taught "two-finger" typists are usually below 35.
- Office workers: typically 40–60 WPM, since daily email and document work builds speed.
- Professional typists, transcriptionists, programmers who write a lot: often 65–90+ WPM.
- Phone typing: usually 25–45 WPM with two thumbs.
Why your score might differ between sites
Typing tests don't all measure the same thing. Differences that change your number:
- Net vs gross: gross (or "raw") WPM counts every keystroke; net WPM removes errors. Net is always lower.
- Text difficulty: common words are easier than passages with capitals, numbers and punctuation.
- Test length: short tests produce higher, more volatile scores; 5-minute tests show sustainable speed.
Typing Okay reports net WPM, raw WPM, accuracy and consistency separately, so you can see the full picture. Read how WPM is calculated.
How to find your true average
- Warm up with one 30-second test.
- Take three 1-minute tests and average them. Don't count only your best.
- Repeat at the same time of day for a week and look at the trend on your progress page.
And if your number is lower than you'd like, good news: typing speed is one of the most trainable skills there is. Our guide on how to type faster shows how to add 10–20 WPM in a month.