What is a good typing speed?

The short answer: most people type between 35 and 45 words per minute. Above 60 WPM you are faster than roughly 80 percent of typists, and at 80+ WPM you are in the range that professional typists, transcriptionists, and competitive typists work at. But raw WPM alone says little without accuracy, so let's define the terms first.

Gross WPM vs net WPM

Gross WPM counts every correct character you typed, divided by five for "words", divided by the minutes you typed. Net WPM subtracts a penalty for incorrect characters, so it reflects the speed you can actually use. A 70 WPM run with 85% accuracy converts to a much lower net figure than a 60 WPM run at 98% accuracy. This is why Type Sprint shows both, and why your personal best is tracked as net WPM.

Typical speeds by skill level

• Beginner (hunt and peck): 10 to 25 WPM, accuracy varies widely.
• Average office worker: 35 to 45 WPM with about 90 to 95% accuracy.
• Touch typist: 55 to 75 WPM at 95%+ accuracy.
• Advanced / professional: 80 to 100+ WPM.
• Competitive typists: 150 to 200+ WPM on optimized word lists.

Keep in mind that competitive scores usually come from short, common-word tests. Typing full paragraphs with punctuation and capitals, like the passages on this site, is slower, and that is fine: it measures the typing you actually do.

What speed do you actually need?

Research on real-world productivity suggests diminishing returns past roughly 40 to 50 WPM for most writing tasks, because thinking becomes the bottleneck, not fingers. Where higher speed genuinely pays off: chat-heavy support roles, transcription, programming (where fast typing lowers the friction between thinking and testing), and any job where you spend hours per day in a keyboard.

Setting a realistic goal

If you are below 40 WPM, aim for 45 with 95% accuracy first. If you already touch type at 50, pushing to 65 is realistic within a few months of regular practice. Beyond that, gains come slowly, and accuracy training matters more than raw speed: a fast typist who constantly corrects is slower than a slightly slower, clean typist.

Ready to see where you stand? Take the free typing test, then check your personal bests as you improve.

How to measure your speed fairly

Use at least 60-second runs: shorter tests flatter fast starters. Type real text with punctuation and capitals rather than common-word streams. Compare net WPM, not gross, against your previous runs, and keep the passage difficulty in mind. Your history page keeps everything on your device so you can track the trend honestly.