Typing Speed Chart
Every speed from 10 to 150 WPM. The "faster than" column compares you with 168,000 typists from the largest typing study.
Quick answer
The average typing speed is about 52 WPM. 40 WPM is faster than about 28% of typists, 60 WPM faster than about 66%, and 80 WPM faster than about 92%.
The seven typing grades
Beginner0-29 WPMfaster than 0.5%
Below average30-44 WPMfaster than 14%
Average45-59 WPMfaster than 37%
Above average60-74 WPMfaster than 66%
Fast75-89 WPMfaster than 88%
Expert90-119 WPMfaster than 97%
Elite120+ WPMfaster than more than 99.9%
| WPM | Level | Faster than | Characters per minute | Keystrokes per hour | 500-word essay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 WPM | Beginner | 2.0% | 50 | 3,000 | 50.0 min |
| 15 WPM | Beginner | 3.5% | 75 | 4,500 | 33.3 min |
| 20 WPM | Beginner | 5.9% | 100 | 6,000 | 25.0 min |
| 25 WPM | Beginner | 9.4% | 125 | 7,500 | 20.0 min |
| 30 WPM | Below average | 14% | 150 | 9,000 | 16.7 min |
| 35 WPM | Below average | 21% | 175 | 10,500 | 14.3 min |
| 40 WPM | Below average | 28% | 200 | 12,000 | 12.5 min |
| 45 WPM | Average | 37% | 225 | 13,500 | 11.1 min |
| 50 WPM | Average | 47% | 250 | 15,000 | 10.0 min |
| 55 WPM | Average | 57% | 275 | 16,500 | 9.1 min |
| 60 WPM | Above average | 66% | 300 | 18,000 | 8.3 min |
| 65 WPM | Above average | 75% | 325 | 19,500 | 7.7 min |
| 70 WPM | Above average | 82% | 350 | 21,000 | 7.1 min |
| 75 WPM | Fast | 88% | 375 | 22,500 | 6.7 min |
| 80 WPM | Fast | 92% | 400 | 24,000 | 6.2 min |
| 85 WPM | Fast | 95% | 425 | 25,500 | 5.9 min |
| 90 WPM | Expert | 97% | 450 | 27,000 | 5.6 min |
| 95 WPM | Expert | 98% | 475 | 28,500 | 5.3 min |
| 100 WPM | Expert | 99.2% | 500 | 30,000 | 5.0 min |
| 105 WPM | Expert | 99.6% | 525 | 31,500 | 4.8 min |
| 110 WPM | Expert | 99.8% | 550 | 33,000 | 4.5 min |
| 115 WPM | Expert | more than 99.9% | 575 | 34,500 | 4.3 min |
| 120 WPM | Elite | more than 99.9% | 600 | 36,000 | 4.2 min |
| 125 WPM | Elite | more than 99.9% | 625 | 37,500 | 4.0 min |
| 130 WPM | Elite | more than 99.9% | 650 | 39,000 | 3.8 min |
| 135 WPM | Elite | more than 99.9% | 675 | 40,500 | 3.7 min |
| 140 WPM | Elite | more than 99.9% | 700 | 42,000 | 3.6 min |
| 145 WPM | Elite | more than 99.9% | 725 | 43,500 | 3.4 min |
| 150 WPM | Elite | more than 99.9% | 750 | 45,000 | 3.3 min |
Typing speed grades explained
| Grade | Speed | Faster than | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 to 29 WPM | 0.5% of typists | Usually looking at the keys or typing with two to four fingers. Touch typing lessons give the biggest gains here. |
| Below average | 30 to 44 WPM | 14% of typists | Comfortable for messages and short emails. A few weeks of daily practice usually moves people into the average band. |
| Average | 45 to 59 WPM | 37% of typists | The speed of a typical computer user. Meets most office requirements, including the 40 WPM federal clerk-typist standard. |
| Above average | 60 to 74 WPM | 66% of typists | Faster than about two thirds of typists. Meets typical requirements for data entry, chat support and most administrative roles. |
| Fast | 75 to 89 WPM | 88% of typists | Faster than about 9 in 10 typists. Competitive for transcription, legal and executive assistant roles. |
| Expert | 90 to 119 WPM | 97% of typists | Fewer than 3 in 100 typists reach this band. Speed is no longer the limit for any common job. |
| Elite | 120+ WPM | more than 99.9% of typists | Competition-level typing. Very few people ever sustain this speed on varied text. |
How your score is calculated
- WPM (net words per minute) counts only correctly typed characters, divided by five (the standard length of a word, including spaces), divided by the minutes taken. Mistakes you leave in the text do not add to your speed.
- Raw WPM counts every keystroke, right or wrong. A large gap between raw and net WPM means accuracy is holding you back.
- Accuracy is the share of keystrokes that were correct when you typed them. Fixing a mistake with Backspace still counts the original error, which is how most employer tests work too.
- Consistency shows how steady your speed was from second to second. Above 80% means a smooth rhythm; below 60% usually means you pause on certain words or keys.
- Percentile and grade compare your net WPM with the 168,000 typists measured in the largest published typing study (average 51.56 WPM).
How to move up a grade
| Week | Daily routine (15 minutes) | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 min common words, 5 min weak keys, one 1-minute test | 96%+ accuracy every test |
| 2 | 5 min letter pairs, 5 min punctuation, one 3-minute test | 53 WPM average |
| 3 | Pace caret set 5 WPM above your average, two 1-minute tests | Keep up with the pace caret |
| 4 | One 5-minute test, weak keys, sentences drill | 58 WPM average, consistency above 75% |