1-minute typing test
Type common English words for one minute. You get your words per minute, accuracy and consistency, and how your speed compares with 168,960 typists. The clock starts with your first key.
The timer starts with your first key.Tab or Esc restarts
What one minute measures
One minute is a short, fresh sprint: at an average speed, about 250 characters of everyday words. It shows the speed you reach when you are focused, and it is quick enough to take a few times in a row.
It also needs no scaling, so the score reads directly: 62 WPM means you typed 310 characters correctly in the minute, the same as 62 words of five characters. Your best 60-second result is kept apart from your bests at other lengths, so you always compare like with like.
Short tests are common in hiring too. Criteria Corp’s pre-employment typing test, for one, gives a minute to type a passage.
Where your speed stands
Your results compare your speed with the 168,960 people of a 2018 study by Aalto University and the University of Cambridge, who took an online typing test. Their average was 51.6 WPM:
| Speed | Faster than about |
|---|---|
| 30 WPM | 15% of typists |
| 40 WPM | 31% of typists |
| 50 WPM | 50% of typists |
| 60 WPM | 68% of typists |
| 70 WPM | 82% of typists |
| 80 WPM | 91% of typists |
| 90 WPM | 96% of typists |
| 100 WPM | 98% of typists |
Those typists copied sentences they had read first, while this test is common words read as you type, and counts only correct characters. So treat the comparison as a rough guide. What is a good typing speed? has the full table, by percentile too.
Making one minute count
- Take three and use the average. A single minute depends on the words you get and how warmed up you are.
- Go for accuracy first. In the 2018 study, the fastest typists made fewer mistakes than the slowest, not more, and here a mistake you leave in costs you its characters.
- Keep your eyes on the text. The next words are always on screen; how to stop looking at the keyboard explains why it pays.
- Practice what slowed you down. The results name the keys and moves that cost you time, and practice builds text around them.
Other test lengths
- 3-minute typing test
Speed and stamina: the pace you keep once the first minute is over.
- 5-minute typing test
The sample length of the US federal clerk-typist standard: 40 WPM with three or fewer errors.
- Every length in one place
The main typing test also runs for 15 or 30 seconds, and keeps the length you pick.
Read next
What your number means, and how to raise it, each with the research behind it.
What is a good typing speed? Average WPM and percentiles
The average typist types about 52 WPM. 60 WPM beats about 68% of typists, 80 WPM puts you in the top 10%, and federal typing jobs ask for 40 WPM.
How to type faster: a practical plan
Cut mistakes first, then practice your slowest keys and key pairs a few minutes a day, read ahead and let keystrokes overlap. A plan based on research.
How to improve typing accuracy
Slow down until mistakes nearly stop, find the keys you miss and what you hit instead, and fix the reach behind each slip. You’ll usually get faster too.
Frequently asked questions
How many words can you type in a minute?
As many as your WPM. Typing tests count a word as five characters, spaces included, so 50 WPM means 250 correct characters in a minute. In a 2018 study of 168,960 people who took an online typing test, the average was 51.6 WPM.
What is a good score on a 1-minute typing test?
Anything above about 52 WPM is above average. In the 2018 study, 60 WPM was faster than about 68% of typists, 79 WPM put a typist in the top 10%, and 100 WPM was faster than about 98%. What is a good typing speed? has the full table.
Is a 1-minute typing test accurate?
Yes, for what it measures: your speed over one minute of common words. A single test also depends on the words you get and how warmed up you are, so take three and use the average. A 3-minute or 5-minute test adds how well you keep your speed.
Why do typing tests give different results?
They count differently. This test counts only the characters that are right in the end, so a mistake you leave in lowers your WPM. Some tests count every character typed, and some take a word off your speed for each error, as Criteria Corp’s pre-employment test does with its adjusted score. The text matters too: common words are quicker to type than sentences with capitals and punctuation.
Do employers use 1-minute typing tests?
Some do. Criteria Corp’s pre-employment typing test gives one minute to type a passage, and reports words per minute, errors, and words per minute minus errors. The US federal standard for clerk-typists uses a 5-minute sample instead, so check what the employer asks for.
Sources: Criteria Corp: Typing Test, a pre-employment test; US Office of Personnel Management: Qualification standards for clerical and administrative support positions