Typing Speed Test

What this test measures

Our typing test shows you a short original passage and compares what you type against it character by character, in real time. In English mode the result is words per minute, using the standard convention that five characters, including spaces, make one word. In Korean mode the result is keystrokes per minute (타/분), the measure used by Korean typing programs, which counts every jamo you actually have to press on a 두벌식 keyboard rather than finished syllables.

Only correctly typed characters count toward speed, so hammering the keys at random will not inflate the number; accuracy is shown alongside the speed so you can see the trade-off. Your best result for each mode and duration is kept in this browser's local storage so you can watch your progress over time, and nothing is uploaded anywhere.

How this test works

When the page loads, a passage is picked at random from a small set of original texts about everyday and technology topics, two to four sentences long. The text is shown above an invisible input field that covers it, so clicking anywhere on the passage puts the cursor in the field. From that point the test reads the field's value on every input event, not on individual key presses, and compares it to the passage one character at a time. Matching characters are drawn normally, mismatches are highlighted, and the characters you have not reached yet stay dimmed.

The clock starts on the first character you enter, not when you click, so there is no penalty for taking a moment to read. From then on a timer updates ten times a second and the live speed and accuracy figures are recalculated on each update. The test ends either when the chosen duration of thirty or sixty seconds runs out or when you reach the end of the passage, whichever comes first; a fast typist on a short passage may finish early, and the speed is still computed from the actual time used.

Reading the field's value rather than listening for key presses matters a great deal for Korean. Korean is typed through an input method that composes each syllable from several keystrokes, and the composed syllable may change several times before it is committed. By comparing the committed text and treating the syllable still under composition as pending, the test avoids flashing a false error on every half-finished character. The same mechanism makes the test behave correctly with other composed scripts and with on-screen or mobile keyboards.

Speed uses only characters that match the passage. In English mode the matching character count is divided by five to give words, then by elapsed minutes. In Korean mode the matching syllables are decomposed into 두벌식 keystrokes, counted, and divided by elapsed minutes. Accuracy is simply the share of typed characters that match. All of this runs in your browser; the passage, your text and your scores never leave the page.

Reading the results

The headline number is your speed: words per minute in English mode or keystrokes per minute in Korean mode. Because the two units measure different things, they are not interchangeable, and a Korean 타/분 figure will usually be several times larger than an English WPM figure for the same person. Compare like with like, and compare results of the same duration, since a thirty-second burst is typically faster than a sustained sixty seconds.

Accuracy is shown as a percentage next to the speed, and the result card also lists how many characters matched out of how many you typed. A high speed with low accuracy means you are outrunning your control; a modest speed with near-perfect accuracy is usually the better foundation to build on, because every error you have to fix costs more time than typing the character correctly in the first place. Most people improve fastest by holding accuracy above ninety-five percent and letting speed rise gradually.

The best-score line shows your previous record for the current mode and duration on this device, and the result card marks a new personal best when you beat it. Speed is compared first and accuracy breaks ties. Because passages differ in difficulty, do not read too much into a single run; the trend over several attempts is far more informative than any one number.

If you want to compare against general expectations, remember that WPM depends heavily on the test length and whether errors are counted, so figures quoted elsewhere may have been produced under different rules. The useful comparison is against your own earlier results on this page, where the rules are identical every time.

When to use this test

The obvious use is simply to find out how fast you type and to track improvement while you practise. Run the sixty-second test once a week under the same conditions and note the speed and accuracy; a steady upward trend is what practice looks like, and a sudden drop is a signal to check posture, fatigue or the keyboard itself.

It is also a practical way to compare keyboards. Switch types, key travel and layout all change how quickly and accurately you type, and the difference between two boards is often clearer in a two-minute test than in a day of ordinary use. Test each keyboard with the same mode and duration, run each one a few times, and compare the averages rather than single results.

Korean typists preparing for a 타자 test or simply curious about their 타/분 can use the Korean mode as a quick check, with the keystroke counting matching the convention used by common practice programs. Because the passages are natural sentences rather than drills, the result reflects real writing speed rather than the speed of repeating a single word.

Finally, the test is a gentle way to confirm that a keyboard is working properly after a repair, a firmware update or a cleaning. If accuracy drops unexpectedly on a familiar passage, look at which characters are being highlighted; a single key that keeps failing or doubling points to a hardware fault, and our keyboard test and chatter test can confirm it.

Limits and things to know

A short test measures burst speed, not endurance. Thirty or sixty seconds is enough to compare keyboards or track practice, but sustained typing over many minutes is usually slower, so treat the number as a ceiling rather than an average working pace. Passage difficulty also varies: a text with more punctuation, capitals or uncommon words will naturally produce a lower score than a plain one.

The keystroke count for Korean assumes the standard 두벌식 layout. If you type on 세벌식 or another arrangement, the physical number of keys you press differs from the count the test reports, although the result is still consistent from run to run and therefore still useful for tracking your own progress. Non-Hangul characters in Korean passages, such as spaces and punctuation, count as one keystroke each.

Timing relies on the browser's clock and on the operating system delivering input events promptly. A heavily loaded computer or a laggy wireless keyboard can introduce small delays that slightly reduce the measured speed. For the most consistent results, close demanding applications, use a wired connection if you have one, and avoid running the test while the system is updating in the background.

Best scores are kept only in this browser's local storage. They will not follow you to another device or browser, and clearing site data removes them. The test does not require an account and does not collect any typing data; if you want a permanent record of your progress, note the results down yourself.