Free Typing Speed Test
How fast can you type? Start typing and watch your WPM and accuracy update live.
- No sign up
- Nothing leaves your browser
- Published scoring rules
Start typing, the clock starts on your first keyStart typing to start the clockTap the words to start typing
Copy the words shown on screen. The timer starts with your first keystroke, and a space moves you to the next word. Finalised words cannot be corrected, and pasting is blocked. Press Escape, or Tab then Enter, to start over.
No personal best yet at 1 min
Words come from the standard list of 240 common English words, reshuffled every run, so the test measures your typing rather than your vocabulary. Sample from this list: find high help ask school high might air never plant and between try this.
Tests, drills and guides
Tests
| Test | Default length | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 10 second test | 0:10 | A quick reading to warm up your fingers |
| 30 second test | 0:30 | Short enough for a spare moment |
| 1 minute test | 1:00 | The standard one minute WPM reading |
| 2 minute test | 2:00 | A steadier score without the fatigue |
| 5 minute test | 5:00 | Sustained speed and stamina |
| Beginners test | 0:30 | A low pressure first run, explained |
| Test for kids | 0:30 | Short, simple words for younger learners |
| Data entry test | 2:00 | Scored in keystrokes per hour |
| Typing certificate | 1:00 | Take a test, then print a free record of it |
Drills and tools
- Home row drillWords that never leave the home row
- Accuracy drillA wrong key is refused, not counted
- Numbers drillDigits, brackets and reference codes
- Challenge a friendSend someone the exact same words
- Your progressEvery result, kept in this browser
Guides
- Words per minuteThe formula, plus CPM and keystrokes per hour
- Keystrokes per hourKPH to WPM calculator and what job adverts mean
- How to type fasterA two week, 15 minutes a day practice plan
- Average typing speedWhat the research actually measured
- Keyboard layoutsWhat switching layouts really costs you
- MethodologyExactly what TypeBurst counts and ignores
A typing speed test is the fastest way to find out how quickly and accurately you type. TypeBurst gives you a passage built from the most common English words, then measures your speed in real time as you type. You will see your words per minute (WPM), your accuracy as a percentage, your characters per minute (CPM) and your error count, all updating live while the clock runs. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account to create: the whole test runs inside your browser.
To take the test, choose a duration of 15, 30 or 60 seconds, 2 minutes or 5 minutes and start typing the passage shown on screen. The current word is highlighted, and every character you type is marked correct or incorrect instantly, so you can feel exactly where you slow down. When the timer ends, TypeBurst shows your final WPM, accuracy and CPM, and it remembers your personal best for each duration so you can chase your own record over time.
Regular typing tests are one of the simplest ways to build real speed. By testing yourself often you train your fingers to find keys without looking, you learn which letters trip you up, and you turn typing into muscle memory. Whether you are a student writing essays, a developer living in an editor, or someone preparing for a data entry role, a quick daily test is a low-effort habit that pays off in every task that involves a keyboard.
Which duration should you pick?
Fifteen seconds is a warm-up: enough to get your fingers moving, too short to trust, because on a very short test a single fumbled word swings the result by several WPM. Thirty seconds is the shortest duration that gives a number worth writing down, and it is short enough to run three times in a row. Sixty seconds is the standard everyone else quotes, so it is the one to use if you want to compare yourself against anything. Two minutes starts to measure stamina rather than speed, and five minutes measures it outright: it is the length to use if you type for a living and want the pace you can hold, not the pace you can reach.
If you only take one, take the minute. If you are practising, take the 30 second run three times and watch whether the number climbs, holds or drops across the three: that shape says more about what to work on than any single result.
What the four numbers on screen mean
WPM is correct characters divided by five, divided by the minutes elapsed, where five characters including the following space counts as one word. CPM is the same count without the division by five. Accuracy is correct characters as a percentage of everything you typed. Errors is the number of wrong characters you left standing.
The headline WPM here counts only correct characters, so mistakes earn nothing but are not punished twice. That sits between gross WPM, which counts everything you typed, and net WPM, which subtracts a further penalty per uncorrected error and is what most employment assessments report. When a run finishes, all three are shown side by side, so you can quote whichever one you have been asked for instead of guessing.
Nothing you type here leaves your browser
There is no account, no upload and no analytics call carrying your score. The passage is generated on your own device, the timing happens there, and your personal best per duration is stored in your browser under a key you can inspect. Clear your browser data and it is gone, because there is no copy anywhere else.
That choice has one visible consequence, and it is worth naming: this site cannot tell you which percentile your score falls in, because it has collected no scores to build a distribution from. Where other tests show a percentile, this one shows what published research measured instead. An invented percentile would look better and mean nothing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good typing speed?
The largest study of typing available, 136 million keystrokes from 168,000 volunteers, measured an average of 52 words per minute, with most computer users between 30 and 60 WPM and the fastest participants at 120 WPM. So above 60 WPM is genuinely fast. Focus on accuracy first, because clean typing without constant corrections is what makes high speeds sustainable.
How is my typing speed calculated?
TypeBurst counts every five characters you type correctly as one word, then divides by the elapsed time in minutes. This is the standard method used across typing tests, so your score is comparable to results from other tools.
Is the typing test free and private?
Yes. TypeBurst is completely free with no account required, and every keystroke stays in your browser. Your personal bests are stored locally on your own device, never on a server.
How can I improve my score?
Practice a little every day, keep your fingers on the home row, and prioritise accuracy over raw speed. Slowing down slightly to type cleanly often produces a higher WPM than rushing and correcting mistakes.
How do I check my WPM score?
Start typing the passage above and your WPM appears live while the clock runs. When the timer ends you get the final figure with accuracy, CPM, gross WPM and net WPM alongside it. Pick the duration first: 15 seconds for a quick check, 60 seconds for the standard reading, 5 minutes for the pace you can sustain.
Is this an online typing test I can use for a job?
You can use it to practise and to find out where you stand. Every result shows net WPM, the figure most employment assessments report, and keystrokes per hour, the unit many data entry adverts use. An employer who needs a verified score will usually test you themselves, but you can print a dated record of any run from the results screen to attach to an application.
Can I take a 5 minute typing test here?
Yes. Choose 5 minutes from the duration buttons above the passage. A five minute run measures the speed you can keep up rather than a sprint, and your best result at that length is saved separately from your shorter runs.
Can I take a typing test with punctuation and capital letters?
Yes. Switch on Punctuation, Capitals or both in the row under the test. The words are then typed as sentences of 4 to 11 words, with a capital letter at the start of each sentence and a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark or comma where they fall. A mark counts like any other character, so expect a lower WPM than on plain words; each combination keeps its own personal best, and the address remembers your choice as ?p=1 and ?c=1.
Sources
Related pages
- 1 minute testThe standard one minute WPM reading
- 5 minute testSustained speed and stamina
- 10 second testA quick reading to warm up your fingers
- Words per minuteThe formula, plus CPM and keystrokes per hour
- Average typing speedWhat the research actually measured
- MethodologyExactly what TypeBurst counts and ignores
- Data entry testScored in keystrokes per hour
- Test for kidsShort, simple words for younger learners