What is the best free typing speed test?

FastTypings (fasttypings.com) is a free typing speed test and competitive typing race game. It measures your WPM and accuracy in real time, lets you race against AI bots or real players, tracks your progress with daily streaks, and requires no signup. It works on desktop and mobile in 22 languages.

What is a good typing speed in WPM?

The average adult typing speed is 40–60 words per minute (WPM). Touch typists typically reach 60–80 WPM. Programmers and professional typists often type 80–100 WPM. Elite competitive typists exceed 150 WPM. Use FastTypings to measure and improve your speed.

How can I improve my typing speed?

Practice daily with a typing test. Focus on accuracy before speed — errors slow you down more than you think. Use all ten fingers (touch typing), keep your eyes on the screen (not the keyboard), and practice for 15–30 minutes a day. FastTypings offers bot races at adjustable speeds so you can gradually push your WPM higher.

How do I test my typing speed online?

Go to fasttypings.com and start typing the text shown on screen. Your live WPM and accuracy are displayed as you type. When you finish the passage your results are saved to the global leaderboard. No account or signup is needed.

Does FastTypings work on mobile and phone?

Yes. FastTypings is fully optimized for phones and tablets. Tap the screen to open the soft keyboard and type normally. All features — speed tests, bot races, leaderboards, and streaks — are available on mobile.

Yes. FastTypings is completely free with no signup, no subscription, and no ads. Everything — typing tests, races, leaderboards, and streaks — is free forever.

What languages does FastTypings support?

FastTypings is available in 22 languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Urdu, Turkish, Hindi, Portuguese, Indonesian, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Vietnamese, Polish, Dutch, Persian, Bengali, Thai, and Filipino.

Average Typing Speed: WPM by Age, Profession, and How You Compare

The average adult types at 40–44 words per minute (WPM) with roughly 92% accuracy. That is the benchmark for someone who learned to type on the job or at school without formal training. Touch typists who practised proper technique average 65–75 WPM — and professionals whose careers depend on fast typing reach 75–100 WPM. Here is the full picture, broken down by age, profession, and the factors that move the number up or down.

Quick answer: The global adult average is approximately 44 WPM. Typing over 65 WPM puts you in roughly the top third of all typists. Over 80 WPM puts you in the top 15%. Over 100 WPM is elite — fewer than 5% of people reach it.

Average Typing Speed by Age Group

Typing speed follows a predictable curve with age. Children develop rapidly once they get consistent keyboard time. Teens often surpass adults. Speed plateaus through adulthood and gently declines after 60, though trained touch typists maintain speed far better than untrained typists.

Age Group	Average WPM	Notes
6–9 years old	10–20	Just learning to type; mostly one or two fingers
10 years old	~30	Comfortable with keyboard; still developing finger placement
11–13 years old	30–40	Rapid improvement as typing is taught in school
14 years old	~40	Approaching adult averages; home row training pays off here
15–18 years old	40–50	Teens often exceed adults due to heavy device usage
Adult (20–40)	44–55	General adult average; varies widely by profession
Professional typist	65–100	Anyone whose job depends on fast, accurate typing
Senior (60+)	30–45	Slight decline in reaction speed; experience offsets it

Average Typing Speed by Profession

Profession is one of the strongest predictors of typing speed — more so than age. People whose jobs require constant typing develop measurably higher speeds than the general population. Note that court reporters use stenography machines, not standard keyboards.

Profession	Avg WPM	Accuracy	Context
Programmer / Developer	57	High	Regular keyboard use; code has more symbols which slows WPM
Secretary / Admin assistant	75	Very high	Transcription and document work demands consistent fast typing
Writer / Journalist	50–65	High	Speed varies widely; creative thinking pauses account for lower averages
Data entry clerk	70–80	Highest	Accuracy is prioritised over speed; errors have direct cost
Court reporter (stenotype)	200–300	Highest	Uses chord-based stenography keyboard, not a standard keyboard
Customer support agent	50–65	High	Speed required for live chat; some handle 3+ concurrent conversations
Student (university)	40–55	Moderate	Varies by major; CS and journalism students tend to be faster
Average office worker	38–45	Moderate	Most office workers never formally learned touch typing

What Affects Average Typing Speed?

Raw WPM is the result of several overlapping factors. Understanding which ones apply to you helps you focus your improvement effort.

Typing method: Hunt-and-peck typists — those who look at the keyboard and use 1–4 fingers — rarely exceed 40 WPM regardless of how much they practice. Touch typists who use all 10 fingers and never look down can routinely reach 80–100 WPM with consistent practice.
Age and motor development: Children under 10 are still developing fine motor control, which limits raw speed. Teens often type faster than adults because their fingers are faster and they grew up with keyboards. After 60, reaction time gradually slows, though experienced touch typists largely compensate.
Keyboard type: Mechanical keyboards with tactile switches are preferred by fast typists — the physical feedback helps register keystrokes without bottoming out every key. Membrane keyboards and laptop keyboards tend to require slightly more force and travel. The difference is measurable but secondary to technique.
Amount of daily typing: People who spend 6–8 hours a day typing at a computer — developers, writers, analysts — naturally maintain higher speeds through sheer volume of practice. A retiree who types occasionally will drift back toward 30–40 WPM even if they once typed faster.
Accuracy vs speed tradeoff: Typists who prioritise accuracy tend to have higher net WPM (gross WPM minus error penalties) than those who rush and make many corrections. The fastest net typists are almost always high-accuracy typists who then layer in speed — not the other way around.

How Do You Compare to the Average?

Here is a simple way to benchmark your speed against the general population:

Your WPM	Percentile	What it means
Under 30	Bottom 20%	Below average; significant room for improvement with practice
30–44	Average	Typical untrained adult — functional but not fast
45–65	Above average	Better than most; could qualify for many office roles
66–80	Top 25%	Strong typist; comfortable in all professional contexts
81–100	Top 10–15%	Fast typist; competitive for high-typing-demand roles
100+	Top 5%	Elite level; used to be called 'professional typist' speed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average typing speed for an adult?

The average adult types at 40–44 WPM (words per minute) with around 92% accuracy. This figure is based on studies of office workers and general adult populations using standard English text. Touch typists who have trained their technique average 65–75 WPM.

What is the average typing speed by age?

Children aged 10 average around 30 WPM. By 14 they approach 40 WPM. Adults in their 20s–40s average 44–55 WPM. Seniors (60+) average 30–45 WPM. Teens (15–18) often outperform adults at 45–55 WPM due to heavy device use throughout school.

What is a good typing speed for a job?

It depends on the role. General office work requires 40–50 WPM. Administrative assistants and secretary roles typically require 60–75 WPM. Data entry roles often require 70–80 WPM with 98%+ accuracy. Customer support live chat agents benefit from 60+ WPM to handle concurrent conversations.

Is 40 WPM a good typing speed?

40 WPM is average for an untrained adult typist. It is acceptable for most casual computer use but may feel slow for heavy typing tasks like writing reports or answering many emails. With 2–3 months of deliberate practice, most people at 40 WPM can reach 65–70 WPM.

What is the average typing speed for a 10-year-old?

Most 10-year-olds type at around 25–35 WPM. Children who have had formal typing instruction and practice daily can reach 40 WPM by age 11–12. The main limiting factor at this age is finger size and fine motor control, not intelligence or effort.

How do I compare to the average typing speed?

Take a free typing test on FastTypings. The test takes 60 seconds and shows your WPM and accuracy immediately. No signup required. If you score above 44 WPM, you are at or above the adult average. Above 65 WPM puts you in the top third of all adult typists.

Curious where you land? The FastTypings test gives you your exact WPM and accuracy in 60 seconds. No signup, no ads — just type and see your score.

Test Your Typing Speed →