How fast you type depends on both your technique and your hardware. This guide explains how keyboard speed is measured, what makes different keyboard types faster or slower, how key travel and actuation force affect WPM, and which keyboards are favoured by fast typists. Take the free test below to find your current keyboard speed.
How Keyboard Speed Is Measured
Keyboard speed is measured as typing speed: words per minute (WPM) with an accuracy percentage. The test presents a passage of common English words. You type the passage for a set duration (typically 1 minute), and the system calculates how many standardised words (groups of 5 keystrokes) you typed, minus a penalty for uncorrected errors.
For keyboard comparison purposes, the test measures the combined output of typist skill plus hardware. To isolate hardware effects, take multiple tests on each keyboard over several days and compare averages rather than single-session results. Day-to-day variation in a single typist can be ±5–8 WPM, so small differences between keyboards may fall within normal variance.
Mechanical vs Membrane Keyboards for Typing Speed
The most significant hardware variable for typing speed is the switch mechanism underneath each key. The two dominant categories are mechanical switches and rubber dome (membrane) switches.
Feature
Mechanical
Membrane / Rubber Dome
Key travel
3.5–4 mm
2–3 mm
Actuation point
1.5–2 mm (precise)
Bottom-out only
Tactile feedback
Yes (tactile/clicky switches)
Minimal
Durability
50–100M keystrokes
5–10M keystrokes
Typical WPM benefit
+5–15 WPM for experienced typists
Baseline
Noise level
Varies (silent to loud)
Quiet
Key Travel, Actuation Force, and WPM
Key travel is how far a key travels from rest to bottom-out. A longer travel distance gives more time to feel whether the key has actuated, reducing missed keystrokes. However, longer travel also means more distance per keystroke — a factor that matters at very high speeds (100+ WPM).
Actuation point is where in the travel the keypress is registered. Switches that actuate at 1.5 mm (halfway through travel) allow early lift-off — you do not need to bottom out before moving to the next key. This is why linear speed switches like Gateron Yellow and Cherry MX Speed Silver are favoured by competitive typists.
Actuation force (measured in grams) is the resistance required to trigger a keypress. Light switches (35–40g) allow faster keystrokes but cause more accidental double-presses. Heavy switches (65g+) reduce accidental presses but increase finger fatigue during long sessions. The 45–55g range is the sweet spot for most typists seeking a balance of speed, accuracy, and comfort.
Best Keyboard Types for Fast Typing
Cherry MX Brown · Gateron Brown · Topre
Mechanical keyboard (tactile switch)
Best overall choice for typing speed and accuracy. Tactile bump provides physical confirmation of actuation without the noise of clicky switches. Ideal for offices and home desks.
Cherry MX Red · Gateron Yellow · Speed Silver
Mechanical keyboard (linear switch)
Preferred by many competitive typists for raw speed. No tactile bump means a smoother keystroke, but requires more accuracy discipline to avoid bottoming out. Very popular in the typing competition community.
MacBook, ThinkPad, modern laptops
Scissor-switch laptop keyboard
Significantly shorter key travel (1–1.5 mm) than full mechanical keyboards. Many professional typists are highly productive on quality laptop keyboards. The Apple Magic Keyboard is a popular choice for remote workers.
Most budget desktop keyboards
Rubber dome / membrane keyboard
The most common keyboard type in offices worldwide. Mushier feel reduces speed for touch typists accustomed to mechanical feedback, but millions of people achieve 60–80 WPM on them. Noise is minimal.
Happy Hacking Keyboard · Realforce
Electrostatic capacitive (Topre)
Premium keyboards with a unique tactile feel that many experienced typists prefer for marathon typing sessions. Extremely durable. Higher price point but often cited as the most satisfying to type on for sustained accuracy.
Testing Your Keyboard Speed at Home
To get a reliable measure of your keyboard speed, follow these steps:
Warm up with 2–3 short typing bursts before taking a measured test.
Take 5 timed tests and discard the highest and lowest results.
Average the remaining three scores — this is your current keyboard speed.
If comparing keyboards, repeat this process on each keyboard on the same day.
Check both WPM and accuracy — a keyboard that boosts raw WPM but increases errors may not be a net improvement.
A mechanical keyboard can improve typing speed for many users, but it is not guaranteed. The main advantage is tactile or audible feedback that lets experienced typists release a key earlier (reducing bottoming-out time). Studies suggest mechanical keyboards can add 5–15 WPM for users who prefer tactile feedback, compared to flat membrane keyboards. For beginners, the keyboard type matters less than technique.
What is key travel and why does it matter for typing speed?
Key travel is the distance a key moves from the resting position to full actuation. Standard mechanical keyboards have 4 mm total travel with actuation around 2 mm. Laptop keyboards typically have 1–1.5 mm. For fast typists, shorter travel can allow quicker keystrokes, but too shallow (under 0.5 mm) increases error rates because there is no tactile sense of whether the key registered.
What actuation force is best for fast typing?
Most fast typists prefer switches with 45–55g actuation force. Lighter switches (35–40g) allow faster keystrokes but cause more accidental presses. Heavier switches (65g+) reduce errors on heavy-handed typists but increase fatigue during long sessions. Tactile switches (like Cherry MX Brown, Gateron Brown) in the 45–50g range are the most popular choice for productivity typing.
Can I use a keyboard speed test to compare different keyboards?
Yes, but with caveats. To get a fair comparison, take at least 5 timed typing tests on each keyboard (to rule out warm-up variance and muscle memory adjustment), on the same day, with the same test length. Average the results and compare both WPM and accuracy. Significant WPM differences (10+ WPM) are likely real; smaller differences may be within normal session-to-session variance.
What keyboard layout is fastest for typing — QWERTY, Dvorak, or Colemak?
QWERTY is the most studied layout and the default on virtually all keyboards. Dvorak and Colemak were designed to reduce finger travel and balance load between hands, which theoretically supports higher speeds. In practice, top QWERTY typists regularly out-pace top Dvorak typists, largely because of the much larger base of QWERTY training resources. Switching layouts causes a 4–12 week regression period before speed recovers.