TypeWars / Average typing speed

Average typing speed

The average adult types about 52 words per minute on a keyboard and about 36 on a phone. Here is where those numbers come from, and what your own speed costs you.

The short answer

In 2018 researchers at Aalto University and the University of Cambridge published the biggest typing study to date: 168,000 volunteers transcribing sentences online, 136 million keystrokes in total. The mean speed was 51.6 WPM, and most participants landed between about 30 and 80 WPM. Their uncorrected error rate averaged just over 1%.

A follow-up by the same group looked at 37,000 people typing on phones and found a mean of 36.2 WPM, with two-thumb typists clearly ahead of one-finger typists.

So "good" depends on what you compare against. Beating 52 WPM puts you ahead of the typical adult; 70 is comfortable for any desk job; 100 is where competitive typists start.

Where the TypeWars tiers sit

Tier	Average WPM	Bots race at
Bronze	0+	≈ 28
Silver	35+	≈ 42
Gold	50+	≈ 56
Platinum	65+	≈ 72
Diamond	80+	≈ 88
Legend	100+	≈ 110

Gold starts right around the adult average.

Is my typing speed good?

Enter your WPM

Don't know your number? Take the 1-minute Word Blitz.

Estimated distribution from the Aalto study's mean (51.6) and spread (SD ≈ 20); the real curve has a slightly longer fast tail.

Speed by speed: 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 120 150 200

What your speed costs in time

Drag to your speed. Times are pure typing, no thinking, compared with the 52 WPM average.

Your speed: 52 WPM

Around the adult average.

a 150-word email2.9 min vs 2.9 min
a 1,500-word essay29 min vs 29 min
a 3,000-word report58 min vs 58 min
an 80,000-word novel25.6 h vs 25.6 h

Bar scale runs from 0 to the time at 10 WPM; the tick marks the 52 WPM average.

Typical speeds by context

Context	Typical speed	Source
Adults, physical keyboard	≈ 52 WPM	Dhakal et al., CHI 2018
Adults, smartphone	≈ 36 WPM	Palin et al., MobileHCI 2019
Handwriting	≈ 13–20 WPM	Commonly cited range for adults
Conversational speech	≈ 120–150 WPM	Commonly cited range

How to measure yours honestly

Take a one-minute test three times and use the median, not the best. Word Blitz gives you net WPM; a race adds capitals and punctuation, which is closer to real writing and usually 5–10 WPM slower. To raise the number, start with how to type faster.

Questions players ask

Is 30 WPM typing speed good?

30 WPM is below the adult average of about 52 WPM but fine for casual use. It usually points to looking at the keyboard; learning touch typing tends to move people past 40 WPM within weeks.

Is 40 words per minute slow?

Not slow, slightly below average. 40 WPM is the minimum many general office job listings ask for.

Is typing 100 words a minute fast?

Yes, very fast. 100 WPM is roughly double the adult average and only a small fraction of typists reach it.

What is the average typing speed?

About 52 words per minute on a physical keyboard. That figure comes from the largest published study, Dhakal et al. (Aalto University, CHI 2018), which analysed 136 million keystrokes from 168,000 volunteers. Most people fell between roughly 30 and 80 WPM.

What is a good typing speed?

Above the ~52 WPM average is better than most people. 60–70 WPM is comfortable for office work, and many typing-heavy jobs ask for 40–60 WPM with high accuracy. 80+ WPM is fast; 100+ is rare.

What is the average typing speed on a phone?

Around 36 WPM, according to a companion study of 37,000 volunteers typing on mobile devices (Palin et al., MobileHCI 2019). Two-thumb typists were faster than one-finger typists.

Is 40 WPM good?

40 WPM is slightly below the adult average but perfectly usable, and it meets the minimum many employers list for general office roles. A few weeks of short daily practice commonly adds 10–20 WPM.

Does accuracy matter more than speed?

For real work, yes. In the Aalto data the fastest typists also made fewer errors that needed correcting. Speed built on accuracy lasts; speed built on backspacing does not.