TypeWars / Typing speed
Is 120 WPM good?
120 WPM is elite.
Competitive-typist territory. Sustaining this over long passages is rare.
*Estimate from the Aalto University study of 168,000 typists (Dhakal et al., CHI 2018; mean 51.6 WPM), using a normal approximation.
What 120 WPM means in practice
| Task | Time at 120 WPM |
|---|---|
| 150-word email | 1.3 minutes |
| 500-word page | 4.2 minutes |
| 1,500-word essay | 13 minutes |
| 80,000-word novel | 11.1 hours |
Times are pure typing at a steady pace. Real writing adds thinking and editing, so speed matters most for transcription, chat and data entry.
Next goal: 150 WPM
Keep accuracy above 95%, read one word ahead and drill the keys you miss most. Ten minutes a day of Word Blitz and a few races at the Legend tier will pull you up.
Check your real speed
One minute, net WPM, no sign-up.
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Is 120 WPM good?
Elite. Competitive-typist territory. Sustaining this over long passages is rare. The adult average on a physical keyboard is about 52 WPM (Dhakal et al., CHI 2018).
What percentage of people type faster than 120 WPM?
Roughly 0% of the 168,000 people in the Aalto study, by our estimate. 120 WPM is faster than about 100% of them. This assumes a normal distribution (mean 52, SD about 20), so treat it as an approximation.
How many characters per minute is 120 WPM?
600 characters per minute, or 10.0 keystrokes per second, using the standard 5-characters-per-word rule.
How long does it take to type 1,000 words at 120 WPM?
About 8.3 minutes of pure typing, not counting thinking or editing time.
How do I get from 120 to 150 WPM?
Protect accuracy above 95%, read one word ahead, and drill your most-missed keys in short daily sessions.