What is the average typing speed?

The average adult types about 40 words per minute with roughly 92% accuracy. Professional typists average 65–75 WPM.

Is 60 WPM a good typing speed?

Yes. 60 WPM is above average and comfortably fast enough for most office, writing and data-entry jobs.

How is WPM calculated?

WPM equals correct characters divided by five, divided by the minutes elapsed. A 'word' is standardised as five characters including spaces.

Average Typing Speed: What Is a Good WPM?

The average adult types around 40 words per minute at roughly 92% accuracy. Anything above 55 WPM puts you ahead of most people, and 80+ WPM is professional territory. Take a free typing speed test to see where you land.

How WPM is measured

One "word" is standardised as five characters, including spaces and punctuation. Your net WPM is the number of correct characters divided by five, divided by the minutes you typed. Raw WPM ignores errors, which is why the two numbers differ after a messy test. Accuracy below 95% usually means your effective speed is lower than the number on screen, because real writing requires fixing every mistake.

WPM = (correct characters ÷ 5) ÷ minutes

Typing speed by skill level

Level	Speed	What it looks like
Beginner / hunt-and-peck	10–25 WPM	Looks at the keyboard, uses two to four fingers.
Learner	25–40 WPM	Knows the home row, still glances down under pressure.
Average adult	40 WPM	Touch types most letters, slows on numbers and symbols.
Above average	50–65 WPM	Comfortable for writing-heavy work; few visual checks.
Professional	65–80 WPM	Typical requirement for transcription and data entry.
Advanced	80–100 WPM	Types whole words as chunks with high accuracy.
Elite	100–140+ WPM	Competitive typists; sustained accuracy above 98%.

Average typing speed by age

Under 12

~20 WPM

13–17

~35 WPM

18–25

~45 WPM

26–40

~42 WPM

41–60

~36 WPM

60+

~30 WPM

These are typical observed ranges rather than official statistics — daily keyboard exposure predicts speed far better than age does.

Typing speed requirements by job

Role	Typical requirement	Notes
Data entry clerk	60–80 WPM	Speed and accuracy are both tested at hire.
Transcriptionist	75–100 WPM	Often paired with a 98% accuracy minimum.
Software developer	50–75 WPM	Symbol accuracy matters more than raw speed.
Customer support agent	50–65 WPM	Live chat roles usually require 50+ WPM.
Writer / journalist	55–75 WPM	Sustained speed over long sessions.
Student	35–50 WPM	Enough for notes and essays.

How to move up a level

Improvement comes from short, frequent, accurate sessions rather than long marathons. Ten focused minutes a day beats two hours on a Sunday. Work the drills in our typing lessons, then apply the techniques in how to type faster.