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WPM calculator

Work out how many words per minute you typed. The formula: characters divided by 5, divided by minutes. The example below is already filled in.

What did you count?

Only errors left uncorrected

The calculation runs in your browser, nothing is sent.

Your net speed

49 WPM

Office minimum reached

Gross
50 WPM
Accuracy
99.6%
Characters per minute
250
Keystrokes per hour
15,000
500 words take
10 min 12 s

No numbers to hand? The test takes one minute.

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How to calculate WPM

WPM means words per minute. The formula: characters divided by 5, divided by minutes. Five characters count as one word, spaces included.

Example: 1,250 characters in 5 minutes are 250 standard words, so 50 WPM.

  • Gross: your speed before errors are taken off.
  • Net: gross minus uncorrected errors per minute. At 80 WPM gross with 4 errors in 2 minutes, that makes 78 WPM net.
  • Accuracy: the share of characters without errors.
  • Characters per minute: WPM times 5. Per hour: times 60.

Count characters or words?

Characters are more precise, because long and short words then weigh the same. The word and character counter gives you the number.

If you enter words, the calculator treats each one as a standard word of 5 characters. With a text full of long words, your result will be lower than the one from characters.

What your result means

WPMCharacters per minuteLevel
40200Office minimum
50250Solid office level
60300Good, assistant level
70350Fast
80400Very fast

The page on average typing speed shows where you stand. Typing speed for jobs shows what employers ask for. All values are ready to print in the WPM conversion chart.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate words per minute?

Divide the characters typed by 5, then divide the result by the minutes. 200 characters in 30 seconds are 40 standard words in half a minute, so 80 WPM.

Do spaces count?

Yes. A standard word has 5 characters, spaces included.

How many characters per minute is 60 WPM?

300 characters per minute, or 18,000 keystrokes per hour.

Which errors do I enter?

Only errors still in the text at the end. Corrected errors have already cost you time, so they are already in your speed.

Are my values saved?

No. The calculation runs in your browser, nothing is sent.

Build your speed

Get your real number from the typing speed test in a minute. The touch typing course gets you faster, and the guide to learning touch typing explains the path.

Sources