Methodology: How We Score Typing Tests
By Abhishek · Reviewed by The Ai-TypingTest Editorial Team · Last reviewed
Words per minute
A “word” is five characters, including spaces and punctuation, so a passage of long words does not unfairly lower your score.
- Gross WPM = all typed characters ÷ 5 ÷ minutes.
- Net WPM = correctly typed characters ÷ 5 ÷ minutes. Mistakes you leave uncorrected are not counted; mistakes you fix cost only time. This is the WPM shown on results screens.
- Adjusted WPM (Criteria-style presets only) = WPM − number of errors.
| Characters typed correctly | 1,075 |
|---|---|
| ÷ 5 characters per word | 215 words |
| ÷ 5 minutes | 43 WPM |
| Errors (uncorrected words) | 2 |
| Result | Pass — 40+ WPM with 3 or fewer errors |
Accuracy
Accuracy = correct keystrokes ÷ total keystrokes × 100, counting each character the first time it is typed. Correcting a mistake does not raise accuracy back — it was still a wrong keystroke.
Errors (exam presets)
Employer and government tests count errors per word: a word with one or more uncorrected wrong characters is one error. Exam presets count the same way, then apply the exam's rule:
- Standard: net WPM ≥ target, errors ≤ limit (e.g. federal: 40 WPM, ≤ 3 errors in 5 minutes), and/or accuracy ≥ floor.
- Adjusted: WPM − errors ≥ target.
- Canadian 5-minute: allowed errors per minute rise with speed — 0 at 25–28 WPM, 1 at 29–44 WPM, 2 at 45–54 WPM, 3 at 55–72 WPM, 4 at 73–90 WPM, 5 at 91–109 WPM, 6 at 110–127 WPM — per the SHL catalogue.
Consistency
Consistency = 100 − the coefficient of variation of your per-second WPM samples (standard deviation ÷ mean × 100), floored at 0. A steady pace scores high; bursts and stalls score low.
Keystrokes per hour (KPH)
- Gross KPH = every keystroke, including Enter and corrections, ÷ hours.
- Net KPH (10-key) = keystrokes in entries typed exactly right, including their Enter, ÷ hours.
- Data-entry KPH = characters in fields that match exactly ÷ hours. Field accuracy = exact fields ÷ all fields.
- Conversion: 1 WPM = 5 characters a minute = 300 keystrokes an hour. Try the converter.
Audio typing
Your transcript is aligned with the script word by word (edit distance) against the best-matching opening part of the script, because time may run out before the audio ends. Substituted, missing and extra words are errors.
- Clean verbatim ignores case and punctuation; strict verbatim counts them.
- Net WPM = gross WPM − errors per minute. Accuracy = (words covered − errors) ÷ words covered.
- The voice is your browser's speech synthesiser, so pronunciation varies by device.
Exam requirements
Each requirement on the site either quotes a source we opened and checked, or is a “typically” range drawn from common job-posting language, labelled as such and with a prompt to confirm in the official posting. Sources show the date they were last checked. We review every requirement quarterly and whenever a reader reports a change through the contact page. We never claim to be official, endorsed by or affiliated with any agency, test publisher or employer.
Certificates
Our certificates are unproctored. They record a result typed in a browser on this site; we cannot verify who typed it. Employers that require proctored tests — such as California state departments — will not accept them. See typing certificate.
Statistics
Figures in our typing statistics report and the percentile tool are computed live from anonymised results of signed-in tests on this site. They show WPM and accuracy only — we do not collect age, country or device for tests — and they skew towards people who choose to practise typing, so they run higher than the general population.