TypingHow typing speed is measured: WPM, accuracy and KDPH
A typing speed looks like a simple number, but two tests can give the same typist different figures. This page explains the usual terms and shows exactly how the test on this site does its sums.
A "word" is five characters
Real words differ in length. It has two letters and application has eleven. To be fair to every passage, typing tests do not count real words. They count characters and treat every five characters as one word. Spaces and punctuation count as characters.
So the sentence The cat sat on the mat. has 23 characters including spaces, which is 4.6 words by this rule, although it contains six real words.
Gross speed
Gross speed counts everything you typed, right or wrong.
- Gross words a minute = all characters typed, divided by 5, divided by the minutes taken.
Net speed
Net speed counts only what you typed correctly. It is the figure that matters, because wrong text is of no use.
Tests work out net speed in different ways. Some subtract a penalty for every wrong word. Some count only correct characters. The test on this site uses the second method, counted word by word:
- A word counts as correct only if every character in it matches.
- Net words a minute = characters in the correctly typed words (with one space each), divided by 5, divided by the minutes taken.
Accuracy
- Accuracy = characters in correct words, divided by all characters typed, as a percentage.
Because a whole word is marked wrong for one wrong letter, this is a strict measure. One slip in a ten-letter word costs all ten letters.
A worked example
Suppose that in a two minute test you type 80 words, a total of 430 characters including the space after each word. Six of the words have a mistake, and those six words with their spaces add up to 40 characters.
| Figure | Sum | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Gross speed | 430 ÷ 5 ÷ 2 | 43 words a minute |
| Correct characters | 430 − 40 | 390 |
| Net speed | 390 ÷ 5 ÷ 2 | 39 words a minute |
| Accuracy | 390 ÷ 430 | about 91 per cent |
The gap between 43 and 39 is the cost of the six mistakes.
Key depressions per hour
Some examinations state the required speed in key depressions per hour, written KDPH, and not in words. A key depression is one press of a key. The link between the two units is simple arithmetic when a word is taken as five key depressions:
- Key depressions an hour = words a minute × 5 × 60.
| Words a minute | Key depressions an hour |
|---|---|
| 20 | 6,000 |
| 25 | 7,500 |
| 30 | 9,000 |
| 35 | 10,500 |
| 40 | 12,000 |
This table is only the arithmetic. It is not a statement of what any examination requires. A body may count Shift as a separate key depression, may use a different length of word, or may apply its own rule for mistakes. In Hindi and Punjabi a single letter can take two or three key presses, so the two units drift further apart. The result box of our test shows an approximate gross figure in key depressions per hour, counting typed characters, for a rough idea only.
Why two tests give different numbers
- Length of test. Most people type faster for one minute than for ten. A longer test gives a lower, more honest figure.
- The passage. Short common words are faster than long or unusual ones. Numbers and symbols slow everyone.
- The rule for mistakes. A test that lets you correct with Backspace, one that does not, and one that deducts a penalty will all report different net speeds for the same performance.
- What counts as a word. Five characters is common but not universal.
How to use your result
Compare your speed only with your own earlier results on the same test with the same settings. Watch net speed and accuracy together. If net speed rises while accuracy stays at 95 per cent or above, you are improving. If speed rises and accuracy falls, you are only typing mistakes faster.
If you are preparing for an examination or a job test, read its official notice for the required speed, the unit, the length of the test, the language and keyboard layout, and the rule for mistakes. Those details come from the body that holds the test, and they change from one notice to the next, so we do not list them here.
This is an independent practice site. It is not connected with any examination body, keyboard maker or software company. A typing speed measured here is for your own practice. It is not a certificate, and an examination may measure speed in its own way.