How many words per minute can a person type?

The average typing speed of a person is 40 words per minute (WPM), although many people can type at speeds far greater. Typing speed is typically measured using online tests, and is almost always measured in how many words can be typed over the course of a minute with minimal mistakes.

Typing speed is typically measured on a standard laptop or desktop keyboard. Typing speed declines dramatically when measured on a tablet or mobile device. In order to obtain relatively accurate measurements of typing speed, passages with an average of five characters per word are typically used. This is the best approximation of the English language as a whole.