What is your WPM?

[Rafen]

Man I need to step my game up a little bit here. I only type 60 wpm. I think I will get faster since I have only been touch typing for about three years now.
Not to jack the thread but how did you guys get so fast at typing?

[swagpiratex]

Took a computer class in 8th grade, and was glad the teacher forced us to learn how to touch type. 10 years later, and after finding myself typing a lot slower than I did in high school, I'm training by practicing, using typing competition websites, and am now around the 110 WPM range.

[PointyFox]

I average about 63 WPM across all switch types.  I type with like 4 fingers. )

[GensokyoTenshi]

I normally type at around 75-85 WPM, currently working on getting to 90+, I really must say that I am impressed at the speeds I've seen here! To those of you who can type at 100+ WPM, you have my respect. ^_^

[isp]

stuck around 115-125

Hmmm, is there some kind of technique that i don't know about?..I've heard of some using capslock instead of shift, that won't really work for me though as I'm so used to using it for ctrl.  I guess it's just about typing a lot and gaining experience.  Learning the "rolls" so you don't spend that much time focusing on individual keys for each word...

[ra7c7er]

I'm in the 30-40 WPM range. Not fast by any means but I have some issues that cause me problems when typing.

[Insy]

I've been pulling about 150 average lately, though my last 10 have had a couple flukes. I use an NMB rubber-dome keyboard I bought in 1996 for $7, still has the price tag on it.

My secret is probably the strange fingering I use:


That and lots and lots of practice.

[Neo.X]

I am around 65, I don't know how to break this, it looks like a bottleneck for me. 

[Insy]

I am around 65, I don't know how to break this, it looks like a bottleneck for me. 

I can't recommend typeracer.com enough; I went from about 120 wpm avg to 150, and I bet with people starting from a lower speed can get even better gains.

[Keyboarder]

stuck around 110-120

[Amarok]

According to typeracer:

Last 10: 75 WPM
All time: 73.2
Best: 90

[Quark]

Around 120wpm, when I'm working for long period... 160wpm at sprint speed.

Hey while I'm here could one of the younger geekhack members tell me what a "finger roll" is? I've seen it mentioned here and elsewhere....  Didn't think it was worth starting a new thread for it...

[never4getthis]

Around 120wpm, when I'm working for long period... 160wpm at sprint speed.

Hey while I'm here could one of the younger geekhack members tell me what a "finger roll" is? I've seen it mentioned here and elsewhere....  Didn't think it was worth starting a new thread for it...

It comes down to balanced typing or rolling. Balanced typing refers to the typing you would find in a typewriter. Where the layout of the keyboard forces you to type consecutive letters with different hands (because they are in opposite sides of the board). Rolling typing refers to the opposite, where the layout allows "rolling" - where with one hand you can type a whole word. For example, in a QWERTY layout, if you type "are" you only use your left hand. And when you type the last two letters (i.e. "r"-"e") your hand does an outward roll movement.

Some people don't like this because a outward roll movement can reduce speed. I personally dont give a ****, I actually prefer rolling as it feels more natural. I'm not sure at all but I think that DVORAK has more rolls.

[davkol]

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[Rafen]

I was using typeracer.com for a while and i noticed a huge increase in  speed and accuracy. I think this is one of the reasons why I type as fast as I do now. If I didn't use that site I would probably still be typing like 30 or 40 wpm.

The other software that I used when I first was learning how to touch type was the Mavis Beacon Learn to type software. It was fairly cheap and got me use to using the home row and typing with the correct fingers. The software does have some games but nothing worth writing home about.

[Juerd]

It's interesting that apparently none of you use http://speedtest.aoeu.nl/

As the author of that one, it makes me wonder if you simply never heard of it, or if there's something wrong with it. Also, I'd love to hear your WPM or CPM scores with this test, in comparison to what you get with the other tests. It'll probably be a bit higher since I've only used very simple words and no punctuation.

The reason for creating yet another typing speed test, was to collect statistics in order to get percentile ranks. As you can tell from the histogram on the page, the curve isn't quite symmetrical.

By the way, my own highscore is 648 CPM (130 WPM).

[aeta]

I have no idea how anyone types so fast...

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Hehe, I'm at a whopping 202 CPM, or 40 WPM.  Yeah, I type dirt slow.

[Juerd]

I'm assuming you already have a great keyboard, so there's no room for any big improvement in that area...

With typing tests, one thing that really helps is to read ahead. When you're typing the nth word, you should be reading the (n+1)th word or even the (n+2)th one. Apart from that, it's a matter of skill, and that can probably only be improved by years and years of practice.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I'm just too lazy to learn how to type properly.

[Juerd]

What a waste of nice keyboards!

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

What a waste of nice keyboards!

Just because I can't type properly doesn't mean I can't type at all. And it's not a waste. At least to me it isn't...

[Juerd]

You're not using the entire typing mechanism (your hands, your keyboards) to its full potential, and even though you're obviously okay with that (and proud of your laziness, what's with that?) you could do better if you wanted to!

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

My ADHD has a lot to do with it... but I've just learned to accept it for what it is.

[Juerd]

Are you saying that ADHD causes laziness?

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Not at all. However, the inattentiveness from the ADHD combined with my extreme laziness makes it difficult for me to learn things that I have no interest in learning.

[swagpiratex]

Not at all. However, the inattentiveness from the ADHD combined with my extreme laziness makes it difficult for me to learn things that I have no interest in learning.

I deal with this problem everyday. You know how the Hulk is just angry all the time? The trick I've learned is that we must trick ourselves into wanting to do it, whether it's rewarding yourself or drugs or otherwise.

[R54]

On typeracer I'm about 85 and on 10 fast fingers about 95. I tend to average something like 70 when I'm just doing casual forum posts, since it's not like I'm working for a paper deadline or something.

[dorkvader]

It's interesting that apparently none of you use http://speedtest.aoeu.nl/

As the author of that one, it makes me wonder if you simply never heard of it, or if there's something wrong with it. Also, I'd love to hear your WPM or CPM scores with this test, in comparison to what you get with the other tests. It'll probably be a bit higher since I've only used very simple words and no punctuation.

The reason for creating yet another typing speed test, was to collect statistics in order to get percentile ranks. As you can tell from the histogram on the page, the curve isn't quite symmetrical.

By the way, my own highscore is 648 CPM (130 WPM).

I haven't heard of it.

I'm assuming you already have a great keyboard, so there's no room for any big improvement in that area...

With typing tests, one thing that really helps is to read ahead. When you're typing the nth word, you should be reading the (n+1)th word or even the (n+2)th one. Apart from that, it's a matter of skill, and that can probably only be improved by years and years of practice.

The same is true of Origami (as noted by Kunihiko Kasahara, for one). I read really super fast, so It's not a problem for me. If could read a whole line at a glance, then look down and type it all. This is how I used to type, though now I'm getting better at using all my fingers (the only reason for me to look down is to get my bearings, and make sure my fingers are in the right place, A big concern if you only use 6 fingers max to type.)

My only problem with "learning" is motivating myself if I'm not actually learning anything. This is not laziness, but a lack of it! Instead of wasting time not learning, I spent it reading and learning about new things in a similar field. I try to spend as much time as I can learning or sharing.

[WhiteFireDragon]

Around 90 under pressure, but when I have some slack, I honestly think I'm only typing like 50 wpm on forums lol. When I have papers due or in a rush to get work done, I think it's more like 70-80wpm.

[never4getthis]

I dont know about you guys but I a a student so I am constantly having to type essays.  But I have a speed of 50 wpm and I have noticed that when I am typing something and also thinking about it I don not type without stopping since I have to think about complicated subjects. So basically, what matters to me is my peak typing speed since I only type when i know EXACTLY what i am going to type (unless i am copying somethign from paper to the computer).

One thing that typing tests have really improved is my style of typing and gettin everything right the first time.

[Insy]

And here's an example of some typing:

[swagpiratex]

The number of races you have under your belt is quite impressive.

[oneproduct]

If you look at my profile, my all time WPM average is considerably lower because I started using typeracer to learn Colemak, so I still have to average out all those races where I was typing at like half this speed.

On 10fastfingers.com I do about 10 WPM more or so since the words there are easier.

[Sinzz]

hmm.. apparently I type faster with MX blacks than I do with MX Blues. 97wpm with blacks, and 75wpm with blues. these are the best of 3 tests.

[Keyboarder]

hmm.. apparently I type faster with MX blacks than I do with MX Blues. 97wpm with blacks, and 75wpm with blues. these are the best of 3 tests.

Perhaps it's due to the changing of switches? Sometimes when I switch between my Model M and MX Blues my speed dips a bit too before it gets back up.

[cleeoo]

Max recorded on there is 135, but I think I can go a bit faster, depending on what I'm typing. I haven't done a race in a while though.

Insy, that is very impressive. Especially considering you don't use proper touch typing form (or it appears that way), and it looks like you have to move your hand a fair bit sometimes to activate the middle top row keys. I don't use proper technique, as I use my right hand for 'b' as well, and I never use the left shift key to type capital letters.

[tp4tissue]

I think most of these test mean jack-sh... because if you guys are taking them over and over again, it becomes practiced.

So, essentially when you have a precog. awareness of what you're typing, it is no longer off the wall.

For example, Insy's been a member of typeracer for many years, but the Texts on the site has not changed, there are only about 30 different strings,

so he's essentially typing the same 30 lines of text over and over again.

Notice sean wrona's average sustained speed over an hour is only 150 or so, while he can burst 230 on practiced material such as typeracer


Which is why sustained speeds on NON-practiced text is the truer measure.

For example, using the 1 hour tests on Hi-games. but of course their library is limited as well.

[cleeoo]

True, but that also applies to each individual word too. Your muscles will know how to type certain words quicker simply because it's done it over and over. It's not exactly like you're reading each individual letter and typing them as they come up with any speedtest, unless it's a speedtest that just throws a whole bunch of random characters at you (which isn't really a reflection of speed, since you're not really required to type random strings of letters and numbers).

While I can't comment, since I only ever do maybe 10-15 races on typeracer every few months when I am bored enough to do so, I doubt that people will be able to memorise every single passage of text that is on there.

At the same time though, I understand that these aren't good measures of speed as they only last 30 seconds or so. I think it would be very tough for anyone to be able to keep up their average typing speed as recorded by typeracer for a period longer than a couple of minutes.

[neuraxis]

I average out about 90 at qwerty 4-finger pecking, but I started learning touch typing/Colemak a week ago and I'm already at 40 wpm.

[karazi]

It's interesting that apparently none of you use http://speedtest.aoeu.nl/

As the author of that one, it makes me wonder if you simply never heard of it, or if there's something wrong with it. Also, I'd love to hear your WPM or CPM scores with this test, in comparison to what you get with the other tests. It'll probably be a bit higher since I've only used very simple words and no punctuation.

The reason for creating yet another typing speed test, was to collect statistics in order to get percentile ranks. As you can tell from the histogram on the page, the curve isn't quite symmetrical.

By the way, my own highscore is 648 CPM (130 WPM).

Just got same score as you on my second try.

Your score: 653 CPM (that is 131 WPM)

Nice little tool!  Not sure it captures "actual/realistic typing speed," because the words don't form sentences as humans normally type, but then again it is another interesting typing speed metric.  Pretty cool.

edit:  love the summary of typing mistakes, just noticed it.

edit2: typed on Das with browns, qwerty, no o-rings.

[jeroplane]

Mine peaks at around 95wpm on TypeRacer, but a better average would probably be 85. I've realised I'm quite an inaccurate typist, however, and this has increased recently since I've been trying to get used to my new keyboard with Cherry MX Blues after using rubber domes all my life. But I'm having a much more comfortable typing experience these days and the errors will decrease as I get used to the switches.

[tp4tissue]

Mine peaks at around 95wpm on TypeRacer, but a better average would probably be 85. I've realised I'm quite an inaccurate typist, however, and this has increased recently since I've been trying to get used to my new keyboard with Cherry MX Blues after using rubber domes all my life. But I'm having a much more comfortable typing experience these days and the errors will decrease as I get used to the switches.

The difference and increase in your performance has very little to do with the keyboard. You've improved primarily because you're actually practicing, and trying to type faster; in part to justify the purchase of your silly expensive mechanical keyboard.

We've all been there. Once the veil gets lifted, you'll realize it's a time sink hobby like any other. It's the rabbit hole as another member has put it.

[jeroplane]

Mine peaks at around 95wpm on TypeRacer, but a better average would probably be 85. I've realised I'm quite an inaccurate typist, however, and this has increased recently since I've been trying to get used to my new keyboard with Cherry MX Blues after using rubber domes all my life. But I'm having a much more comfortable typing experience these days and the errors will decrease as I get used to the switches.

The difference and increase in your performance has very little to do with the keyboard. You've improved primarily because you're actually practicing, and trying to type faster; in part to justify the purchase of your silly expensive mechanical keyboard.

We've all been there. Once the veil gets lifted, you'll realize it's a time sink hobby like any other. It's the rabbit hole as another member has put it.

I meant that the prevalence of inaccuracies in my typing has increased since I got it, which probably supports your point, but mainly it's just because of the different feel of the keyboard. Pretty sure my speed has remained the same during the switch (pun unintended).

[tp4tissue]

Mine peaks at around 95wpm on TypeRacer, but a better average would probably be 85. I've realised I'm quite an inaccurate typist, however, and this has increased recently since I've been trying to get used to my new keyboard with Cherry MX Blues after using rubber domes all my life. But I'm having a much more comfortable typing experience these days and the errors will decrease as I get used to the switches.

The difference and increase in your performance has very little to do with the keyboard. You've improved primarily because you're actually practicing, and trying to type faster; in part to justify the purchase of your silly expensive mechanical keyboard.

We've all been there. Once the veil gets lifted, you'll realize it's a time sink hobby like any other. It's the rabbit hole as another member has put it.

I meant that the prevalence of inaccuracies in my typing has increased since I got it, which probably supports your point, but mainly it's just because of the different feel of the keyboard. Pretty sure my speed has remained the same during the switch (pun unintended).

[davkol]

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum

[swagpiratex]

While not a measure of true typing speed, typeracer is great for repetition practice to gain mastery on uncommonly practiced word rolls.

[cosmonauti]

Between typeracer, 10fastfingers and that speedtest.aeou utility, I'm averaging around 75-80 wpm.

EDIT: on a rubberdome at work... we'll see how this changes soon.

[tp4tissue]

Just an update.. Now there's 10fastfingers "ADVANCE" mode, with more words, I can't get beyond 105, LOLOL...

[jwaz]

back up to 50+ in Colemak