Is 20 WPM Good?
20 WPM
Beginner. Faster than about 4% of typists.
No, not yet. 20 WPM is a beginner speed, below the adult average of about 40 WPM. The good news: beginners improve fastest, and learning to touch type can double this within a couple of months.
Think you can beat 20 WPM?
What 20 WPM looks like in real life
| Characters per minute | 100 |
| Keystrokes per hour | 6,000 |
| A 150 word email | 7.5 minutes |
| A one page letter (500 words) | 25 minutes |
| A 2,000 word essay | 1 h 40 min |
| A 50,000 word novel draft | 41 h 40 min |
Pure typing time at a steady pace, not counting thinking and editing.
Jobs where 20 WPM is enough
- ⬜ General office, receptionist (often 35+ WPM)
- ⬜ Customer service and live chat (often 40+ WPM)
- ⬜ Administrative assistant (often 45+ WPM)
- ⬜ Executive assistant (often 50+ WPM)
- ⬜ Legal and medical secretary (often 60+ WPM)
- ⬜ Transcriptionist (often 65+ WPM)
- ⬜ Fast-turnaround transcription and captioning (keyboard) (often 80+ WPM)
How 20 WPM compares
| Speed | Level | Faster than |
|---|---|---|
| 0–24 WPM | Beginner | 0–10% |
| 25–39 WPM | Developing | 12–47% |
| 40–54 WPM | Average | 50–77% |
| 55–69 WPM | Above average | 79–91% |
| 70–89 WPM | Fast | 92–98% |
| 90–109 WPM | Very fast | 98–99.4% |
| 110–129 WPM | Expert | 99.4–99.8% |
| 130+ WPM | Elite | 99.8–99.9% |
Percentiles are estimates based on published averages for adult typists (about 40 WPM on a keyboard). See the research.
How to get from 20 to 30 WPM
Learn proper touch typing first: fingers on the home row, eyes on the screen. Ten minutes a day beats an hour once a week. Read the full guide on how to type faster.
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Frequently asked questions
Is 20 WPM good?
No, not yet. 20 WPM is a beginner speed, below the adult average of about 40 WPM. The good news: beginners improve fastest, and learning to touch type can double this within a couple of months.
How many characters per minute is 20 WPM?
20 WPM is 100 characters per minute, because one word is counted as five characters.
How many keystrokes per hour is 20 WPM?
About 6,000 keystrokes per hour, before counting backspaces and corrections.
How long does it take to type 1,000 words at 20 WPM?
About 50 minutes of continuous typing.