Is 40 WPM Good?

40 WPM

Average. Faster than about 50% of typists.

Yes. 40 WPM is around the average adult typing speed. It is fine for school and everyday computer use, and meets the requirement for many entry-level office jobs.

Think you can beat 40 WPM?

Punctuation

1:000 wpm100% accuracy

Practicefortenminutesadayandyouwillnoticethedifferencewithinafewweeks.Speedcomesfromrhythm,notfromrushing.Agoodtypistdoesnotlookatthekeyboard.

Click here or just start typingTap here to start typing

Tab or Esc restarts · the timer starts on your first keystroke

What 40 WPM looks like in real life

Characters per minute	200
Keystrokes per hour	12,000
A 150 word email	3.8 minutes
A one page letter (500 words)	12.5 minutes
A 2,000 word essay	50 minutes
A 50,000 word novel draft	20 h 50 min

Pure typing time at a steady pace, not counting thinking and editing.

Jobs where 40 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 40 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 40 to 50 WPM

Focus on accuracy above 96% and look at the problem keys after each test. Most people at this level lose more time to backspace than to slow fingers. Read the full guide on how to type faster.