Is 85 WPM Good?

85 WPM

Fast. Faster than about 97% of typists.

Yes, 85 WPM is fast. This is professional speed, enough for nearly any job that involves typing, including most legal and medical secretary roles.

Think you can beat 85 WPM?

Punctuation

1:000 wpm100% accuracy

Practicefortenminutesadayandyouwillnoticethedifferencewithinafewweeks.Speedcomesfromrhythm,notfromrushing.Agoodtypistdoesnotlookatthekeyboard.

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What 85 WPM looks like in real life

Characters per minute	425
Keystrokes per hour	25,500
A 150 word email	1.8 minutes
A one page letter (500 words)	5.9 minutes
A 2,000 word essay	23.5 minutes
A 50,000 word novel draft	9 h 48 min

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

Jobs where 85 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 85 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 85 to 95 WPM

At this level, gains come from rhythm and reading ahead. Keep your eyes two or three words ahead and practice difficult letter pairs. Read the full guide on how to type faster.