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30 second test

30 second typing test

Half a minute is long enough to be worth taking seriously and short enough to fit between two things. You get the same breakdown as the longer tests: gross speed, net speed, character accuracy, word accuracy, keystroke accuracy and an error count.

Test length
Text
Level
Time0:00
Speed0
Accuracy—
Errors0

Click Start Test to reveal the passage. The timer starts when you type your first character.

Start Test opens the test in focus mode; the timer starts when you type your first character. Backspace fixes a mistake, and Esc or Exit leaves full screen without stopping the test.

Why thirty seconds sits between a sprint and a benchmark

It is the length most people actually stick with, and there is a reason for that.

A fifteen second test is over before your hands have properly settled, and a one minute test starts to feel like a commitment. Thirty seconds lands between them. It is long enough that you have typed a dozen words before the adrenaline of the opening wears off, which is exactly the point at which your speed becomes representative, and short enough that you will run it without rearranging your afternoon.

It is also a good length for comparing two things, because you can run several of them back to back without losing patience. Switch between word, sentence and paragraph text and watch how the numbers move. Switch between your laptop keyboard and your desk keyboard and do the same. A single run is noisy, but three runs on each side makes the pattern obvious.

What to watch while the clock runs

  • Your speed stabilises after the first few seconds. If you watch the live figure, it will jump around early on and then settle. The settled number is the one that means something.
  • Your error count tells you when to slow down. Two or three mistakes in a row usually means you are typing faster than you are reading.
  • Correct characters turn dark as you go. If a stretch stays pale, you have drifted into a rhythm you are not actually reading.
  • The accuracy figure is the one to protect. Every point of character accuracy you give up costs you roughly a point and a half of net speed.

Where to go next

Once a thirty second result feels normal, move up to theone minute test for a stable benchmark, or the three minute test if you want to see how your speed behaves once the adrenaline is gone. If your accuracy is the weaker half of the score, the accuracy test is built for exactly that.

Frequently asked questions

Questions people often ask about the half minute test.

Is 30 seconds better than 15 seconds?
For most purposes, yes. Thirty seconds is long enough for the first-second effect to shrink to a sensible proportion of the run, and short enough that you will happily take it. The fifteen second test is better when you want a very quick comparison between two things.
Why do my scores keep changing between runs?
Because typing speed is affected by more than skill. The passage is different each time, your attention drifts, and the first few seconds vary. This is why it is worth running a test two or three times and looking at your best result rather than your average.
Should I fix mistakes during the test or leave them?
Fixing them is better. A corrected character raises your character accuracy, and if you do not fix it, the text after the mistake stays shifted and every following word reads as wrong. The keystroke accuracy figure still records that you made the mistake either way.
Does the score save automatically?
Your best net words per minute for each combination of length and text type is kept in your own browser. It never leaves your device, there is no account to create, and clearing your browsing data removes it.