How to type faster

Typing speed grows from accuracy, rhythm and familiarity with common letter patterns. Pushing harder on your fingers rarely helps; practising the right way does.

Start with an honest baseline

Take three one-minute tests and note the average WPM and accuracy. Retest weekly under the same conditions so you can see what is working.

Accuracy first

Every mistake costs the error, the Backspace and the retype. At 95% accuracy, one character in twenty is wasted effort. Raising accuracy is the quickest speed gain for most people.

Find a steady rhythm

Fast typists keep a smooth, even pace rather than rushing easy words and stalling on hard ones. Try typing a passage at a steady beat, even if that feels slow on easy words. Large research on typing found that fast typists often press the next key before releasing the previous one, which comes naturally once movements are fluent.

Practise in short bursts

Use 15- or 30-second tests to type slightly faster than comfortable, then a normal-length test at your usual pace. The bursts stretch your speed; the longer test checks that accuracy holds.

Learn the common words

A small set of words such as "the", "and", "that", "with" and "have" make up a large share of everyday text. Typing them as a single movement rather than letter by letter saves time everywhere. The common words drill focuses on these.

Breaking a plateau

• Change the material: punctuation, numbers and capitals are often the hidden slow spots.
• Drill weak keys: check your progress page and use adaptive practice.
• Check your technique: if you still look down or use only a few fingers, touch typing lessons raise your ceiling.
• Rest: skill often improves after a day or two off.

Set realistic targets

Aim for a few WPM of improvement per month at the same accuracy. Gains are fastest at the beginning and slow down as you approach your natural ceiling, which is normal.

Reviewed October 2026 · How we write our guides · Suggest a correction