What Is the Average WPM? Benchmarks for Typing, Reading, and Speaking

If you are wondering what the average WPM is, the honest answer is: it depends on what you are measuring. Typing, reading, and speaking all use WPM, but their averages are very different.

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Quick answer: what is the average WPM?

Typing: around 40 WPM for many adults on a keyboard.
Silent reading: roughly 238 WPM (non-fiction) to 260 WPM (fiction) for adults in English.
Reading aloud: roughly 183 WPM on average.
Speaking: often around 130 to 160 WPM for comfortable presentations and everyday speech.

These are benchmarks, not rules. Limits can change—check the platform help center for the latest. For WPM benchmarks, also check the test provider's documentation for methodology updates.

Average WPM benchmarks by activity

Use this table to sanity-check your own number. If you are far above or below, it usually means your test setup (text difficulty, accuracy rules, or timing) is different.

Activity	Typical average WPM	What it means in real life
Typing on a keyboard	~40 WPM	Common baseline for general computer use; accuracy rules can lower your net WPM.
Typing on a phone	~36 WPM	Thumb typing is often slower than a full keyboard, but autocorrect can blur the measurement.
Silent reading (adult, English)	~238 to 260 WPM	Typical comprehension-focused reading speed, varying by text type.
Reading aloud	~183 WPM	Slower than silent reading because articulation adds friction.
Public speaking (comfortable)	~130 to 160 WPM	A clear pace for talks; complex topics often need the slower end.
Audiobook-style narration	~150 to 160 WPM	Fast enough to feel natural, slow enough to stay understandable.
Handwriting (copying)	~13 WPM	Handwriting is dramatically slower than typing for most adults.

What WPM actually measures

WPM stands for words per minute. It is a simple rate: how many words you process (type, read, or speak) in 60 seconds. But different activities define a 'word' differently.

Typing tests: many use a standardized word length of 5 characters (including spaces and punctuation). That makes WPM comparable across different word lists.
Reading and speaking: WPM usually means actual words in the text or transcript.

How to calculate your WPM (no tools needed)

You only need two numbers: total words and total time in minutes.

Formula: WPM = words / minutes.
Example: If you write 450 words in 15 minutes, your writing speed is 450 / 15 = 30 WPM.

Step-by-step: measure typing WPM in 2 minutes

Open any text passage (about 200 to 300 words) that you did not memorize.
Set a timer for 60 seconds.
Type the passage as accurately as you can for the full minute.
Count how many words you typed (or count characters and divide by 5 if you want a standardized typing-test number).
Repeat 3 times and average the results. Your day-to-day speed is usually closer to your average than your best run.

Step-by-step: measure reading WPM in 3 minutes

Pick a page of non-fiction (a news article or a textbook page works well).
Start a timer and read silently at normal comprehension speed.
Stop when you finish and note the minutes and seconds.
Divide the word count by the time in minutes.

If you want a more honest number, add a quick comprehension check: write down 3 bullet points from what you read. If you cannot summarize it, you were likely skimming rather than reading.

Write to any length faster

Rephrase, shorten, or expand drafts when you need to fit a word or character target.

Try QuillBot

What is a good WPM?

'Good' depends on your goal. If you are job-typing, you may care about sustained speed with high accuracy. If you are a student, you may care more about reading comprehension. If you are a creator, you may care about speaking pace so your audience can follow.

Everyday typing: 40 WPM is a common baseline; 60 WPM is often considered strong for general office work.
Skilled typing: 70 to 90 WPM is fast for most knowledge work, especially if accuracy stays high.
Reading for understanding: around 200 to 300 WPM is typical for many adults, depending on text complexity.
Speaking: around 130 to 160 WPM is a common comfort zone for presentations.

How to use WPM (so it actually helps you)

WPM is most useful when you turn it into planning numbers. Here are three practical ways writers, students, and marketers use it.

1) Estimate reading time and writing time

Reading time: words / reading WPM = minutes.
Speaking time: words / speaking WPM = minutes.
Drafting time: words / writing WPM = minutes (then add editing time).

Example: a 1,200-word article read silently at 240 WPM takes about 5 minutes. The same 1,200 words spoken at 150 WPM takes about 8 minutes.

2) Set a realistic daily output goal

If you draft at 25 WPM for 30 focused minutes, you can produce roughly 750 words per session. If you do that 4 times per week, that is roughly 3,000 draft words weekly before editing.

3) Spot friction points (accuracy, complexity, or structure)

If your typing WPM is fine but your writing WPM is low, the bottleneck is usually thinking and structuring, not fingers. If your reading WPM drops on certain topics, vocabulary and concept density are likely the issue.

How to improve your WPM (without turning it into a grind)

Improve typing WPM

Prioritize accuracy first: net WPM (with errors) is what matters in real work.
Fix your setup: a comfortable keyboard height and neutral wrists reduce fatigue.
Practice the right thing: short daily sessions beat occasional long ones.
Stop hunting and pecking: touch typing or consistent finger mapping is the biggest unlock.

Improve reading WPM (and keep comprehension)

Preview first: read headings and first sentences before you dive in.
Reduce regressions: if you re-read lines often, slow down slightly and increase focus.
Match speed to purpose: scan for answers, but read slowly for dense arguments.

Improve speaking WPM

Write for the ear: shorter sentences and fewer nested clauses lower your effective WPM.
Build pauses: pauses improve understanding without changing word count.
Practice with a metronome: aim for 130 to 160 WPM, then adjust to your audience.

Mistakes to avoid when comparing WPM

Mixing net and gross WPM: a sloppy 75 WPM can be slower in reality than a clean 55 WPM.
Comparing different test texts: common words produce higher WPM than technical vocabulary.
Ignoring device and layout: phone keyboards, language settings, and autocorrect change results.
Chasing a single high score: your median over multiple runs is the number that predicts your day.

When your goal is a word or character target, WPM is only half the story

In content work, speed is not just about producing words. It is also about reshaping them: tightening intros, trimming meta descriptions, or expanding bullet points into full paragraphs. If you want a faster way to rephrase and resize text while keeping the meaning, a writing assistant can help. One option is QuillBot, which is useful when you need to shorten or expand text to hit a target length without starting from scratch.

For more workflows like this, see Writing tools and review the basics in Character count basics.

Tighten copy without losing meaning

Shorten text

FAQ: average WPM questions

What is the average typing speed (WPM)?

Many sources cite roughly 40 WPM as a typical average for adult typing on a keyboard, with higher speeds common in roles that type all day.

Is 50 WPM good?

For general school or office work, 50 WPM is usually solid. If your accuracy is high and you can sustain it for long sessions, it is even more useful than a short burst of faster typing.

Is 100 WPM fast?

Yes. For most people, 100 WPM is an advanced typing speed and well above typical day-to-day averages.

What is the average reading speed in WPM?

A large meta-analysis often cited in reading research estimates adult silent reading in English at about 238 WPM for non-fiction and 260 WPM for fiction, with wide variation depending on the reader and the text.

What is the average speaking rate in WPM?

For presentations and clear speech, many speaking guides recommend a range around 130 to 160 WPM, adjusting slower for complex ideas and faster for simple stories.

How do I calculate WPM from characters?

Many typing tests standardize one word as 5 characters (including spaces). To estimate WPM from characters, take total characters typed, divide by 5 to get standardized words, then divide by minutes.

Why is my WPM lower in real work than in a test?

Real work includes thinking, navigating, editing, and correcting mistakes. Tests remove much of that friction, so your sustained real-world WPM is often lower than your best test score.

Conclusion: the number to remember

If you only want a quick baseline, remember this: typing averages are often around 40 WPM, silent reading averages are often in the 200 to 300 WPM range, and speaking for clarity often lands around 130 to 160 WPM. From there, measure your own WPM the same way each time, track your average, and improve the bottleneck that matters for your work.