What Is a Good Typing Speed? Average WPM for Students, Office Jobs & Exams
Most adults who type regularly on a computer reach around 35–40 words per minute. But “good” depends on your goal – a student, a data-entry operator and a court stenographer have very different targets.
Typing speed levels
| Net WPM | Level | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0–20 | Beginner | Usually looking at the keyboard (hunt and peck) |
| 20–30 | Basic | Enough for emails; below most exam standards |
| 30–40 | Average / exam-ready | Clears most clerk-level typing tests with good accuracy |
| 40–60 | Good | Comfortable for office, data-entry and content jobs |
| 60–80 | Fast | Professional typists, programmers, writers |
| 80+ | Excellent | Competition-level typing |
Speed needed for popular Indian exams
- SSC CHSL: 35 WPM English / 30 WPM Hindi – guide
- SSC CGL DEST: 2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes (≈27 WPM) – guide
- MP CPCT: 30 net WPM English / 20 net WPM Hindi – guide
Other recruitments (courts, state boards, police clerical posts) set their own standards – check each notification.
Accuracy matters as much as speed
45 WPM with 85% accuracy is worse than 35 WPM with 98% accuracy, because every wrong word must be corrected later – and in exams it is penalised. Aim for 95% or higher.
Hindi vs English speed
Hindi Unicode typing needs more keystrokes per word (matras, halant), so Hindi speed in WPM is usually 20–30% lower than English for the same person. That is why exams set lower Hindi targets.
Find your speed in 60 seconds
Take the free 1-minute English typing test or the Hindi typing test. Do three tests and take the average – a single test can be lucky or unlucky.
Is 30 WPM good?
30 WPM is average and enough for many clerk-level exams, but aim for 35–40 WPM to have a safety margin under exam pressure.
Is 50 WPM good for a job?
Yes. 50 WPM with high accuracy is above average and suitable for almost all office and data-entry roles.