The idea
Typing is the rare skill almost everyone uses daily and almost no one has ever measured. This instrument fixes that in thirty honest seconds: one passage, one clock, one number you can defend at dinner.
The sprint format is deliberate. Thirty seconds is short enough to try “just once more” five times in a row, and long enough that the number means something. Fair warning: the passages are about the other instruments in this museum, so you may leave with both a score and a curiosity.
How it’s measured
The clock starts at your first keystroke and runs for thirty seconds (finishing the passage early stops it, too). Your score uses the standard definition of typing speed: correctly typed characters, divided by five — the conventional “word” — divided by minutes elapsed. Accuracy is correct characters as a share of everything you typed; corrections are allowed, exactly as in real life.
Everything is measured locally in your browser: the timing, the comparison, the score. For reference, casual typists average around 40 WPM, comfortable touch-typists sit in the 60s and 70s, and professionals clear 80+. Short sprints read a little higher than long tests — burst speed is a real thing — so compare sprint scores with sprint scores.
Questions, answered
Is this fair on a phone?
The measurement is identical, but thumbs are simply slower than ten fingers, and autocorrect is disabled to keep the test honest — so expect a lower number on mobile. Compare phone scores with phone scores.
Why is my score different from other typing tests?
Test length is the main reason: a 30-second sprint rewards burst speed, while 3-minute tests measure endurance and usually read 10–15% lower. The WPM formula itself (correct characters ÷ 5 per minute) is the same standard everywhere.
Can I retake it?
As many times as you like — a fresh passage is dealt each run. Only you decide which sprint card gets shared, which is exactly how personal records have always worked.