Guides / How to type faster
How to type faster, and keep the speed
The fastest way to type faster is counterintuitive: slow down and get accurate first. Across 136 million keystrokes (Dhakal et al., CHI 2018), accuracy-first typists improved about 19% faster than speed-chasers. Practice in short daily sessions, drill the specific keys that slow you down, and let speed follow accuracy. Layout switches and fancy keyboards are optional; deliberate practice is not.
What is a good typing speed?
The average typing speed is about 52 words per minute, measured across 168,000 typists and 136 million keystrokes (Dhakal et al., CHI 2018). Anything above roughly 40 WPM is functional for daily work, 70 WPM and up is genuinely fast, and a sustained 100-plus WPM at high accuracy puts you among the quickest typists. Accuracy matters as much as the raw number.
Does accuracy or speed matter more for typing faster?
Accuracy, and it is not close. In the CHI 2018 data, typists who prioritized accuracy over raw speed improved their WPM about 19% faster than speed-first typists. Every uncorrected error also costs an estimated 3 to 5 extra keystrokes to fix once you notice it (Soukoreff & MacKenzie, CHI 2003/04), so chasing speed at the expense of accuracy is slower on net. Type it right, then type it fast.
How should you practice to type faster?
In short, regular sessions rather than marathons. One hour of practice per day produced better skill gains than longer two- to four-hour sessions in the classic distributed-practice study (Baddeley & Longman, 1978). Practice deliberately: instead of retyping words you already know, drill the specific keys and letter-pairs that slow you down, hold your accuracy high, and let speed rise on its own.
What actually makes the fastest typists fast?
Rhythm and rollover, more than finger count or keyboard. The fastest typists in the CHI 2018 study press the next key before releasing the previous one on 40 to 70 percent of keystrokes, an overlap called rollover, and they keep a steady, even pace. Consistent timing and clean overlapping keystrokes separate fast typists from slow ones far more than which layout they type on.
Should you switch keyboard layouts to type faster?
Probably not for speed alone. There is no reliable evidence that switching from QWERTY to Dvorak, Colemak, or any other layout makes you type faster: the classic study The Fable of the Keys (Liebowitz & Margolis, 1990) found no dependable Dvorak speed advantage, and layout choice matters far less than practice volume. Alternative layouts can genuinely cut finger travel and strain, so switch for hand comfort, not a speed windfall.
How long does it take to type faster?
On your current layout, expect noticeable gains within a few weeks of short daily practice, with accuracy improving before raw speed. If you switch layouts entirely, real timelines converge on roughly 8 WPM on day 1, about 53 WPM by day 30, and parity with your old speed near day 90 of consistent practice. Nothing beats regular, accuracy-first reps.
Put it into practice
Polytaipe is built on exactly this: accuracy-first scoring, short sessions, and drills that target your weakest keys and bigrams instead of the ones you already own.
Start a typing session →Keep reading: how we measure WPM, accuracy, and rollover, the keyboard layouts and their honest tradeoffs, or a head-to-head like Colemak vs QWERTY.