Typing Speed on Phone: How to Measure It Fairly and Type Faster With Your Thumbs

Most of us type more on a phone than on a computer, yet almost nobody knows their phone typing speed. That is partly because phone typing is harder to measure fairly: autocorrect fixes mistakes for you, predictive text finishes words, and swipe typing does not use keystrokes at all. This guide shows you how to get an honest phone number, how to compare it with your keyboard speed and how to get faster with your thumbs.

How typing speed is measured (the same rule applies on a phone)

Typing speed is usually reported in words per minute (WPM), where one "word" is counted as five characters, including spaces and punctuation. That standard word length keeps results fair whether you type long words or short ones.

Gross WPM = (characters typed ÷ 5) ÷ minutes

Net WPM goes one step further and subtracts uncorrected errors. Our guide to how WPM is calculated walks through both versions in detail. The good news is that the same formula works on a phone. You only need a passage, a timer and a way to count characters.

A do-it-yourself phone typing test

Many typing tests, including ours, are built for a physical keyboard. If you want a phone result you can trust, this simple method works with any notes app:

1. Pick a passage you have not memorized, such as a paragraph from a news article or a book. Keep it open on a second screen or on paper.
2. Turn off autocorrect and predictive text for the test (you can turn them back on afterward). This shows your real accuracy instead of the phone's.
3. Set a timer for 1 minute and copy the passage into a blank note, exactly as written.
4. Stop when the timer ends. Do not fix anything after time is up.
5. Count the characters. Paste your text into a free online character counter, or use the word-count feature in a document app, which usually shows characters including spaces.
6. Count the errors by comparing your text with the original. Count each wrong, missing or extra word as one error.

Then do the math.

Worked example

You type for 1 minute and produce 190 characters with 3 uncorrected word errors.

• Gross WPM: 190 ÷ 5 = 38 WPM
• Net WPM: 38 − 3 = 35 WPM

If you test for 2 minutes instead, divide by 2 at the end. For example, 400 characters in 2 minutes is 400 ÷ 5 = 80 words, and 80 ÷ 2 = 40 WPM. Longer tests smooth out a lucky or unlucky start, so a 2- or 3-minute test gives a steadier number.

Why your phone and keyboard scores will not match

It is normal for your phone result to differ from your keyboard result, and the gap tells you something useful.

• Two thumbs versus eight or ten fingers. On a keyboard, touch typists spread the work across all fingers. On a phone, two thumbs (or one) do everything, so each thumb travels more.
• No physical feedback. Real keys tell your fingers where they are. Glass does not, so most people keep looking at the screen keyboard.
• Smaller targets. Phone keys are small and close together, which makes neighbor-key mistakes more likely.
• Switching keyboards for symbols. Numbers and punctuation often sit on a second layout, which costs an extra tap every time.

Because of these differences, compare your phone result with your own earlier phone results, not with keyboard charts. If you want to see where your keyboard speed stands, our average typing speed guide explains how to judge it.

Autocorrect, predictive text and swipe typing

Your everyday phone speed and your "raw" test speed can be very different, and both are worth knowing.

• Autocorrect quietly fixes typos. It can make you faster in daily use, but it can also swap in the wrong word, which you then have to notice and fix.
• Predictive text suggests the next word. Tapping a suggestion can save several letters, especially for long words, names and common phrases.
• Swipe (glide) typing lets you drag your thumb across letters instead of tapping. Speed is still measured the same way: count the characters that end up on the screen and divide by five.

A fair way to handle this is to run two tests: one with all helpers off (your raw skill) and one with your normal settings (your real-world speed). If the second number is much higher, your phone's helpers are doing a lot of work for you. If it is lower, autocorrect may be fighting you, and it may help to add common words and names to your phone's dictionary.

How to type faster on a phone

These habits make a difference for most people. Try one or two at a time and retest after a week.

1. Use both thumbs

If you type with one thumb or one finger, switching to two thumbs is usually the biggest single change. Hold the phone in both hands, let the left thumb cover the left half of the keyboard and the right thumb cover the right half. It feels slow for a few days, then it starts to feel natural.

2. Stop correcting every letter

Many slow phone typists stop to fix each typo the moment it happens. Try finishing the word or sentence first, then fix it once, or let autocorrect handle obvious slips. Constant backspacing breaks your rhythm.

3. Learn the shortcuts your keyboard already has

Most phone keyboards include time-savers that people never use:

• Double-tap the space bar to add a period and a space at the end of a sentence (on many keyboards).
• Long-press a letter to get accented characters or a number.
• Long-press the space bar (on many phones) to move the cursor, which is faster than tapping exactly between letters.
• Set up text shortcuts for phrases you type often, such as your email address or "On my way!"

The exact options depend on your phone and keyboard app, so check its settings.

4. Try swipe typing for a week

Swipe typing suits some people very well, especially for longer messages. Give it an honest week before deciding, because the first few days are always slower.

5. Adjust the keyboard to your hands

Many keyboards let you change the height or size of the keys, turn on key-press sounds or vibration, or use a one-handed mode on large phones. Small changes like larger keys can reduce neighbor-key errors.

6. Practice with real sentences

Short, regular practice beats long sessions. Copy a paragraph for 2–3 minutes a day using the test method above and write down your result. Seeing the number move is the best motivation.

Should you practice on a phone or a keyboard?

It depends on what you need. For schoolwork, office jobs and typing tests for job applications, keyboard skill matters far more, because that is how those tests are taken. Our step-by-step plan to type faster and our touch typing guide are the best place to start for that. For messaging and everyday life, a little phone practice is enough to make texting less frustrating.

The two skills do not really compete. Learning to touch type on a keyboard will not slow down your thumbs, and practicing on your phone will not hurt your keyboard speed.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check my typing speed on my phone?

Copy an unfamiliar passage into a notes app for 1 minute, count the characters (including spaces), divide by 5 to get gross WPM, then subtract one for each uncorrected word error to get net WPM.

Is phone typing speed the same as keyboard typing speed?

No. They use the same formula, but phone typing relies on thumbs, small keys and software helpers, so the numbers are not directly comparable. Compare phone results with your own earlier phone results.

Does autocorrect count when testing phone typing speed?

It depends on what you want to know. Turn it off to measure your raw skill, and leave it on to measure your everyday speed. Running both tests shows how much your phone is helping.

Is swipe typing faster than tapping?

For some people it is, and for others it is not. Try it for a week, test yourself with the same method and keep whichever gives you the better net WPM.

Can I take your typing test on a phone?

Our test is designed for a physical keyboard, which is how most school and job typing tests are taken. For a phone result, use the do-it-yourself method in this guide.

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