Typing experiments · Questionable life choices
Phone vs Keyboard Typing Speed: How to Compare Your WPM
We built a website to help people type better on keyboards. Then we made it work on phones. Yes, the irony has been brought to our attention. By us. Repeatedly.
October 28, 2026 · Typing experiments
Can you compare phone WPM with keyboard WPM?
You can measure both, but the scores describe different input skills. For a useful comparison, keep test duration and passage difficulty similar, record accuracy, and note whether predictions or autocorrect are enabled. Compare progress within each input method rather than treating the two scores as interchangeable.
Record these details for each test
- Device and input method: touchscreen, physical keyboard, or connected keyboard.
- Duration and passage category: use the same settings for each attempt.
- WPM and accuracy: keep both numbers, including slower attempts.
- Assistance: note autocorrect, predictions, or swipe input where available.
WPMTest calculates WPM as correct characters divided by five, divided by elapsed minutes. For example, 250 correct characters in one minute equals 50 WPM. See the scoring guide with worked examples before comparing results from different tools.
A keyboard typing website that works on a phone. We know. We also own mirrors.
Wait. Isn't this a little ridiculous?
Absolutely. Imagine opening a swimming lesson website and discovering a course on how to walk around the pool. Technically relevant? Sure. A little absurd? Also sure.
But here's the thing: typing on a physical keyboard and typing on a touchscreen are different skills. On a keyboard, you can learn finger placement, build muscle memory, and eventually type without staring at your hands like they've betrayed you. On a phone, you're dealing with thumbs, tiny targets, predictive text, and autocorrect—that well-meaning friend who changes the entire meaning of your sentence.
The great keyboard-versus-phone showdown
We propose a deeply unscientific but genuinely entertaining experiment. Take a one-minute test on a physical keyboard. Then take the mobile version on your phone. Compare words per minute and accuracy. Try not to blame the equipment if your thumbs lose.
Round one · Ten fingers
Keyboard typing test
Give your actual keyboard a chance to show off. No autocorrect safety net.
Round two · Thumb Olympics
Mobile typing test
Now bring out the tiny glass rectangle you use for everything, including arguments you probably should not send.
How to make it a fair fight
Use the same time limit and similar passage difficulty. Keep your normal typing settings, but note whether autocorrect or predictive suggestions are on. Those features can change the result. The two tests are a fun comparison, not a laboratory-grade measure of raw finger speed.
Why the mobile test actually belongs here
People write on phones constantly: messages, work chats, emails, notes, and the occasional 800-word text that should have been a phone call. Being quick and accurate on a touchscreen matters too. And if someone arrives on their phone, we're not going to make them find a laptop just to have fun.
So yes, we teach keyboard typing and let you take a typing test on a phone. We're comfortable with the contradiction. It's called range.
One last challenge
Ask a friend to do both tests. The winner gets bragging rights. The loser gets a very exciting opportunity for personal growth.
Try the mobile typing test or defend your keyboard's honor. Either way, we promise not to judge your thumbs. Much.