Typing vs Speaking: How Much Faster Could You Write?
Take the 60 second test below to measure your typing speed in WPM. Then see the part most speed tests skip: how your fingers compare to your voice. People speak around 150 words per minute. The average person types 40.
(WPM)
your voice is
What is a good typing speed?
The average typing speed is about 40 words per minute. Office professionals usually land between 50 and 70 WPM. Anything above 60 is good, above 80 is fast, and above 100 is exceptional. Accuracy matters as much as raw speed: a fast typist with sloppy accuracy spends the saved time fixing mistakes.
| Speed | Rating |
|---|---|
| Under 30 WPM | Below average |
| 30 to 50 WPM | Average |
| 50 to 70 WPM | Good (typical office professional) |
| 70 to 100 WPM | Fast |
| 100+ WPM | Exceptional |
| ~150 WPM | Average speaking speed |
Why compare typing to speaking?
Because your voice is the writing tool you already own and almost never use. Conversational speech runs about 150 words per minute. Even a fast 80 WPM typist writes at barely half their talking pace, and the average typist at 40 WPM is going almost 4x slower than they speak.
That gap used to not matter because dictation software was clumsy. On device speech models changed that: they are fast, accurate, and private. For first drafts, messages, emails, notes, and AI prompts, speaking is simply the faster input. Keyboards still win for editing and code.
Frequently asked questions
How is WPM calculated?
The standard formula counts every 5 characters typed (including spaces) as one word, then divides by the minutes elapsed. This test counts only correctly typed characters, so errors do not inflate your score.
How fast do people speak?
Conversational English runs about 150 words per minute, with a typical range of 120 to 160. Audiobook narration is slower (about 130) and auctioneers famously hit 250 or more.
Is dictation really faster than typing?
For drafting, yes. Speaking at 150 WPM is about 3x faster than typing at 40 to 50 WPM. The catch used to be accuracy, but modern on device models transcribe everyday speech reliably. If you write a lot every day, the hours add up fast: that is exactly what the calculator above shows.
What tool do I use to write by voice on a Mac?
I built OpenFlow, a free and open source dictation app for macOS. Hold a key, speak, release: your words land wherever your cursor is. It runs on device, so nothing you say leaves your machine, and there is no subscription.