What Is WPM? Words Per Minute Explained
1 September 2026 · 4 min read
WPM stands for words per minute. It is the standard way to measure typing speed.
A "word" is five characters
Because real words vary in length, typing tests use a standard word of five characters, including spaces and punctuation. Typing "The meeting is at ten." (22 characters) counts as 4.4 words, whatever the actual word count.
Gross WPM
Gross WPM is your raw speed: (all characters typed ÷ 5) ÷ minutes. It includes characters you typed wrongly and even ones you later deleted.
Net WPM
Net WPM adjusts for mistakes you left in: ((characters in your final text ÷ 5) − uncorrected errors) ÷ minutes. Each uncorrected error costs one word per minute. This is the figure most employers care about.
A worked example
In a 1-minute test you type 260 characters, leaving 250 characters of final text with 4 uncorrected errors.
- Gross WPM = 260 ÷ 5 ÷ 1 = 52
- Net WPM = (250 ÷ 5 − 4) ÷ 1 = 46
How Typing Gauge uses WPM
Typing Gauge shows both figures and uses net WPM in your Job Readiness Score, alongside accuracy and consistency. Try the WPM test to see your own numbers.