Guides › WPM, CPM and KPH explained: how typing speed is measured
WPM, CPM and KPH explained: how typing speed is measured
Typing speed is reported in different units depending on the test and the job. Knowing how they relate stops you from misreading a requirement, for example a 10,000 KPH advert that is far easier than it sounds.
The three units
- WPM, words per minute. The standard for ordinary text. A typing-test word is defined as five characters, including spaces and punctuation, so a long word counts as more than one word and a short word can count as less.
- CPM, characters per minute. The count of characters you typed in one minute. Divide it by 5 to get gross words per minute.
- KPH, keystrokes per hour. Every key press counted and projected to an hour. It is used for data entry and 10-key jobs, and many tests count Enter and Tab as keystrokes.
Conversion table
| WPM | CPM | KPH |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 125 | 7,500 |
| 30 | 150 | 9,000 |
| 35 | 175 | 10,500 |
| 40 | 200 | 12,000 |
| 50 | 250 | 15,000 |
| 60 | 300 | 18,000 |
These conversions assume ordinary text. Real data entry content includes digits, codes and field changes, so a KPH test is a different task and will not match the table exactly.
How to convert
- WPM to CPM: multiply by 5.
- CPM to KPH: multiply by 60.
- WPM to KPH: multiply by 300.
- KPH to WPM: divide by 300.
Example: an advert asking for 10,000 KPH is about 33 WPM of ordinary text, which is below a typical 40 WPM office requirement.
Gross and net
All three units can be gross, counting everything you typed, or net, subtracting errors. Exams and employers care about net, or about a minimum accuracy next to the speed. A gross 50 WPM with many mistakes can be a net 35. Our guides on net versus gross WPM and how to calculate words per minute show the arithmetic in full.
Reading a job requirement
- If it says WPM, read it as net or with a stated accuracy percentage.
- If it says KPH, check whether it is alphanumeric data entry or 10-key, because they are scored separately.
- If it gives only a number with no unit, ask the employer or look at the test instructions.
Worked examples
- Example 1. You typed 600 characters in 2 minutes. That is 300 characters per minute, which is 60 gross WPM and 18,000 KPH if the text was ordinary prose.
- Example 2. An advert asks for 9,000 KPH at 97 percent accuracy. That is about 30 WPM of ordinary text, but you must also keep your mistakes to 3 in every 100 keystrokes or fewer.
- Example 3. You scored 8,400 KPH on a data entry test with many digits and field changes. A plain-text conversion would say 28 WPM, but the task is harder than prose, so do not compare the two directly.
Why different tests give different numbers
The same person often scores differently on different tests, even on the same day. The passage matters, because common short words are easier than long or technical words, and numbers and capitals slow almost everyone. The test rules matter, because some stop you from correcting errors and some do not. Whether the test counts Enter and Tab matters in KPH tests, and the length of the test matters because a 30-second burst is easier than five minutes. That is why you should compare yourself with your own previous results on a similar test, and not with a single number.
TypingNonStop has exam passages with the pass marks of real government and office jobs, net WPM, weak-word drills, lessons and games.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I convert WPM to KPH?
Multiply words per minute by 300. For example, 30 WPM is 9,000 keystrokes per hour, assuming ordinary text.
What is a word in a typing test?
Five characters, including spaces and punctuation. This standard makes scores comparable between different texts.
Is KPH the same as WPM?
No. KPH counts every keystroke over an hour and is used for data entry. It is related to WPM by a factor of 300 for ordinary text, but data entry content differs from prose.