Fact · Typing and writing speed
30percent
Average phone typing in the Palin study, 36.2 words per minute, is about 30 percent slower than average desktop typing in the Dhakal study, 51.56 words per minute.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
- How it is calculated
- 1 - 36.2 / 51.56 = 0.30, so about 30 percent slower
- What it does not show
- The two averages come from different samples, although both used the same transcription method. The ratio is approximate.
Calculated from
- In an online study of 37,370 volunteers typing on their own phones, the average speed was 36.2 words per minute, with 2.3 percent uncorrected errors.
- In a study of 136 million keystrokes from an online typing test, the average participant typed 51.56 words per minute, with a standard deviation of 20.2.