Fact · Typing and writing speed
12times characters per second
To convert characters per second into words per minute, multiply by 60 seconds per minute and divide by 5 characters per word, which is the same as multiplying by 12.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“The transformation requires multiplying the entry speed in cps by 60 seconds/minute and dividing by 5 characters/word.”
A Note on Calculating Text Entry Speed, I. Scott MacKenzie, York University, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (author's research note), 2002, Words Per Minute.
Open the original- What it measures
- MacKenzie's note explains the standard conversion used in text entry research for more than a century.
- What it does not show
- The conversion assumes the word is five characters. It says nothing about errors, which must be handled separately.