Fact · Typing and writing speed
4.2times
If speech runs at 153 words per minute, it is about 4.2 times the 36.2 words per minute average of phone typists in the 2019 online study. The two studies have different participants and tasks, so this is arithmetic, not a measured comparison.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
- What it measures
- Shows how the multiplier depends on the typing baseline. The phone keyboard average is the lower of the two baselines in this guide.
- How it is calculated
- 153 / 36.2 = 4.2
Calculated from
- In a controlled study on an iPhone, English text entered by speech reached 153 words per minute, against 52 words per minute on the built-in keyboard, 2.93 times faster.
- 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.