What is the difference between gross and net WPM?

Gross WPM is the speed of everything you typed, right or wrong. Net WPM is the speed of what the test accepts after errors are taken out, so it is the lower figure. The gap between the two shows what your errors cost on that run. The word "net" is used loosely, though. One test may count only correct words, another may multiply gross by accuracy, and a third may take a penalty for each error. Read the test's own rule before you compare two scores.

This page is one part of our guide to how typing speed is measured, which sits in our overview of typing speed.

Gross counts all typing; net counts what the test accepts

Gross speed is every word typed in the time allowed. It shows how fast your fingers moved, and it does not care whether the words were right. Net speed starts from gross and removes the cost of errors. The CBSE worked example makes the difference concrete. A candidate typed 521 words in 10 minutes, a gross speed of 52.1 words per minute ¹. Of those words, 401 were correct, so net speed is 40.1 words per minute ².

In that formula, net words are the correct words only, so the incorrect words earn nothing ³. They still count toward gross. On that formula, gross stays high when you type fast and carelessly, while net falls as errors pile up.

Three tests, three net rules

The phrase "net WPM" means something slightly different on each test. The table compares three published rules.

The first two rules agree when accuracy is defined as correct words over all words. In the CBSE example, accuracy is about 77 percent, since 40.1 divided by 52.1 gives that figure ⁶. Multiplying 52.1 by 0.77 returns the same 40.1. The Iowa rule works differently. It subtracts a penalty for each error, so a single wrong word that counts as two errors costs twice as much. That is why the same keystrokes can produce different net scores on different tests.

Accuracy is a separate number, and some tests set it as a pass mark

Accuracy is the share of typing that was correct. In the CBSE example, accuracy is net divided by gross, times 100, or about 77 percent ⁶. Other tests may count characters rather than words, which changes the answer when a single word holds more than one error.

For some jobs, accuracy is a hard requirement. To pass each leg of the NCRA skills test for court reporters, a candidate must have 95 percent accuracy ⁷. On a test like that, a fast run that falls below the accuracy line does not pass, however high its gross speed.

It depends on what counts as an error

Research uses a different measure from most websites. The 2018 online study measured an uncorrected error rate: the Levenshtein edit distance between the text presented and the text typed, divided by the length of the longer string ⁸. It counts only the errors left in the final text. A mistake you fixed before moving on does not count, so a research score and a test score can differ even for the same keystrokes.

Corrections still have a cost, though. Fixing a mistake takes time, which lowers your speed even when the final text is clean. A net rule that ignores corrections will not show that time. Look at gross and net together to see how much corrections cost you on a given run.

What to do with gross and net

1. Read the net rule before you compare scores. Net on one test is not net on another.
2. Look at the gap between gross and net. A large gap means errors are costing you a lot of speed. Fix accuracy first, then push speed.
3. Use the same rule to track progress. A change in net then reflects a change in you, not in the test.
4. Check for a pass mark. Some tests require a set accuracy as well as a speed, and the accuracy line is the one that decides the result.

For the arithmetic behind the number, see the question on how words per minute is calculated. For a sense of what speeds people reach, read the guide to average typing speed. The measure of typing accuracy and the unit of words per minute are both defined in our glossary.