Is typing faster than writing by hand?

Yes. In the studies we found, typing is faster than copying by hand, by about 2.3 to one ¹. The studies come from separate groups of people, so read the ratio as an estimate rather than a head-to-head measurement.

Typing is about 2.3 times as fast as copying by hand

Typing is faster in these studies, though each figure comes from a different group of people. In a large online test, the average participant typed 51.56 words per minute ². That study drew on 136 million keystrokes, but its volunteers chose to take the test, so frequent typists are over-represented and the true population average is probably lower.

Handwriting speed comes from a 2014 study of 300 university students in South Africa. In a short copying task, their mean was 22.85 words per minute ³. Setting the two means side by side gives a typing speed about 2.3 times the copying speed ¹. No study we found has timed the same adults typing and writing by hand on the same text, so the ratio compares two samples.

Copying and composing are different tasks

The figures in the table measure how fast words reach the page from a source. Writing your own sentences is slower, because you choose each word as you go. The gap between typing and handwriting is measured for copying. For composing, planning takes about two-thirds of the time whichever method you use ⁶. The guide to writing speed covers composing rates and how they compare with copying, and how long it takes to write 1,000 words works through a full example.

The 26 and 36 word figures show that instructions change the result. Neat handwriting was 26 words per minute and fast handwriting was 36 in the sentence-copying figures that the 2014 study cites ⁵. If you time yourself, say which pace you used, because the two results are not interchangeable.

Speech is faster than both for entry

If you count speech as a third option, it is faster than typing for getting words down. 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 ⁷. The study used short phrases in a quiet room and counted the finished text, including corrections made during entry. It does not show how long a long document takes to dictate and edit. For that comparison, see is dictation faster than typing.

When handwriting is the better choice

Handwriting is slower, but it is still the right tool for some jobs:

• Signatures and forms that ask for a handwritten name.
• Diagrams, sketches and mathematical working that are easier to draw than to type.
• Quick notes you will read once and throw away, when opening a device costs more time than the note.
• Situations without a keyboard, such as a meeting where you are not using a laptop.

Whether handwriting helps you think or remember is a separate question. The research on handwritten and typed notes is mixed, so do not assume that writing by hand is better for learning just because it is slower.

What to do

1. Time your copying. Choose a passage of about 250 words. Copy it by hand for five minutes at a normal pace, then count the full words and divide by five.
2. Time your typing on the same passage. Type it for five minutes, then divide the words by five.
3. Compare the two numbers. The difference shows which method is faster for you on copying.
4. Time composing separately. Write your own paragraph for ten minutes by hand, then type one. Composing is slower than copying, so time it on its own.
5. Improve the slower method. If typing is your weak point, how to type faster covers practice methods.

For the full picture of typing and writing speed, read the typing speed overview. Related questions include does typing speed still matter and what is the fastest typing speed.