Monkeytype vs 10FastFingers: Which Is Better?

The Short Answer

Neither is more accurate in any meaningful way. They measure the same thing with different extras.

I read Monkeytype's About page and 10FastFingers' test page before writing this. Both explain their scoring clearly, which makes a fair comparison easy.

How Monkeytype Counts WPM

Monkeytype's About page spells out its formula.

WPM is the total number of characters in correctly typed words, including spaces, divided by 5 and scaled to 60 seconds.

It also shows several other numbers:

• Raw WPM. Calculated the same way, but including incorrect words.
• Accuracy. The percentage of correctly pressed keys.
• Characters. Correct and incorrect characters, counted after the test.
• Consistency. Based on how much your raw speed varies. Closer to 100 percent is steadier.

That's a lot of detail for one test. It's great if you like to study your results.

How 10FastFingers Counts WPM

10FastFingers explains its method on its typing test page.

You type for one minute. Every five keystrokes count as one word, so long and short words weigh the same. Only correctly typed words count toward your speed.

Mistakes are shown separately as wrong keystrokes, and they lower your accuracy.

The result shows your WPM, your accuracy, and the number of correct and wrong keystrokes.

So the core method matches Monkeytype's. Both use five characters per word and both drop incorrect words from the main number. The differences are in the extras around the test, not the math.

The Words You Type

Both sites use common words by default, but the details differ.

Monkeytype's About page says it uses the 200 most common English words by default. You can switch to an expanded set of the 1,000 most common words, or change the language.

10FastFingers' test page says its English test uses the most common English words, with no capital letters or punctuation. Where a larger word list exists, an advanced mode with 1,000 words is also available.

So both offer an easy mode and a harder 1,000 word mode.

The bigger difference is Monkeytype's extra options. It also has punctuation, numbers and quote modes, which make the test closer to real writing.

Test Length and Modes

This is where the two feel most different.

10FastFingers keeps it simple. The main test is always one minute. That makes results easy to compare over time and with other people.

Monkeytype offers many test modes and lengths, according to its About page and readme. You can test for different times or word counts, use quotes, or add punctuation and numbers.

That flexibility is useful for training. A longer test shows your stamina. A quote test shows how you handle real sentences.

But it also means Monkeytype scores aren't always comparable. A 15 second test and a 60 second test give different numbers, so always note the settings.

Stats After the Test

Monkeytype gives you far more to look at.

Its results screen shows WPM, raw WPM, accuracy, character stats, test length and leaderboard info. It also shows a graph of your speed over the test.

The About page explains a useful detail about that graph. The WPM line is a running average, while the raw line shows your speed at each moment, so it drops to zero if you stop.

10FastFingers shows a simpler result: WPM, accuracy and keystroke counts.

If you want to know why a test went well or badly, Monkeytype's graph helps. If you just want your number, 10FastFingers is faster to read.

Competition and Rankings

10FastFingers leans into competition.

Its home page lists typing competitions alongside the test. The test page shows a ranking of the fastest results in the last 24 hours, and logged in users see their result on the highscore list.

When I opened the English test page, its counter showed 19,386 tests taken in the previous 24 hours. That gives a sense of how active it is.

Monkeytype has leaderboards too, shown on its results screen and About page.

Both let you compare yourself with others. 10FastFingers makes that comparison the center of the site, while Monkeytype puts your own stats first.

Languages

If you type in more than one language, 10FastFingers has a clear edge.

Its home page says the test is available in over 50 languages.

Its test page also explains why speed varies between languages. Word length, accented letters and familiarity all change the result. It notes that German and French need extra keys for umlauts and accents, while scripts like Thai, Hindi or Chinese take several keystrokes per word.

The advice it gives is sensible. Compare yourself with typists of the same language, not across languages.

Monkeytype also lets you change the language, so it isn't English only. But language variety is a bigger part of 10FastFingers' identity.

What Counts as a Good Speed

10FastFingers gives its own benchmarks on the test page.

It says the average typist manages around 40 WPM. It calls 60 to 80 WPM a solid everyday speed, 80 to 100 fast and 100 to 130 very fast. Above 130 puts you among the top typists on the site.

It also makes a point worth repeating. Accuracy matters as much as speed, because a fast run with many mistakes is slower in practice than a clean one.

Those ranges work as a rough guide on any site. Since both tests use a similar method, your number should sit in a similar band on each.

Just compare like with like: the same length, the same word set and the same language.

Controls and Speed of Use

Monkeytype is built for fast repeat testing.

Its About page says you can press tab and then enter to restart a test. You can open a command line with escape to reach every setting without touching the mouse.

That makes it easy to run many short tests in a row.

10FastFingers is simpler to start. You open the page and type. There's less to learn and fewer settings to change.

For beginners, that simplicity is a plus. For experienced typists who want control, Monkeytype's shortcuts and settings save time.

Which Should You Use?

Here's a simple way to decide:

• You want one clear number to track. 10FastFingers, with its fixed one minute test.
• You want to analyze your typing. Monkeytype, with raw WPM, consistency and a speed graph.
• You type in another language. 10FastFingers, with over 50 languages.
• You want to practice punctuation or quotes. Monkeytype's extra modes.
• You like competing. 10FastFingers' competitions and rankings.

You can use both, as long as you track your progress on one of them.

For more on each, see our guides on using 10FastFingers to improve and Monkeytype settings that raise your WPM.

A Fair Way to Compare Your Scores

If you want to see how your speed compares across both, keep the conditions the same.

Use a 60 second test on Monkeytype so it matches 10FastFingers' length. Use the default 200 word English set on Monkeytype, and the normal test on 10FastFingers.

Turn off punctuation and numbers on Monkeytype, since 10FastFingers' normal test has none.

Then run five tests on each and compare the averages, not the best scores.

We looked at how reliable Monkeytype's numbers are in our post on Monkeytype's accuracy. The same five test average works on any site.

Try a Third Test

Any single site can give you a slightly skewed picture, so a third test helps.

Our own practice mode is free and gives you a third number to compare.

If your averages on all three sites land close together, you can trust your number. If one is far off, check the settings first. Test length and word set explain most gaps.

Whatever you use, test at the same time of day and on the same keyboard. Small changes like a different keyboard can shift your score.

The goal isn't to find the site that flatters you most. It's to find a number you can track honestly.