Keyboard layouts compared
QWERTY, AZERTY and QWERTZ are regional standards that share most letter positions, while Dvorak and Colemak are alternative layouts that move common letters onto the home row. The best layout for most people is the one already on their keyboard.
2 min read · Updated · By whytyping
A keyboard layout is the map from physical keys to characters. The keys themselves stay where they are. Only what each one produces changes. Five layouts cover most of what you are likely to meet.
The regional standards
QWERTY
The default across the English-speaking world and many other countries. It is named after the first six letters of the top row. US and UK versions share every letter position and differ in a handful of symbols.
AZERTY
The standard in France and Belgium. A and Q swap places, as do Z and W, and M moves to the home row. Digits on the top row need Shift, with accented letters and symbols on the unshifted keys.
QWERTZ
Used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and much of central Europe. Z and Y swap, because Z is far more common than Y in German. Extra keys carry letters such as ä, ö and ü.
The alternative layouts
Dvorak
Designed to put the most frequent English letters on the home row, with all the vowels under the left hand. Fingers travel less, and typing alternates between hands more often. Almost every key differs from QWERTY, so learning it means starting from the beginning.
Colemak
A more recent design with the same goal and a smaller change. It keeps many QWERTY positions, including the common shortcut keys for cut, copy and paste, and moves a smaller set of letters. People who switch often choose it for that reason.
Does the layout matter for speed?
Less than you might expect. Fast typists exist on every layout. What separates them is method: a fixed finger for every key, eyes on the text, and regular practice. Changing layout does not fix technique, and it costs weeks of slow typing. It also makes shared and borrowed keyboards harder to use.
When switching makes sense
- You are learning to touch type from scratch anyway and are curious.
- You enjoy the process and accept a long dip.
- You mostly use your own devices.
If none of those apply, stay with what you have and put the effort into technique.
Layouts and the method
Touch typing is defined by positions. Your index fingers rest on the two bumped keys, whatever letters those keys produce. That is why whytyping defines lessons by key position: the first lesson is “the two index-finger home keys”, which are F and J on QWERTY and U and H on Dvorak. Read more about that resting position in home row keys, or see every finger’s keys on the finger placement chart. You can change the layout shown in lessons at any time from learn to touch type.
Questions
Will switching to Dvorak or Colemak make me faster?
Not automatically. Both reduce finger travel, but you start again from a low speed, and good technique matters more than layout.
Does whytyping work with my layout?
Yes. Scoring uses the character you produce, not the physical key, and lessons follow key positions on US, UK, AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak and Colemak.
Is the UK layout different from the US one?
The letters are in the same places. A few symbols move, and the Enter key has a different shape.