Raw WPM vs net WPM

Your result shows two speeds. One is large and labelled as your speed. The other is smaller and labelled Raw. They answer different questions, and reading them together tells you more than either does alone.

Net WPM: what you produced

Net speed counts the characters that are correct in the text when the test ends. It is the useful output of your typing, the part that would not need fixing. This is the headline number, and it is the one compared with your 7-day average, saved as a personal best and checked against the tiers.

Raw WPM: how fast you moved

Raw speed counts everything you left on screen, right or wrong. It ignores correctness completely. Think of it as the speed your hands were travelling, regardless of where they landed.

Both use the same arithmetic, which is described in full on how WPM is calculated.

Reading the gap

The difference between the two is the interesting part.

• Raw and net nearly equal. Your text is clean. Your current pace is one you control, and you can try going a little faster.
• Raw clearly above net. You are leaving errors behind. Your hands are moving faster than they can aim.
• Both low but close. You are accurate and careful. Speed will come with practice.

A common pattern is someone with a raw speed of 90 and a net speed of 75. Easing back to a raw pace of 82 with a clean text often gives a net of 80 or more. Slower hands, faster result.

Where corrected errors fit

If you fix a mistake with Backspace, the wrong character is gone, so it lowers neither raw nor net speed directly. It still costs you the time spent correcting, and it still counts against accuracy, which looks at every keystroke. So three figures cover three things: raw for hand speed, net for useful output, accuracy for how often you pressed the wrong key.

Which one to train

Train net speed, and use raw as a diagnostic. If you want a higher net number, look at the gap first. When it is wide, work on accuracy with a typing accuracy test and the smart drill. When it is narrow, you have room to push pace.

A guard against scripted runs

Raw speed has one more job. A run faster than 350 wpm raw is shown but sets no personal best and earns no tier, because no person types at that rate.

Related figures

Rhythm is the third thing your result measures. See what is typing consistency for how even pacing is scored, and how to read your typing results for the whole screen.