How Fast Can You Type the Alphabet? A to Z Against the Clock

Type a to z as fast as you can, and see which letters cost you the most time.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Type the first key to start the clock.
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–This run

–Your best

–Last run

The clock starts on your first correct key and stops on the last one. A wrong key is not accepted, but it is counted. Capitals and small letters both count.

No runs yet. Your last ten will show up here.

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Next step All 26 letters in one sentenceMeasure your words per minute

The whole sequence, in order

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The clock starts on your first correct key and stops on the last one. A wrong key is not accepted, but it is counted. Capitals and small letters both count.

  1. A Left little finger, home row. The clock starts when you press it, so your result holds no reaction time.
  2. B Left index finger, bottom row. A long reach down and to the right, straight after A.
  3. C Left middle finger, bottom row. First of three letters in a row for the same finger: C, D, E.
  4. D Left middle finger, home row. The middle finger comes back up from C.
  5. E Left middle finger, top row. Third press running for the middle finger. One finger cannot roll, so C, D, E is three separate strokes.
  6. F Left index finger, home row. On the raised bump that marks the left home position.
  7. G Left index finger, home row. Same finger as F, one key to the right. The last of seven left-hand letters, A to G.
  8. H Right index finger, home row. The first right-hand letter.
  9. I Right middle finger, top row. Up one row, between two home-row letters, H and J.
  10. J Right index finger, home row. On the raised bump that marks the right home position.
  11. K Right middle finger, home row. J, K, L roll outwards along the home row, one finger each.
  12. L Right ring finger, home row. End of the J, K, L roll.
  13. M Right index finger, bottom row. First of two for the right index finger: M, then N.
  14. N Right index finger, bottom row. Same finger as M, one key to the left.
  15. O Right ring finger, top row. Back up to the top row for the last two right-hand letters of the run.
  16. P Right little finger, top row. Last of nine right-hand letters in a row, H to P.
  17. Q Left little finger, top row. The hands swap here, and the little finger opens the left-hand run.
  18. R Left index finger, top row. Q, R, S, T are four left-hand letters in a row.
  19. S Left ring finger, home row. The only home-row letter between L and Z.
  20. T Left index finger, top row. T, U, V change hands on every letter.
  21. U Right index finger, top row. The only right-hand letter between P and Y.
  22. V Left index finger, bottom row. V, W, X are three left-hand letters in a row.
  23. W Left ring finger, top row. First of two for the ring finger: W, then X.
  24. X Left ring finger, bottom row. The ring finger drops two rows from W, the longest same-finger move in the alphabet.
  25. Y Right index finger, top row. The last right-hand letter.
  26. Z Left little finger, bottom row. The clock stops when you press it.

No result on this page is compared with other people. The only numbers shown are your own.

How it works

How fast can you type the alphabet? Just type: the clock runs from your A to your Z. You get your time to a hundredth of a second, a split for every letter and a personal best. There are four modes: forwards, backwards, with a space after each letter, and a random letter typing test of 26 shuffled letters that you cannot learn by heart.

Read the full guide

Four ways to run it

Pick one under Order before you start. Forwards is the classic: a to z, no spaces. Backwards asks you to type the alphabet backwards, z to a, which takes away the rhythm you have known since school. With spaces adds a thumb stroke between letters, 51 keystrokes in all. Random tests finding keys, not reciting.

Read your splits

Unlike a normal typing test, alphabet runs use every letter exactly once, so the splits show where your own hands are slow. With standard QWERTY fingering, A to G are all left hand and H to P are all right hand, so neither stretch lets the hands alternate. C, D, E is one finger three times, and W to X drops the ring finger two rows.

  • Start with your index fingers on the bumps of F and J, and do not look down.
  • Practise your slowest split by itself. Type C, D, E or W, X ten times cleanly, then go back to the full run.
  • Make it a typing alphabet game: send a friend your result link and let them chase the time on their own keyboard.

Questions and answers

What is a good time for typing the alphabet?

This page does not rank you: it collects nobody's times, and keyboards differ. The honest yardstick is your own best, saved in this browser for each mode. To read a result, 26 letters in 5.2 seconds is five keys a second, the same keystroke rate as 60 words a minute at five keystrokes to a word. No world record is quoted, because we could not confirm one.

Does a wrong key ruin the run?

No, but it costs time. The run only moves on when you press the correct letter, so a slip shows up as a long split on that letter and in the error count beside your time. A separate personal best is kept for runs with no errors.

Does it work on a phone or on another keyboard layout?

Yes. On a phone the on-screen keyboard opens when you tap the box. On AZERTY, QWERTZ or Dvorak the test works the same, because it listens for the letter you produce and not for a key position. Only the finger and row notes will be wrong for you, since they describe QWERTY.

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