Typing tests and keyboard layouts

Dvorak, Colemak, QWERTY — this test reads the character your system produces, so it works with whatever layout you already use.

0 wpm100% acc1:00

always little large issue run order shoot word standard six space these step state next material girl today staff very rise detail television find west wrong enough finger participant their mention receive show produce enter serious probably role bag guess middle stand sure evening drug leader attack police event industry mind beat perform shake feeling report nearly car mean court coach sign allow fire husband prove world use away control deep compare break interview officer music want ever under model professional necessary kind care church yeah early practice important private wind wait reach increase glass draw might program stuff thank hold character idea sort that have laugh top traditional manage never wish light tonight food suddenly child note life seven almost society since dark simple return marriage weight form argue choice military most avoid statement late over week name position data house ball wall growth here spring indicate relationship which side rate protect death better meeting bit among method sit individual decision

Why no configuration is needed

Most typing tests listen for physical key codes, which is why they break the moment you switch layouts. This one reads the composed character instead. If your operating system is set to Dvorak and you press the key where Q sits, you get a quote mark — and the test expects a quote mark, exactly as your editor would.

That means one thing worth knowing: your score reflects the layout you are actually using. A Dvorak score and a QWERTY score from this site are directly comparable, because both measure the same thing — the speed at which characters arrive.

Is switching layouts worth it?

The honest answer is: for comfort, maybe; for speed, the evidence is weaker than the internet suggests. Dvorak was designed in the 1930s around letter frequency and hand alternation, and its theoretical efficiency is real. Measured speed gains, however, are inconsistent across studies, and many people who switch never beat the score they reached on QWERTY.

What is well documented is the cost of switching: several weeks of substantially lower speed, confusion when you use someone else's keyboard, and shortcuts that move because punctuation moves. Colemak was designed specifically to soften that cost by leaving most shortcuts where QWERTY put them.

Comparing scores fairly

Same text, same keyboard, same session. A Dvorak run and a QWERTY run on different sites are not comparable.
Same test length. Burst scores are inflated regardless of layout.
Give a new layout at least a month before judging it. The first week measures confusion, not the layout.
Track weekly averages, not best runs. Familiarity swings results more than layout does.

If you do decide to switch

Pick one layout and commit. Half-switching leaves you mediocre at two.
Blank keycaps accelerate the transition more than any practice app.
Expect to lose 40–60% of your speed in week one. That is the normal curve, not a failure.
Keep a QWERTY shortcut sheet nearby — punctuation keys are where muscle memory bites hardest.

Questions

Does this test support Dvorak and Colemak?

Yes, with no setup. It reads the character your operating system produces rather than the physical key you pressed, so any layout your OS supports works here.

Is Dvorak actually faster than QWERTY?

The evidence is mixed. Its design is more efficient on paper, but controlled comparisons show inconsistent speed gains, and plenty of people never exceed their QWERTY peak. Comfort and reduced finger travel are more defensible claims than raw speed.

Colemak or Dvorak?

Colemak keeps most of the shortcuts and punctuation positions you already know, which makes the transition cheaper. Dvorak is the more aggressive redesign and moves punctuation substantially.

Will switching break my keyboard shortcuts?

Some of them. Shortcuts that rely on letter positions stay put in Colemak and move in Dvorak. Shortcuts that rely on punctuation — brackets, slashes, semicolons — generally move in both.

Last updated 2026-11-12. Written by the GeekType team.