Net WPM vs. Gross WPM

Two typing sites can score the identical run differently, and it's rarely because one of them is wrong — they're usually just answering a different question. Typing speed is conventionally measured in five-character “words” per minute (a fixed unit, not actual dictionary words), but there are two ways to count which characters go into that total.

Gross (raw) WPM: every keystroke counts

Gross WPM — also called raw WPM — divides every character you typed, correct or not, by five, then by the minutes elapsed. It answers “how fast were your hands moving,” full stop. A run full of mistakes and a flawless run at the same physical pace report the same gross WPM, because gross WPM never looks at whether a keystroke was right.

Net WPM: only what you got right

Net WPM divides only your correct characters by five, then by minutes. Every mistake — including one you never went back to fix — simply isn't counted toward your speed. This is the number HeroTyping leads with everywhere: on the main typing test, on every lesson result, and on every game. Two runs at identical hand speed but different accuracy will show different net WPM, because net WPM is really asking “how fast can you produce correct text,” which is the number that actually matters outside of a typing test.

Why the gap between them is worth watching

The distance between your gross and net WPM is a more honest signal than either number alone. A small, consistent gap means your hand speed and your accuracy are roughly matched — you're not leaving speed on the table by making avoidable mistakes. A large gap means your hands are moving faster than your accuracy can back up, and the fix isn't typing faster — it's slowing down until the gap closes, which almost always raises net WPM within a few sessions.

Which one should you trust?

For almost every real use — writing an email, taking notes, chatting — net WPM is the number that describes what you can actually do, because a typo you have to notice and fix costs real time gross WPM doesn't account for. Gross WPM is mainly useful as a ceiling: it's roughly the net WPM you could reach if your accuracy caught up to your hand speed. If you want to know where either number should reasonably sit, average typing speed by context has real ranges instead of one made-up target.

Curious what your own gap looks like? Take a typing test — the results screen shows both numbers side by side, not just one.