Numbers and Symbols Typing Drill
Word lists never make you type a bracket, a decimal point or a reference code. This drill is nothing but those characters.
This drill replaces the word list with digits, amounts, dates, reference codes, brackets and punctuation: 42, 1,250, 3.14, 12/07, 2026-03-11, #4821, (net), {id}, $45.90. It is the typing that data entry, accounting and programming actually consist of, and it is the typing a standard words-per-minute test never tests.
Copy the words shown on screen. The timer starts with your first keystroke, and a space moves you to the next word. Finalised words cannot be corrected, and pasting is blocked. Press Escape to start over.
This drill types digits, punctuation and symbols instead of words: amounts, dates, reference codes and brackets, the characters a word-list test never makes you touch. Sample from this list: 7^2 08:45 6:1 [ok] 2nd {id} 2nd <tag> 12/07 99% 17:30 0x1F 44+1 0.05.
Almost every typing test measures you on lowercase English words, and almost nobody types only lowercase English words for a living. Invoices are numbers. Records are codes. Code is brackets. The moment a passage contains a decimal point, a shift key or a bracket pair, most people's speed falls off a cliff, and no word-list test will ever show them that.
This drill shows it. Its list is made of the tokens that real data work is built from, with the digits, punctuation and shifted characters that go with them. Expect a considerably lower words per minute figure than you get on the standard test, and treat the gap as information rather than as a bad result.
Why numbers are so much slower than words
Three reasons compound. Digits sit on the top row, furthest from the resting position, so every one is a reach. They are also the row with the weakest muscle memory, because ordinary prose barely uses it. And most symbols need a shift, which turns one keystroke into a two-finger coordination.
On top of that, numbers cannot be guessed. When you type a word, your fingers can run ahead on the pattern, and a half-formed word still reads correctly. A reference code has no pattern to run ahead on, so every character has to be read, found and pressed individually. That is why data entry speeds are quoted in keystrokes per hour rather than words per minute in the first place.
The numeric keypad question
If your work is mostly figures, the numeric keypad on a full-size keyboard is faster than the top row for one simple reason: the digits are grouped under one hand in a three-by-three block, with 5 carrying a raised bump the way F and J do, so the same touch-typing logic applies at a fraction of the distance.
This drill types from the top row, because that is what a browser test can guarantee everyone has. If your keyboard has a keypad and your job involves figures, practise on it directly: rest the middle finger on 5, keep the index on 4 and the ring finger on 6, and let the thumb handle the zero.
Converting this into the figure a job advert asks for
Data entry adverts state keystrokes per hour rather than words per minute. The conversion follows from the definition of WPM: one WPM is five characters per minute, an hour is 60 minutes, so KPH is WPM multiplied by 300. At 40 WPM on this drill you are entering about 12,000 keystrokes per hour of this kind of material.
Use the figure from this drill rather than from the word test when you are comparing yourself against a data entry requirement, since this is much closer to the material such a job involves. The data entry typing test runs the same idea over a longer duration, and the words per minute guide works through the conversion in full.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my WPM so much lower on numbers than on words?
Because digits and symbols sit on the top row, need shift keys, and cannot be predicted from a pattern the way the middle of a familiar word can. Every character has to be read and found individually, which is exactly why data entry speeds are quoted in keystrokes per hour instead.
Should I use the numeric keypad instead of the top row?
For figure-heavy work, yes. The keypad groups the digits under one hand, with a raised bump on 5 to anchor the position, so it is faster once learned. This drill uses the top row because it is the only layout every visitor is guaranteed to have.
How do I convert this score into keystrokes per hour?
Multiply your WPM by 300. A WPM is five characters per minute and an hour has 60 minutes, so 40 WPM is about 12,000 KPH. Use the figure from this drill rather than from a word test when comparing against a data entry requirement.
What exactly is in this drill's list?
Amounts, decimals, percentages, dates in two formats, reference and identifier codes, bracket pairs, comparison and arithmetic symbols, times, and common shorthand such as no.5 and p.301. All of them are tokens that turn up in real records rather than invented character soup.