Convert WPM to KPH

[Unregistered]

I am trying to find out how to convert words per minute to keystrokes per hour. Any help would be great!

Thanks!

[Robert Fogt]

In the U.S. the reference word for typing tests is paris, so a word is 5 characters.

words/minute * 5 = keystrokes/minute
keystrokes/minute * 60 = keystrokes/hour

So the simplified formula would be:
words/minute * 300 = keystrokes/hour

It should be noted however, that other countries use different reference words. So the above would only be correct for countries with a 5 letter references word, such as the U.S.

[Unregistered]

How would you calculate the opposite?

[Robert Fogt]

You would divide, instead of multiplying.

WPM * 300 = KPH
KPH / 300 = WPM

[Unregistered]

I think you have a typo. "KPH / 300 = WPH"...shouldn't that be WPM? Minute not hour?

[baldmosher]

Agreed, and since this was the first Google hit I'd like to second that motion

[Robert Fogt]

Right you are, I edited it to make sense.

Just to make things very clear:

Words Per Minute * 300 = Keystrokes Per Hour
Keystrokes Per Hour / 300 = Words Per Minute

It should also be clear that this is true in the U.S. Other countries may have different reference words so it may differ slightly.

[Kelee]

Thanks, this helped me a lot.

[Unregistered]

Okay, I'm a little befuddled here. I have been typing about 12,000 kph (per my employer), and I'm in the top 3 of my division. According to this formula, that makes me about 40 wpm. I know I'm way faster than 40. So, I calculated the inverse of 80 wpm (which I believe I'm somewhere near) and according to this formula that would be about 24,000 which I'm pretty sure is completely inhumanely possible. The highest I've personally ever seen is 15,000. I'm a little slow when it comes to math, and I can't analyze the formula. Are you sure this is correct?

[Robert Fogt]

Yes thats accurate for the U.S. Your country may have a different reference word. In the US it is a 5 character word.

The average web surfing person types at 20 to 25 wpm, while the average data entry person types at 38 to 40 wpm. A speed of 80 wpm is very fast, its possible, but few can do it.

Try this typing test here:
http://www.onlineconversion.com/typingtest.htm

It is not very accurate, because most people can type quickly for short periods of time, but less quickly for longer periods which most typing tests include. But it gives a general idea.

[Unregistered]

Okay, I tried the typing test (which was rather cool!) but it just gives wpm, so it wasn't all that useful.

I did ask one of my colleagues about wpm vs kph, and he said he did not know if there was a specific 'formula' or not, but thought it's just a gross count of keystrokes - in other words, not just the "letters" (a b c, etc) but every individual time you hit a key. (He said he thought of wpm as 'net' count, and kph as a 'gross' count). So, periods, spaces in between words, and every character counts as a keystroke. I think that makes sense, since it's called 'keystrokes per hour.' If this is the case, I think the only way you could calculate kph is to outright count each character and space. Isn't wpm just a straight calculation of the letters themselves? - no characters or spaces?

I feel like I'm on a quest now LOL

[Robert Fogt]

WPM does not count spaces, and I am not sure if KPH does or not.

So if the numbers do not line up directly then its a good chance that its because KPH counts spaces.

If you want we can create a test. Find a paragraph or several paragraphs of text then time yourself while you type it up, send it to me so I can strip the spaces and count the actual non-space characters.

Then maybe we can fine-tune the conversion factor to take into account the average number of spaces.

[Unregistered]

I find that almost everyone I know overestimates their typing speed, based on the fastest time they have ever done it perhaps!!

[Robert Fogt]

Perhaps its because typing tests are fairly short. A person can type very fast for short periods, but they couldn't keep it up over the course of a day.

[Unregistered]

I am trying to find out how to convert words per minute to keystrokes per hour. Any help would be great!

Thanks!
please tell me how many kph is equivalent to 45 wpm. is there a formula? I appreciate any help

[Robert Fogt]

please tell me how many kph is equivalent to 45 wpm. is there a formula? I appreciate any help

45 WPM would be about 13500 keystrokes/hour.

There is a formula for it on the first couple posts of this thread. Though we are finding out that it is not really an exact formula. Some count spaces others dont, some use 5 letter words others don't. etc.

[A-K]

Yes thats accurate for the U.S. Your country may have a different reference word. In the US it is a 5 character word.

The average web surfing person types at 20 to 25 wpm, while the average data entry person types at 38 to 40 wpm. A speed of 80 wpm is very fast, its possible, but few can do it.

Try this typing test here:
-Link Removed-

It is not very accurate, because most people can type quickly for short periods of time, but less quickly for longer periods which most typing tests include. But it gives a general idea.I think it's an accurate formula. Not only that, but I would like to add to the fact that I am one of those "few" who can type appox. 80 wpm (I beat the school record with 93 wpm). I don't use typing lessons either (although I've had them before; they just slow me down).

[Unregistered]

I type 104wpm

[Roy Nakatsuka]

I type 104wpm
That's impressive! Was that on a QWERTY keyboard?

I read that the holder of the typing speed record preferred the Dvorak keyboard, remarkable since that was in the typewriter era, when there were separate machines for QWERTY and Dvorak:
Barbara Blackburn, the World's Fastest Typist
http://web.syr.edu/~rcranger/blackburn.htm
Now that computer keyboards can be remapped so easily, I'm wondering if Dvorak is gaining any ground. Personally, I change my keyboard layout only to type in different languages, not for speed. But I'm wondering, has anyone out there used the Dvorak layout or have any opinions about it?
http://www.rsi-relief.com/blog/img/DvorakKeyboardLayout.gif
For those who don't know how to change their keyboard layout, here are instructions for Microsoft Windows XP:
Select Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options
Click the Languages tab
Click the Details button
Click the Add button
From the Keyboard Layout/IME pull-down menu, select United States-Dvorak (or United States-Dvorak for left or right hand)
Click OK
To set it as the default, select United States-Dvorak again from the Default input language pull-down menu
Click OK to close the control panel

[Unregistered]

I took a typing test and I type 83 wph. I think a lot of people type fast now because of computers.

[Unregistered]

I have tried the Dvorak, it's really quite cool and much faster to learn than QWERTY, but eventually I gave up on it and fell out of practice.

Dvorak is the result of over 20 years of research into the english language structure, ergonomics and typing styles. It's quite possibly the single most efficient keyboard layout there is for the english language. The only reason we all still use QWERTY is because by the time the Dvorak was fully developed QWERTY had already been made the standard and nobody could be bothered changing.

QWERTY keyboards are extremely inefficient, since they were originally designed to slow typists down to prevent typewriter jams.

[Roy Nakatsuka]

http://craphound.com/images/dvorakzinecomix.jpg

With the spread of text messaging, the issue of keypad layout is a hot topic for mobile devices. Unfortunately, the ergonomics of a mobile device tend to reverse the advantage of the Dvorak layout, since it's the keys nearest the edges on a mobile device that are easiest to press correctly.

This was confirmed in a test with the iPhone, where hit rates (correct key presses) were highest for the letters around the edge of the QWERTY keypad:
"Not surprisingly, the keys on the outside of the keyboard, such as Q, A, Z, and P, L, and M, had high hit rates."
iPhone texting harder than QWERTY devices
http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/11/13/iphone.input.not.perfect
Meanwhile, the absence of tactile feedback on the iPhone makes me even more nervous that the driver in front of me is trying to drive and text on one at the same time! :eek:

[Roy Nakatsuka]

For anyone looking for a conversion between words per minute and keystrokes per hour, I would recommend reading the webpage listed below. Three different conversion methods are presented, taking into account the error rate.

Best of all, a specific numeric example is computed for each method, showing how the conversion is performed and how the result depends on the conversion method used.

"Common Words Per Minute Calculations in the United States"
http://www.dataentryhomebusiness.com/testing-speed.html#methods

[Unregistered]

Okay, I'm a little befuddled here. I have been typing about 12,000 kph (per my employer), and I'm in the top 3 of my division. According to this formula, that makes me about 40 wpm. I know I'm way faster than 40. So, I calculated the inverse of 80 wpm (which I believe I'm somewhere near) and according to this formula that would be about 24,000 which I'm pretty sure is completely inhumanely possible. The highest I've personally ever seen is 15,000. I'm a little slow when it comes to math, and I can't analyze the formula. Are you sure this is correct?

One problem with converting from KPH to WPM is the difference in keying methods between data entry and typing. The reason data entry is usually measured in KPH is that it's usually not a series of words that are being typed.

Most data entry (at least what I've done) is field based. This means that you type in short bursts instead of a more continuous flow like you tend to do when typing, for instance, a letter (or a forum post). And, as often as not, data entry is much more alphanumeric (i.e.: data entry usually has more numerical data but still has alphabetic) than typing. If you're using the numbers on your keyboard (as opposed to a 10 Key side bar) then this will further affect your typing speed when compared to a WPM test. Even if you are using a 10 Key side bar then moving between the keyboard and the 10 Key will affect your speed too.

When I did data entry I started on purely 10 Key (working a Proof machine in a bank). After a year of that I was routinely averaging (for a day) 35,000 - 40,000 KPH. Then I moved to more alphanumeric entry using both the keyboard and 10 key side bar. My speed dropped down to about 17,000 KPH. When I quit that job I'd been doing data entry full-time for nearly 10 years and was averaging 22,000 - 24,000 KPH.

The exact type of data you're entering can have a pretty drastic impact on your speed.

The KPH - WPM mathematical conversion suffices for a very broad ballpark estimation but if you want to know for sure then take a typing test. Google "free online typing speed test" and you'll find some you can try or you can find some software for this.

That will give you a more accurate WPM. Since you have a KPH from your employer then that gives you both sides of the coin in a much more accurate fashion.

Mike

[Beth M]

I just started a job doing straight data entry. The handbook requires us to do roughly 1500 entries a day, which works out to about 12,000 kph. Alphanumerically, I can type 70+ wpm, but on the 10-key, my average is somewhere in the 35-40 wpm range, making me between 10,000 and 12,000 kph. It's just another example of how kph and wpm aren't necessarily on the same page. WPM usually applies more to an Alphanumeric position, where a data entry position, using primarily 10-key, will use KPH to more accurately judge your total keys used.

[SanctifiedByFaith]

Blessings! I saw the conversion formula of kph/hour, which would give me a wpm rate of 133+ wpm. If I use the kph/300 it gives me 27+ wpm and I KNOW I type a heck of a lot faster than that. However, it's sort of mind boggling to think I clock 133 :eek:

I see from a previous post where I can Google for free typing speed tests. Would there be anyway to use the results "officially", i.e.- resume, cover letter?

Muchies thankies :D

[a-friend96]

Okay, I'm a little befuddled here. I have been typing about 12,000 kph (per my employer), and I'm in the top 3 of my division. According to this formula, that makes me about 40 wpm. I know I'm way faster than 40. So, I calculated the inverse of 80 wpm (which I believe I'm somewhere near) and according to this formula that would be about 24,000 which I'm pretty sure is completely inhumanely possible. The highest I've personally ever seen is 15,000. I'm a little slow when it comes to math, and I can't analyze the formula. Are you sure this is correct?

Not true I am number 1 at my work and this week my fastest average for two weeks was 23,678!

[Unregistered]

For those looking through this thread to convert WPM into KSPH and the reverse (since this is the first link on Google), you can't use the conversion to just take your WPM while doing a normal typing test and turn it into KSPH. As others have said, the way you type a document (WPM) is MUCH faster than the way you perform data entry (KSPH).

If you want to test your WPM, there's plenty of typical typing tests that do just that. So long as it tests you by having you type out a document, you will get a proper WPM. KSPH, however, is harder to find, especially if you need to test a particular style (i.e. I wanted to see how I typed with pure numbers with the ability to backspace, and many online tests either test with the other keys (+, -, *...) or else not allow backspacing).


In any case:

If you want to test your normal document typing, a program like Typingmaster will do nicely. The demo allows you to test as much as you want.. all it's lacking is a coaching feature. You're looking for WPM.

If you need your KSPH, pick up that program, make a text file that has a batch of numbers (I used random.org's string generator for some random numbers:) go to the tests, and chose Add and add your text file in. Now you have a test that uses pure numbers. Do the test and it'll give you your WPM. Since you DID do 10-key, you can NOW do that conversion (WPM * 300) to find your KSPH.

Note: 10,000 is 33 WPM. You type MUCH slower data entry style than normal touch typing. Don't assume that good touch typing = good 10-key since they are different beasts.

Oh, and if this is for a job, try to find out what style of test they will give. Some allow backspacing, some don't. Some require tabbing or Enter keys, some won't. Some do number, some do letters-numbers, some use all of the keys.

[Unregistered]

The KPH, keystrokes per hour, refers to numerical data entry normally. The WPM, words per minute, refers to alphanumeric data entry. They are two different entities altogether. It is possible to test someone for KPH, keystrokes per hour, with alphanumeric data entry, but that would have no correlation to their numeric KPH data entry, because these are two different skill sets and hand positions.

[rubyrobles2009]

In the U.S. the reference word for typing tests is paris, so a word is 5 characters.

words/minute * 5 = keystrokes/minute
keystrokes/minute * 60 = keystrokes/hour

So the simplified formula would be:
words/minute * 300 = keystrokes/hour

It should be noted however, that other countries use different reference words. So the above would only be correct for countries with a 5 letter references word, such as the U.S.

Ok so if i have 40wpm howmany keystrokes per hour?

[Unregistered]

I am trying to find out how to convert words per minute to keystrokes per hour. Any help would be great!

Thanks!

12 000 ksph means how many words?

[TryOG]

12 000 ksph means how many words?

that's 40...

I had 82 wpm on my first speedtest (with one error).

And at the second I had 84 wpm.
That means 25200 ksph.

At the third I had 91 wpm with 100% accuracy.

And I don't exercise on speedtyping.

I tried it at typingtest.com

[Unregistered]

if your typing at lets say 40 wpm you times that by 60........... 2400 its not KPH its alot easier.

[lisield3@yahoo.com]

what would 7392kph be in wpm

[K.Sunil]

Hi

Referring to the previous discussions, i think the formula for conversion of KPH or KPM to WPM can be derived with some assumptions.

1. First thing we need is to define the length of the word, say it is "X".
2. For correct calculation we need to also account for spaces (which too is a keystroke).
3. It assumes that there is no mixed use of special characters (which require additional keystroke e.g...... "a" can be typed in "A" (by using Shift+a)

Keeping above in mind. The formula is as follows:-

WPM for the keystrokes for spaces = KPM/(X*X)......................Eq. 1

WPM for normal typing = X*Eq.1............................................ ..Eq. 2

Now the tptal WPM speed will be = Eq. 1 + Eq. 2

= Eq. 1 + X* Eq. 1

= Eq. 1 (1+X)

= (KPM/(X*X))*(1+X)

Sample calculation. Say length of standard word typed is 5 and the KPM is 200, then applying the above formula, we will have

WPM = (200/(5*5))*(1+5)
= (200/25)*6
= 8*6
= 48

I hope the above working is useful to the forum. If any comments, drop in a mail at sunil.k.07@gmail.com

[K. Sunil]

Guys....i above workings

Keystorke per hour (KPH) = 60* Keystrokes per min (KPM)

[Unregistered]

Guys.... KPH and WPM are not the same thing. KPH refers to your speed on a 10-key numeric keypad, while WPM is your speed on a QWERTY keyboard. There are several online tests to determine KPH, but there is no "formula" to determine the speed based on WPM.