I Thought I Was “Fast”… Until I Actually Tested My Speed

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Bhavin Sheth

The Assumption I Never Questioned

I always thought:

“Yeah, I type pretty fast.”

I read a lot.
I write daily.
I speak clearly.

So obviously…

👉 I must be fast, right?

Then I Actually Tested It

Out of curiosity, I tried a speed test.

And the result?

👉 Not as fast as I thought.

Not terrible… but definitely not “fast”.

That’s When It Hit Me

We assume things like:

• “I’m a fast typer”
• “I read quickly”
• “I speak clearly”

But we never measure them.

Why I Built This Tool

So I built a simple tool:

👉 https://allinonetools.net/text-speed-tester/

Where you can test:

• ⌨️ Typing speed
• 📖 Reading speed
• 🎤 Speaking speed

All in one place.

No login.
No setup.
Just:

Start → Test → Know your speed

What I Learned (This Was Surprising)

When I started digging into it…

The averages were eye-opening:

• Typing speed: ~40 WPM for most people ([Count Character][1])
• Reading speed: ~200–250 WPM on average ([Count Character][1])
• Speaking speed: ~130–160 WPM in normal conversation ([Count Character][1])

👉 That means:

You probably read 5–6x faster than you type

And speak 3x faster than you type

The Real Insight

Your biggest bottleneck is usually:

Typing speed

Not thinking.
Not understanding.

Just input.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

If you:

• Write content
• Code
• Chat
• Work with text daily

Then even small improvements in speed:

👉 Save hours over time

The Hidden Problem

Most people:

• Never test their speed
• Never track improvement
• Just assume they’re “fine”

But “fine” = wasted potential.

What I Focused On

I didn’t want another “complex test tool”

So I made it:

• Simple
• Instant
• No distractions
• Real feedback

Because:

You shouldn’t need effort just to measure effort

What Surprised Me

After launching it:

• People tested typing more than anything
• Many were shocked by their actual speed
• Some came back just to improve their score

👉 It became less of a tool…

And more of a self-check

Simple Rule I Follow Now

If you can’t measure it…

👉 You can’t improve it.

Final Thought

You don’t get faster by guessing.

You get faster by:

Knowing where you stand.

Be honest — have you ever tested your typing speed?

• Yes (what’s your WPM?)
• Never tried

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Bhavin Sheth