How many KDPH is 35 WPM?

Using 5 keystrokes per word, 35 WPM is 35 x 5 x 60 = 10,500 key depressions per hour. This is the figure SSC CHSL notices give for the English typing test.

How many KDPH is 30 WPM?

30 WPM is 9,000 key depressions per hour, the figure SSC CHSL notices give for the Hindi typing test.

What is the difference between gross and net WPM?

Gross WPM counts all keystrokes divided by 5 per minute. Net WPM subtracts a penalty for uncorrected errors, so it reflects usable speed.

How is typing accuracy calculated?

Accuracy is correct keystrokes divided by total keystrokes, multiplied by 100. For example 1,862 correct out of 1,900 is 98%.

What is 8000 KDPH in WPM?

8,000 divided by 300 is about 26.7 WPM, or about 133 keystrokes per minute.

WPM, net WPM, accuracy and KDPH explained

Updated 11 October 2026

English typing test →

Typing speed is reported in different units depending on who is testing you. Online tests show words per minute (WPM). SSC and other recruiting bodies often talk about key depressions per hour (KDPH). Once you see how they connect, you can convert any result into the number your exam cares about.

Why "word" means 5 keystrokes

Words are different lengths, so counting real words would be unfair: "a" and "administration" would count the same. Typing tests therefore use a standard word of 5 keystrokes, including spaces and punctuation. Typing "India is great." is 15 keystrokes, which counts as 3 standard words, whatever the actual word count.

SSC uses the same convention: its notices equate typing speed in words per minute to key depressions using an average of 5 key depressions per word.

Gross WPM

Gross WPM = (total keystrokes ÷ 5) ÷ minutes

It measures raw speed, ignoring mistakes. If you type 1,900 keystrokes in 10 minutes, gross WPM is (1,900 ÷ 5) ÷ 10 = 38 WPM.

Net WPM

Net WPM subtracts a penalty for uncorrected errors. A common formula is:

Net WPM = gross WPM − (uncorrected errors ÷ minutes)

With 1,900 keystrokes in 10 minutes and 15 uncorrected word errors: 38 − (15 ÷ 10) = 38 − 1.5 = 36.5 net WPM.

Different tests define and weight errors differently. Recruitment exams have their own rules for counting mistakes, such as full and half mistakes; see typing test rules.

Accuracy

Accuracy = correct keystrokes ÷ total keystrokes × 100

If 1,862 of your 1,900 keystrokes were correct, accuracy is 1,862 ÷ 1,900 × 100 = 98%. For government skill tests, aim for 97 to 98% or higher in practice, because exam nerves usually knock a little off.

KDPH: key depressions per hour

A key depression is one press of a key. KDPH is simply keystrokes scaled to one hour:

KDPH = keystrokes per minute × 60

And because one word is 5 keystrokes:

KDPH = WPM × 5 × 60 = WPM × 300

That gives the figures used in SSC CHSL notices:

35 WPM × 300 = 10,500 KDPH (English typing test)
30 WPM × 300 = 9,000 KDPH (Hindi typing test)
8,000 KDPH ÷ 300 ≈ 26.7 WPM (Data Entry Skill Test standard)

Conversion table

WPM	Keystrokes per minute	KDPH	Keystrokes in 10 min	Keystrokes in 15 min
25	125	7,500	1,250	1,875
27	135	8,100	1,350	2,025
30	150	9,000	1,500	2,250
35	175	10,500	1,750	2,625
40	200	12,000	2,000	3,000
50	250	15,000	2,500	3,750

Worked example: are you ready for the DEST?

You practise a 15-minute English passage and type 2,240 keystrokes with 98% accuracy.

Keystrokes per minute: 2,240 ÷ 15 ≈ 149.
KDPH: 149 × 60 ≈ 8,960.
Correct keystrokes: 2,240 × 0.98 ≈ 2,195, which is about 8,780 correct KDPH.

That clears the 8,000 KDPH standard given in CHSL notices with a margin of roughly 10%. If you were at 8,100, you would be cutting it too fine.

Hindi keystrokes are different

In Hindi, one visible letter can take more than one keystroke. A conjunct like क्ष or a matra plus a half letter may need two to four key presses, and Shift adds more. So the same Hindi passage needs more keystrokes than its "look" suggests, and the 5-keystroke word is a convention, not the real length of a Hindi word. This is part of why the Hindi requirement (30 WPM) is lower than English (35 WPM). Whether the Shift key counts as a separate depression depends on the test software; our test reports what it counts so you can compare like with like.

Speed vs accuracy: which matters more?

For qualifying skill tests, accuracy. Exams judge speed on correctly typed text, so 40 WPM with 90% accuracy can fail where 32 WPM with 99% accuracy passes. Build accuracy first, then speed; the plan in how to improve typing speed does exactly that.

Measure yourself on our typing test or Hindi typing test; both show gross WPM, net WPM, accuracy and KDPH.

Questions people ask

How many KDPH is 35 WPM?: Using 5 keystrokes per word, 35 WPM is 35 x 5 x 60 = 10,500 key depressions per hour. This is the figure SSC CHSL notices give for the English typing test.
How many KDPH is 30 WPM?: 30 WPM is 9,000 key depressions per hour, the figure SSC CHSL notices give for the Hindi typing test.
What is the difference between gross and net WPM?: Gross WPM counts all keystrokes divided by 5 per minute. Net WPM subtracts a penalty for uncorrected errors, so it reflects usable speed.
How is typing accuracy calculated?: Accuracy is correct keystrokes divided by total keystrokes, multiplied by 100. For example 1,862 correct out of 1,900 is 98%.
What is 8000 KDPH in WPM?: 8,000 divided by 300 is about 26.7 WPM, or about 133 keystrokes per minute.