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What is raw in typing (and Monkeytype)?
“Raw” (or RAW) in typing tests is raw words-per-minute: every keystroke counts toward speed, including typos. Corrected WPM and accuracy show how much of that speed is usable text.
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What does RAW mean in typing?
RAW is short for raw WPM (words per minute). Typing sites treat one “word” as five keystrokes, including spaces. Raw WPM = (total keystrokes ÷ 5) ÷ minutes. Mistakes are not subtracted from the speed number.
People search “what is raw in typing” and “what does raw mean in typing” when a score card shows both raw and net (or corrected) WPM and the two numbers disagree.
What is raw in Monkeytype?
On Monkeytype, raw WPM is your uncorrected speed — how fast you pressed keys during the test. The main WPM (often called adjusted or corrected depending on settings) factors in errors so a typo-heavy run scores lower than the raw number.
If Monkeytype shows a high raw and a much lower WPM, accuracy is the gap: your fingers were fast, but many keystrokes did not match the target. Typetap uses the same idea: corrected WPM is the headline score; raw WPM is the speed ceiling.
RAW vs WPM vs accuracy
Corrected (net) WPM penalises wrong, skipped, or extra characters. Raw WPM ignores that penalty. Accuracy is the share of keystrokes that matched the prompt. At 100% accuracy, raw and corrected WPM match; as accuracy drops, raw stays high while corrected falls.
For jobs, certifications, and progress tracking, trust corrected WPM and accuracy. Use raw only to see how fast you can move when you stop caring about mistakes.
Typical raw WPM ranges
Casual typists often see raw around 35–55 WPM. Comfortable office pace is roughly 55–75 raw with high accuracy. Competitive or heavily practised typists may show 100–140+ raw on short English tests — but if corrected WPM is 20–30 points lower, the raw figure is mostly vanity.
Compare scores on the same site and duration. Different tools treat backspaces and punctuation slightly differently, so raw on Monkeytype and raw on Typetap may differ by a few WPM even on the same passage.
How to improve without chasing raw
Set an accuracy floor (95%+) first, then raise tempo. Short daily timed tests on Typetap show corrected WPM, raw WPM, and accuracy side by side so you can see whether speed or precision is the bottleneck.
For the full formula deep-dive, read Typetap’s how typing speed is measured guide. To see whether your corrected speed is “good,” use the typing-speed benchmarks page.