Touch typing vs hunt and peck
Is touch typing really faster than your own method? What two large studies found, and how to decide whether to switch.
Touch typing means typing without looking, with each finger responsible for its own keys. Hunt and peck means finding each key by sight, usually with a few fingers. Between the two is the most common style of all: a self-taught method that uses more fingers and some glances at the keyboard. So is learning to touch type worth it if you are already fast?
What the studies found
A 2016 study at Aalto University filmed 30 everyday typists with motion capture and eye tracking. The 13 touch typists averaged 57.8 WPM; the self-taught typists averaged 58.9 WPM. The difference was not significant, and some people using only one or two fingers per hand typed above 70 WPM. What separated fast from slow typists was not the method but how they moved: always pressing a key with the same finger, moving towards the next key early, and keeping the hands still.
A 2018 follow-up analysed 136 million keystrokes from 168,960 people. Those who had taken a typing course averaged 54.4 WPM, against 49.0 WPM for those who had not: a real but modest gap. Fast typists used more fingers on average (8.4 against 5.3) and pressed the next key before releasing the last one far more often.
| Touch typing | Self-taught or hunt and peck | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Similar to skilled self-taught typists (2016); a few WPM faster on average (2018) | Can be fast with a consistent method; one-finger hunt and peck is usually slow |
| Looking at the keys | Looked at the keyboard about 20% of the time | About 41% of the time |
| Fingers used | About 8.5 | About 6.2 |
| Learning cost | A few weeks of slower typing | None if you keep your method |
The figures on looking and fingers come from the 2016 study. Both studies used volunteers, so they describe people willing to take a typing test, not everyone.
The real advantage is your eyes
If speed is similar, why learn touch typing? Because self-taught typists in the 2016 study spent about twice as much time looking at the keyboard and shifted their gaze more often. Every glance down is a moment you are not reading your source text, your code or the person you are chatting with. That matters most when you copy from a document, transcribe audio, or need to notice mistakes as they happen. It is also why employer tests reward touch typists: they keep their eyes on the text and leave fewer errors.
Should you switch?
- Under 30 WPM or using one or two fingers: yes. Touch typing is the most reliable way past this point, and you have little speed to lose while learning.
- 30 to 50 WPM and looking at the keys often: probably. You will drop for two or three weeks, then usually pass your old speed with fewer errors.
- Over 60 WPM with a consistent self-taught method: not necessarily. You may gain more from accuracy work and weaning yourself off glances than from relearning every finger.
Whichever method you use
The habits behind fast typing in both studies can be practised in any style: press each key with the same finger every time, keep your hands still and let the fingers move, and look at the next word rather than the next letter. Check your current speed with a 1-minute test. If you decide to switch, the 30-day plan and the free typing lessons start from the home row.
Sources
- Feit, Weir and Oulasvirta, "How We Type: Movement Strategies and Performance in Everyday Typing", CHI 2016. 30 typists recorded with motion capture and eye tracking (last checked 25 October 2026)
- Dhakal, Feit, Kristensson and Oulasvirta, "Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes", CHI 2018. 168,960 volunteers who took an online typing test on a physical keyboard (last checked 25 October 2026)