Monkeytype vs 10FastFingers: the benchmark and the instrument
10FastFingers is a fixed benchmark; Monkeytype is an adjustable instrument. 10FastFingers gives everyone the same one-minute test drawn from the most common words, which is exactly what makes it quotable — a 10FastFingers score means the same thing from one person to the next. Monkeytype lets you change nearly everything, which makes it a better training tool and a worse universal yardstick.
TypeBag is a 1v1 typing race for money: two players type the same 30–60 second passage, and the faster, more accurate typist takes 90% of the pot. It is free to try with no account, or staked at $1–$10 in USDC on Solana.
Side by side
| 10FastFingers | Monkeytype | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | A quick, standardised benchmark | Configurable practice and analysis |
| Default test | One minute, most common words | Your choice of time or word count |
| Configurability | Limited by design | Extensive: punctuation, numbers, custom text, languages |
| Analysis | Score, accuracy, ranking | Per-key breakdown, consistency, history graphs |
| Head-to-head | Yes — multiplayer tests and competitions | No |
| Comparable between people | Yes, that is the point | Only if both used the same settings |
Why the numbers differ
A word is scored as five characters including the following space, regardless of which five. That single convention explains almost every cross-site discrepancy people notice.
10FastFingers uses the most frequent words in the language: short, familiar, no capitals, no punctuation, and typed by your hands thousands of times already. It is close to the easiest text you could be given, so it produces close to your highest honest number. Monkeytype can be configured to match that almost exactly — and if it is, the scores converge. The gap people report is usually a gap between a bare word test and one with punctuation switched on, not between the two sites.
What each is genuinely better at
10FastFingers for a number you can quote. It is old, it is stable, and enough people have taken exactly that test that a score carries shared meaning. Its multiplayer tests and competitions are also a gentler introduction to typing against other people than a full race site.
Monkeytype for getting better. The per-key breakdown is the feature that matters: it turns "I am stuck at 85" into "my right ring finger is costing me on punctuation", which is something you can actually train. Nothing on 10FastFingers does that.
The number that neither one measures
Both are solo tests against a clock, and both let you retake until you get a run you like. Neither tells you what your hands do when a real opponent is three words ahead with ten seconds left. That turns out to be a separate skill, and it is the one that decides races.
TypeBag measures only that. One mode: a 30–60 second prose passage, another person typing the same one at the same instant, and the faster accurate typist takes the pot. Expect your first duel numbers to land below your test numbers — real prose is harder than common words, and an opponent is harder than a clock. The free tier is unrated, needs no account and costs nothing; the paid tiers put real money at risk, which is described in full here, including the part where you can lose it.
Common questions
Why is my 10FastFingers score higher than my Monkeytype score?
The default tests are not equivalent. 10FastFingers draws from a list of the most common words in the language, which are short and heavily practised, over a fixed one minute. Monkeytype's defaults are similar but far more likely to have been configured with punctuation, numbers or a harder word set. Harder characters mean a lower number from identical hands, and a word counts as five characters however difficult it was.
Which typing test is most accurate?
Both compute WPM the same standard way, so neither is inaccurate. The question is what you want the number to represent. A common-words test measures your ceiling on easy text; a test with punctuation and capitals measures something closer to how you type in real life. Real prose, as used in races and duels, is the harshest and most realistic of the three.
Does 10FastFingers have multiplayer?
Yes. Alongside the standard one-minute test it offers a multiplayer typing test and has run competitions, some with prizes attached. It is one of the older sites in the category and predates most of the current generation.
Which should I use to track progress?
Whichever one you will actually open every day, and then only that one. Switching between tests mid-way through improving makes your history meaningless, because a change in the number could be you or could be the test.