The best typing tutor software makes it simple and easy to learn how to type more effectively and efficiently using a computer keyboard.
1. Best free
2. Best for adaptive learning
3. Best for offline use
4. Best for competitive groups
5. Best for students
6. FAQs
7. How we test
Being able to type quickly and accurately is an essential skill that takes practice to learn. You can use typing training software to hasten your progress while also learning techniques that can increase speed and accuracy.
The best typing tutors have accuracy training, ergonomics lessons, and timed exercises to help you improve. Smart goals that adapt to your strengths and weaknesses can help you build muscle memory and iron out flaws in your typing.
Learning to type can feel like a long and monotonous process, so typing tutor software with fun drills and games help you to stay motivated. Software that tracks your progress, speed, and accuracy can show you just how far you’ve come in your training.
In this article, we go over the best typing tutor software currently available, so you can supercharge your typing speed. We've looked at everything including cost, tracking and progress tools, and accompanying apps to make a considered pick of the best typing tutor software on the market right now.
We've also featured the best free office software.
The best typing tutor software of 2024 in full:
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
Best free
Typing.com is a free typing tutor with typing lessons for beginner, intermediate, and expert typists. When you’re in a lesson, there’s nothing to distract you. You can focus on the virtual keyboard that shows you the letters that you need to press and the fingers you should use. Besides the usual typing drills, you’ll find lessons on tech readiness and career preparation. Another lesson plan trains you to touch-type programming code.
Typing.com keeps track of your problem keys and suggests lessons to help you improve. It offers six different typing tests that let you gauge your speed and accuracy. The results of your last 30 tests are stored, so you can see how you’ve improved. More motivation comes from the 249 achievements and badges that you can earn on your typing journey.
You can reinforce what you’ve learned with Typing.com through a wide range of typing practice exercises, including a choose-your-own-adventure typing game where the story changes based on your decisions. Other games such as Keyboard Jump and Tommy Q: Zombie Defender also make the training more fun.
Typing.com may be free, but it rivals the best paid typing tutor software in features and usability. If you find the ads distracting, a one-off payment removes them.
Best for adaptive learning
Typesy is one of the most recognized typing tutors available today with software versions for individuals, homeschooling, businesses, and schools. There’s no trial version, but all versions have a 12-month money-back guarantee.
Typesy is cloud-based, so you can access it from any computer, and it will synchronize your results across all devices.
Unusually, the software doesn’t come with any preset goals, so you must set up your own. Once you’ve been typing for a while in Typesy, its Smart Goals point out where you need to improve. Progress tracking is excellent, with a wealth of statistics available at all times in an easy-to-understand visual format.
It uses over 500 scientifically-proven exercises, lessons, drills, and games to improve your typing. Video instructors offer accompanying information before each lesson. You can import your own content from files, eBooks, Wikipedia, or other web content. Lessons can be downloaded from other sources.
Typsey’s games, like Typing Monster, are particularly good for keeping younger students engaged. Overall, Typesy is the most fully-featured and intuitive typing tutor available today.
Best for offline use
KeyBlaze is a budget-friendly typing tutor for Windows or Mac. There is a limited-feature free version, personal version, and commercial version. The commercial version is also available on a subscription plan.
There are over 150 activities to hone your skills, including special lessons for practicing transcribing and 10-key numeric keyboard typing. Games like Word Blizzard challenge you to type words quickly and accurately. Assessments let you know where you stand, and the software keeps track of your speed, accuracy, and weak areas. You can even create your own custom lessons and set your own word-per-minute goals.
KeyBlaze works well as a teaching tool and being able to see your progress in graphs and scores is motivating, but the interface and graphics lag behind more modern options like Typesy. Since most features aren’t available in the free version, it’s more of a demo, but the paid version is inexpensive.
Best for competitive groups
RataType is a free online typing tutor with 15 typing lessons, each with multiple exercises. Lessons begin by teaching correct posture, finger position, and finger motion. Interestingly, if you make too many typos, then you’re forced to repeat an exercise.
Besides lessons in the QWERTY keyboard setup, RataType supports Dvorak, AZERTY, Spanish, French, Russian, and Ukrainian layouts. It has a typing test that you can take at any time that shows your speed and accuracy. A printable bronze, silver, or gold certificate is generated, and employers can verify your score at a unique URL.
This typing tutor software is aimed at groups of friends or classrooms, as you can view reports on high scores and compete against each other. It’s an excellent free typing tutor, but it lacks the custom exercises and problem-area highlighting of commercial software.
Best for students
TypingClub is a gamified typing tutor with a friendly user interface. You’ll find yourself constantly pushing to earn badges and higher game scores while progressively learning new skills.
The ad-free Premium edition has a three-day free trial and adds more game modes, themes, and reports.
The primary lesson plan has over 670 lessons that build upon each other. You can take a placement test that lets you skip some of the earlier levels if you’re already an intermediate typist. There are lesson plans in nine languages, lesson plans for left-hand and right-hand typing, and specific plans for K1, first-grade, and third-grade students.
A statistics page shows how your speed and accuracy have improved over time in a range of charts, graphs, and calendars. Usefully, color-coded diagrams show how you perform with each keyboard key and finger.
TypingClub is a fun, user-friendly typing tutor that does an excellent job of keeping you motivated and interested while you improve your typing speed and accuracy.
We've also listed the best laptops for writers.
Best typing tutor software FAQs
How to choose the best typing tutor software for you
If you’re on the hunt for the best typing tutor software, then it would seem you need to improve your typing skills. Whether it’s for a new job or just to improve some key life skills, the first thing to consider when deciding on the best software for you is exactly what area you need to improve in.
Is it accuracy that you could do with boosting? Do you need to be able to type quicker and have a set speed in mind? Or are you simply wanting an all-around improvement? Knowing exactly how you want to benefit from your software will help you narrow down your choice.
Secondly, having an idea as to how you prefer to learn will also help. Are you easily bored and would prefer a ‘gamified’ learning experience? Or are you happy to slog it out with straight-laced exercises that make you feel as though you’re taking things on board?
Lastly, have an idea of what you’re prepared to spend. The software listed here ranges from entirely free services to those that charge monthly or annual fees, so there should be something here that fits your budget.
How we test the best typing tutor software
To ensure we pick out only the best typing tutor software on the market today, we've road-tested a variety of features and functions, and delved into the detail when it comes to user experience, the breadth of learning, and cost.
We've noted the depth of coverage for each software, stating whether they are better suited solely to beginners or whether there is also enough to improve intermediate or even expert typists.
Not only have we noted the breadth of exercises and tasks, but also any features that allow you to track your progress and improvement over time. We've also taken account of any software that provides additional features like video tutorials and games. Offline and cloud capabilities have also been analysed. Finally, where software costs a fee, we've also noted if free trial periods or money-back guarantees are offered.
Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.
Get in touch
- Want to find out about commercial or marketing opportunities? Click here
- Out of date info, errors, complaints or broken links? Give us a nudge
- Got a suggestion for a product or service provider? Message us directly
- You've reached the end of the page. Jump back up to the top ^
