Typing Accuracy Calculator

A full mistake is a wrong, omitted, added or transposed word. A half mistake covers spacing, capitalisation or punctuation errors — counted at half weight. Your error percentage is weighted mistakes (full + half × 0.5) divided by total words typed, times 100. This is the same formula used across every typing test on this site.

Error % = ((full + (half × 0.5)) ÷ words typed) × 100

The half-weighting is the part most people miss. A missed capital letter or a double space isn't forgiven — it still costs you, just half as much as typing the wrong word outright. Because half mistakes are the easiest kind to make in bulk without noticing, they're often what quietly pushes an otherwise clean attempt over the limit.

Category-wise Permissible Error Limits

Your error percentage doesn't get judged against one universal number — it's judged against the limit for your category. The commonly published limits are:

These are the limits commonly published for SSC DEST-type evaluation, and this calculator applies them. They are not a substitute for your exam's current official notification — category limits can and do change between recruitment cycles, so confirm yours before relying on this to make a decision.

Worked Example: Passing vs Failing on the Same Passage

Two candidates type the same 400-word passage in the same 15 minutes. Both hit the speed requirement. Only one passes.

Two things are worth noticing here. First, Candidate B fails under UR but passes under SC/ST on an identical attempt — the same typing produces different outcomes purely because the limit differs, which is why picking your category before you practise matters. Second, B's 18 half mistakes contributed 9 weighted errors on their own: fix those alone and B is under the limit even without typing a single word more accurately. That's usually the fastest route to a pass — see how to improve typing accuracy for the drill order.

Speed still has to hold at the same time, though. Use the WPM calculator to check that side, or run a full SSC CGL mock test, which scores speed and errors together on one attempt the way the real DEST software does.