Tools / WPM calculator
Morse WPM calculator
Words-per-minute in Morse is defined by the PARIS standard: the word “PARIS” plus a word space is 50 dit-units. That yields the classic formula dit ms = 1200 / WPM.
| Dit (1 unit) | 60.0 ms |
| Dah (3 units) | 180.0 ms |
| Intra-character gap (1) | 60.0 ms |
| Inter-character gap (3) | 180.0 ms |
| Word gap (7) | 420.0 ms |
≈ 20.0 WPM (from 1200 / dit ms = 60.0 ms check)
Character WPM vs effective WPM
Character WPM is how fast dits and dahs inside a letter play. Effective WPM is overall throughput when you stretch gaps between letters (Farnsworth). MorseTime defaults to high character speed with wide gaps — see the timing demo and timing guide.