Keyboard Layouts
To change your keyboard layout: open the Practice page, click the Lessons button, and in the Keyboard settings pick your layout.
These charts visualize the efficiency of different keyboard layouts. An efficiency is a measure of how easy it is to type on a keyboard.
The circles show relative key frequencies, and the arcs show relative key pair frequencies.
It is easier to type when the most frequent keys are on the home row, and when the most frequent key pairs are typed with different fingers and hands. Therefore an efficient layout has the largest circles on the home row. It also has arcs that are evenly distributed across the keyboard, long and horizontal, rather than short and diagonal, because it indicates the frequent switching of fingers and hands.
- Keys on the home row:
- The percentage of keys typed without leaving the Caps Lock row, the more the better.
- Keys on the top row:
- The percentage of keys typed on the Tab row, the less the better.
- Keys on the bottom row:
- The percentage of keys typed on the Shift row, the less the better.
- Keys typed by the same hand:
- The percentage of keys typed by the same hand, the less the better.
- Keys typed by the same finger:
- The percentage of keys typed by the same finger, the less the better.
QWERTY vs Dvorak vs Colemak: how they compare
We ran the same analysis as the charts below on English letter and letter-pair frequencies for the five best-known English layouts. Lower is better for the top row, the bottom row, same-hand and same-finger typing; higher is better for the home row.
| Layout | Home row | Top row | Bottom row | Same hand | Same finger |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QWERTY | 30.0% | 54.6% | 15.4% | 52.2% | 19.3% |
| Dvorak | 68.1% | 24.2% | 7.8% | 30.0% | 18.5% |
| Colemak | 70.0% | 21.0% | 9.1% | 45.4% | 14.7% |
| Colemak-DH | 68.9% | 19.8% | 11.2% | 45.5% | 14.1% |
| Workman | 65.1% | 20.5% | 14.4% | 47.1% | 17.5% |
The clearest difference is the home row. On QWERTY only 30% of keystrokes land there and more than half go to the top row. Every alternative here more than doubles the home-row share: Colemak is highest at 70%, Dvorak close behind at 68%. Dvorak also alternates hands the most, with only 30% of letter pairs typed by the same hand against 52% on QWERTY. Colemak and Colemak-DH have the fewest letter pairs typed by the same finger, a figure that includes doubled letters such as the ll in all.
Should you switch from QWERTY?
These numbers measure comfort and finger travel, not speed. There is little solid evidence that switching makes an experienced typist faster, and relearning a layout takes weeks of slower typing: here is what the research on Dvorak actually found. If you are still learning to touch type, that is the best time to choose, because you are building the habit from scratch either way.