Monkeytype
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 4 typing tutors by recommenders
Recommended for practicing typing speed and accuracy, and for its care in building. Critics note the interface is confusing and gains may not carry over to real typing.
Recommended for practicing typing speed and accuracy, and for its care in building. Critics note the interface is confusing and gains may not carry over to real typing.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Favorite site for building typing speed
“monkeytype is my favorite site to train speed”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “typ.ing” “And then Monkeytype to develop speed.”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: Interactive physics simulations I built while teaching my daughter” “Monkeytype is still my favorite”
Comment from 22 Aug 2026 in “typ.ing” Enjoyable for typing practice
“I enjoy typing for typing's sake via MonkeyType”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “AI Pointer from DeepMind” “Monkeytype seems to actually be made with care”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “typ.ing”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Gains may not carry to real typing
“but I get much worse on both fronts when typing in the real world”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards” Not a complete solution on its own
“I don't see these sites as a complete solution”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”
Other typing tutors people recommend
The three most recommended other typing tutors, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| typ.ing | 20 | 6 | 77% | 1 | — | — |
| MonkeytypeThis page | 14 | 2 | 88% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Keybr | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| TypeQuicker | 6 | 0 | 100% | 9 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“current ui is making it 10x difficult to understand what's going on”
“Monkeytype seems to actually be made with care”
“monkeytype is my favorite site to train speed”
“Monkeytype is still my favorite”
“neither are specific for programming”
“I enjoy typing for typing's sake via MonkeyType”
“I don't see these sites as a complete solution”
“but I get much worse on both fronts when typing in the real world”
“And then Monkeytype to develop speed.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.