Click speed
The clock starts on your first click and counts every click until time runs out. Space and Enter work too. Records are kept separately for each duration.
The clock starts on your first click and counts how many you land before time runs out. It starts on the click rather than on page load so that the time it takes to notice the target stays out of your score — measuring that is what the reaction test is for. Space and Enter work too. Records are kept per duration and stay in this browser.
Clicks per second is clicks divided by the round length
73 clicks in a 10-second round is 73 ÷ 10 = 7.30 per second. The divisor is the round length you chose, not the time that actually elapsed, so a click landing at 9.99 s counts in full. The first click starts the clock and is counted as 1 at the same time, so a 5-second round is the number of clicks in the five seconds from that first click. The large number shown while the round runs is the raw count; the per-second figure appears only at the end. It is always written to two decimals — 7.3 and 7.30 side by side are hard to compare.
Where the grades divide
Under 4 per second is slow, 4–6.5 ordinary, 6.5–9 quick, 9–12 very fast, and from 12 the speed of two or more fingers. The thresholds follow what is generally observed: one finger tapping steadily lands around 6–8, alternating two fingers passes 10, and above that are the drag and butterfly techniques. 7.30 is quick. The grade is a label for fun, not a test of anything.
Records are kept per duration, in this browser only
The 5, 10 and 30-second bests are stored separately, because 5 seconds is a burst and 30 seconds is endurance, and the same person scores differently on each. The record lives in this browser's storage and is never sent to a server, so it is not visible on another device and disappears when browser data is cleared. A round with no clicks is not recorded. A new record is judged against the best as it stood when the round began — comparing against the value already updated at the end would make every round a new record.
How a click is counted
Mouse and touch are counted at the moment of pressing. On the keyboard, Space and Enter count when pressed, and holding a key down counts once. Times are taken with performance.now(), so a system clock correction mid-round does not disturb them, and the remaining time is redrawn every 33 ms. When the round ends the pad locks and a fresh round has to be started; changing the duration also starts a fresh one.
Common questions
QWhy not start timing when the page opens?
Because then the time it takes to notice the target ends up in your score. Measuring that is what the reaction test is for, and if two tools measure the same thing one of them has no reason to exist. So the clock starts on the first click — that click counts, and the time runs from it.
QHow is this different from the reaction test?
The reaction test measures one event: seeing a change and moving your finger. This measures how many in a row. The first is eyes and nerves; this is fingers.
QWhat counts as fast?
One finger tapping steadily usually lands around 6–8 per second. Alternating two fingers goes past 10, and above that you are into drag and butterfly techniques. The labels on screen follow those bands — they are a bit of fun, not a diagnosis.
QWhy count on press rather than on release?
Waiting for the release is a beat late when you are hammering, and fast finger taps sometimes never produce one at all. Counting the press matches what you actually did.