Keyboard Latency Test: Input Delay in Your Browser

Press keys to measure how long events take to reach the page and the next frame, plus your hold time and key repeat rate.

Keyboard latency is the delay between pressing a key and seeing the result on screen. It is built from several steps: the switch closing, the keyboard’s own processing and debounce, the USB or wireless link, the operating system, the browser or game, and finally the display drawing the next frame. Gamers care about it because every millisecond is added to their reaction time.

A browser cannot see inside your keyboard, but it can measure the part of the chain it controls very precisely. This keyboard latency test shows how long each key event takes to reach the page, how long until the next frame appears, how long you hold each key, and how quickly your system repeats a key you hold down.

How to use the keyboard latency test

1. Tap any letter key twenty or more times at a relaxed pace.
2. Read the Key to next frame and Event delay values. Both use the median, so a few odd presses do not skew them.
3. Hold one key down for two seconds to measure repeat delay and repeat rate.
4. Look at the chart for spikes, which show presses that took unusually long to appear.
5. Press Reset and try again after closing background apps to see if the numbers improve.

What each number means

Event delay

Every key event carries a timestamp from when the browser received it. Event delay is the time between that timestamp and the moment the page’s code actually runs. On a healthy system it is well under a millisecond. Higher values mean the browser was busy with other work when you pressed the key.

Key to next frame

This is the time from the key event to the next frame the browser draws. It is mostly waiting for your display’s next refresh, so it depends heavily on refresh rate. On a 60 Hz screen the wait averages around 8 milliseconds plus processing; on 144 Hz it is much shorter.

Hold time

How long each key stays down. It reflects your typing or tapping style more than latency, but very long holds on quick taps can point to sticky keys.

Repeat delay and rate

When you hold a key, your system waits before repeating it, then repeats at a fixed rate. These are operating system settings, and the test shows what yours are set to.

Typical results

What this test cannot measure

Everything that happens before the browser receives the key is invisible to web pages. That includes switch travel, debounce time inside the keyboard, the polling rate of the USB connection and wireless transmission. Those parts can add anywhere from under a millisecond on high-end gaming keyboards to 20 milliseconds or more on slow wireless boards. Measuring them needs special hardware, such as a high speed camera or a dedicated latency tester.

What you can still learn

You can compare browsers, see the effect of closing background apps, and confirm that a higher refresh rate really does shorten the time until your key press appears on screen.

Comparing browsers and settings

Because the test measures the browser side of the chain, it is a good way to compare setups. Run twenty presses in one browser, note the median key to frame time, then repeat in another browser on the same computer. Do the same with battery saver on and off, or with a game running in the background. Differences of a few milliseconds are common, and they add up with everything else in the chain. Always compare medians from the same number of presses, and repeat each run twice, because a single run can be affected by a background task starting at the wrong moment.

How to reduce keyboard latency

• Use a wired connection, or a 2.4 GHz wireless mode instead of Bluetooth.
• Choose a keyboard with a high polling rate if your games are competitive.
• Raise your display refresh rate and confirm it with the refresh rate test.
• Close heavy background apps and browser tabs.
• Lower the repeat delay in system settings if you rely on held keys for navigation.

Related tests

Latency adds to your own reaction time, which you can measure in the reaction time test. Check that every key works in the keyboard tester, test gaming combinations in the WASD test, and see how fast you can tap in the spacebar speed test. For the mouse side of input latency, the polling rate test shows how often your mouse reports its position.

Frequently asked questions

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