Questions, answered
The ones that come up before somebody starts. If yours is not here, write to us and it will be.
Getting started
Do I need a special keyboard?
No. Any physical keyboard: a laptop, a desktop, or an iPad with a keyboard attached. The course is built for real keys, so the website does not run on a phone. The Home Row Hero app for iPhone, not on the App Store yet, has an on-screen keyboard for a lesson when there is nothing better to hand.
Is it for kids or adults?
Both. The lessons are the same and the pace is yours. A household uses one subscription with a profile per person, each keeping its own progress, layout and settings.
Do I have to install anything?
No. The course runs in the browser on any computer, and that includes an iPad with a keyboard attached. There is also a Home Row Hero app for Mac, iPad and iPhone, with the whole course inside it and every lesson running with no network. It is not on the App Store yet.
Dvorak? Colemak?
Yes, and not as a QWERTY course with the letters moved. Each layout gets its own key order, built outward from its own home row, and the keyboard and finger guide on screen follow it.
How the course works
What is in a lesson?
A lesson that teaches keys is seven exercises: the new keys and the finger for each, a drill on just those keys, the same keys mixed into everything you already know, words, a rhythm pass, more words, and a scored check at the end. Review, word and practice lessons are shorter, and every lesson ends in a scored check. Every other exercise counts once you are 90% accurate on it; the check counts once it passes. When every exercise counts, the lesson is done.
What are the stars?
Accuracy earns the first two: 90% earns one, 96% earns two, and two stars passes. The third, fourth and fifth come from speed against that unit's target, and none of them can be earned without the accuracy first. Getting the key right is always the fastest way through.
How fast does it expect me to type?
The target climbs with the course, from 12 words per minute in the Home Row unit to 40 in Mastery, then eases off for the practical units after it, where numbers and symbols slow every hand down. Lessons are scored against the target for the unit they are in rather than against anybody else. The stats page tracks your own curve, your accuracy per key, and the minutes you have put in.
How long will it take?
That depends entirely on you, so the honest answer is that the course does not run on a clock. It is built for about ten minutes a day, it never moves on until an exercise counts, and there is no penalty for repeating one. The practice log shows exactly what you have done and when.
Free, paid and canceling
What is free?
The whole Home Row unit, all 6 lessons, plus the timed tests, certificates, games, stats and badges. The subscription covers the remaining units, and it starts with a 3-day free trial. See Plans.
Are there ads?
Not at the moment. If ads come, they come to the free tier only, and subscribers see none.
Can I cancel?
At any time, from the Billing page, and you keep access to the end of the period you have paid for. Starting the free trial takes a card; cancel before the trial ends and nothing is charged. Moving from monthly to yearly happens immediately with the unused part of the month credited; moving the other way waits until the period you paid for is over.
Still deciding?
The Home Row unit is free and needs no card. Six lessons is enough to know whether the course suits you.