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ReactionTestTime

Statistics

Average Reaction Time

The average reaction time for a simple visual task is typically reported at around 200 to 250 ms in laboratory studies of healthy adults. Here you can see the real average from people who took our test, and why browser results run a little higher.

Average reaction time on ReactionTestTime

88

Tests collected

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Average

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Median

0

Tests today

Distribution of session averages (classic test)

Data collection in progress.

We only publish the average and distribution once at least 100 real, anonymous test sessions are available (88 so far). Every completed test helps. How we collect data

Average by test type

TestAverageMedianSessions
Reaction Time Test400 ms358 ms88
Aim Test538 ms502 ms64

What counts as an average reaction time?

“Average reaction time” usually refers to simple visual reaction time: the delay between a light appearing and a person pressing a button. In controlled laboratory conditions, healthy young adults typically average roughly 200 to 250 ms, with individual results varying with attention, fatigue, age and practice.

Online tests like ours measure the same thing, but on consumer hardware. Monitors, mice, touchscreens and operating systems each add a small delay, so browser results are usually somewhat higher than laboratory figures. That's why the most useful comparisons are against other people using the same test, which is what our statistics show.

Average vs. median

Reaction-time distributions are skewed: most people cluster together, but a minority of slow or distracted sessions pull the mean upwards. The median is therefore the better “typical” value.

Interpreting simple visual reaction time

  • Exceptional< 180 ms
  • Fast180–220 ms
  • Typical220–300 ms
  • Slower than typical300–400 ms
  • Slow400+ ms

A general guide for mouse or touch on typical consumer hardware, which adds roughly 20 to 80 ms of device latency. Not a clinical scale.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average human reaction time?
For simple visual reactions, laboratory studies of healthy adults commonly report averages of roughly 200 to 250 ms. Auditory reactions are usually somewhat faster, and reactions that require a choice are slower.
Why is the online average higher than lab figures?
Browser tests include device latency: display refresh and processing, input device delay and operating-system scheduling. Together these commonly add tens of milliseconds.
Is the average or the median more useful?
The median is less affected by a few very slow sessions, so it's a better picture of the typical result. We show both.
How is this average calculated?
Each completed session produces an average of its valid attempts. We then take the mean and median of those session averages, including only sessions with at least 3 valid attempts.

Sources

  1. Woods DL, Wyma JM, Yund EW, Herron TJ, Reed B. Factors influencing the latency of simple reaction time. Front Hum Neurosci. 2015;9:131.
  2. Jain A, Bansal R, Kumar A, Singh KD. A comparative study of visual and auditory reaction times on the basis of gender and physical activity levels of medical first year students. Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2015;5(2):124–127.
  3. Der G, Deary IJ. Age and sex differences in reaction time in adulthood: results from the United Kingdom Health and Lifestyle Survey. Psychol Aging. 2006;21(1):62–73.

Add your result to the data

Every completed test is saved anonymously and helps make these statistics more accurate.

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