The HypestKey keyboard polling rate test shows how often your keyboard sends a report to your PC. Press Start test, roll your fingers across several keys for 15 seconds, and the tool reads the gaps between key events in your browser. You get the polling rate in Hz, the report interval in ms, the number of samples, a min and max rate and a stability verdict. Nothing to install, and it works with USB and wireless keyboards.
Use it to check that a gaming keyboard really runs at the rate you set in its software, to compare two keyboards, or to find out why a wireless board feels slow. For a full check of every key, open the keyboard tester next.
How to use the keyboard polling rate test
- Close other heavy tabs and plug the keyboard straight into a USB port on the PC, not into a hub.
- Press Start test. The test area takes focus, so keys like Space, Tab and the arrows will not scroll the page.
- Roll your fingers across several keys at once, as fast as you can, like a quick drum roll on the desk. Keep going without pauses.
- After 15 seconds the test stops on its own. Press Esc if you want to stop earlier.
- Read the polling rate, the interval, the min and max values and the verdict on the right. The verdict also says whether the rate was stable, moderate or unstable.
- Press Copy result to save the numbers, or Start again to repeat the run. Two or three runs in a row give the most reliable picture.
What is keyboard polling rate?
Polling rate is how often your keyboard reports to the PC, measured in Hz. At 1000 Hz the keyboard sends 1000 reports per second, one every 1 ms. At 125 Hz, the usual office rate, a report goes out every 8 ms, so a key press can wait up to 8 ms before the PC sees it.
Office keyboards usually run at 125 Hz. Gaming keyboards typically run at 1000 Hz, which cuts the gap to 1 ms. Some newer boards go up to 4000 or 8000 Hz, but honestly the benefit over 1000 Hz is hard to notice for most people.
Why care? In shooters and fighting games every millisecond counts. Human reaction time is usually somewhere around 150 to 250 ms anyway (try the reaction time test to see yours), but removing extra delay from the hardware chain still helps. Plus it is one less thing to blame when you miss a shot.
How this tool works: how does a browser measure polling rate?
A keyboard can only send key changes once per report, so two key events that land in different reports are separated by one polling interval or a whole multiple of it. While you roll several keys, the HypestKey test records the timestamp of every keydown and keyup and looks at the shortest steady gaps between them.
Here is the exact calculation. Gaps longer than 16 ms count as pauses between bursts and are ignored, and gaps close to zero (two keys in the same report) are dropped too. The 10th percentile of the remaining gaps is taken as the base interval. Every gap is then divided by the number of whole intervals it spans, which turns it into its own rate, and the polling rate is the average of those rates. If the average lands within 12% of a standard rate (125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 or 8000 Hz), the tool shows that standard value. Min and max are the 5th and 95th percentile of the rates.
Stability is 100 minus the spread of the rates (standard deviation divided by the average, in percent). Over 70 counts as stable, over 40 as moderate, anything lower as unstable. The test needs at least 20 usable gaps; with fewer it asks you to roll more keys and try again.
Timing comes from the browser’s own event timestamps, not from a timer loop. That is accurate enough to tell 125, 500 and 1000 Hz apart, but it has limits, see the last section below.
What polling rate do keyboards use, and how much delay does each add?
Keyboards use six common polling rates, from 125 Hz to 8000 Hz. The delay between reports is 1000 divided by the rate: 8 ms at 125 Hz, 4 ms at 250 Hz, 2 ms at 500 Hz, 1 ms at 1000 Hz, 0.25 ms at 4000 Hz and 0.125 ms at 8000 Hz. Most gaming keyboards ship at 1000 Hz.
| Polling rate | Delay between reports | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| 125 Hz | 8 ms | Office keyboards, basic stuff |
| 250 Hz | 4 ms | Entry level gaming |
| 500 Hz | 2 ms | Solid for most games |
| 1000 Hz | 1 ms | Competitive standard |
| 4000 Hz | 0.25 ms | High refresh rate setups |
| 8000 Hz | 0.125 ms | Bragging rights mostly |
On a standard full-speed USB connection 1000 Hz is the ceiling, because the shortest report interval there is 1 ms. Rates of 2000 Hz and above need a keyboard that talks high-speed USB, which is why those boards are sold as a separate class.
Does a higher keyboard polling rate help in games?
Going from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz cuts up to 7 ms of delay, and you can usually feel that in fast games. Going from 1000 Hz to 8000 Hz saves less than 1 ms, which is mostly marketing. Unless you have a 360 Hz monitor and pro-level reflexes, a 1000 Hz keyboard is enough in most cases.
Games where it matters: CS2, Valorant, Apex Legends, fighting games, rhythm games. Anything with fast inputs and tight timing.
Games where it does not: Civilization, RPGs, card games, anything turn-based. Your 125 Hz office keyboard works fine there.
Most pro players still use 1000 Hz. Not 4000 Hz, not 8000 Hz, just regular 1000 Hz. That tells you something. If you want to compare your own speed rather than your hardware, the CPS test and the typing test measure the human side.
How do you change your keyboard polling rate?
On gaming keyboards you change it in the maker’s software: Razer Synapse, Logitech G Hub, Corsair iCUE or SteelSeries GG. Look for “polling rate” or “report rate” in the settings, pick 1000 Hz and forget about it. Office keyboards usually have a fixed rate of 125 Hz that you cannot change.
Some boards have hardware switches or key combos instead. Check your manual. Often it is something like Fn+1 for 125 Hz and Fn+4 for 1000 Hz, but the combo depends on the brand.
Regular office keyboards are stuck at factory settings. If you need a higher polling rate, it is time for a new keyboard. After any change, run this test again to confirm the new rate.
Why does a wireless or Bluetooth keyboard show a low polling rate?
Bluetooth keyboards usually top out around 125 Hz, roughly one report every 8 ms, because of how the Bluetooth connection schedules data. That is a protocol limit, not a fault, and no setting fixes it. Gaming wireless boards use a 2.4 GHz USB dongle instead, which is how they reach 1000 Hz without a cable.
If your wireless gaming keyboard tests low, check that it is connected through the dongle and not through Bluetooth, move the dongle closer (a USB extension cable on the desk often helps), and charge the battery. Some boards drop the rate in power saving mode.
Why does my 1000 Hz keyboard show less in this test?
Browser tests have limits. JavaScript timing is not perfect, browsers round event timestamps on purpose, and a busy tab can deliver events late. Because of that, a 1000 Hz keyboard might show 700 to 900 Hz here on some PCs. That is normal, and your keyboard is probably fine.
Want better accuracy? Close other tabs. Use a direct USB port, not a hub. Press keys at a steady, fast pace without pauses, and roll at least three or four keys at once. Do not expect lab-grade numbers, but you will see if something is wrong, for example a gaming board stuck at 125 Hz.
Test several keyboards the same way and you can compare them. Relative differences are reliable even if the absolute numbers are not exact. For mice, the mouse polling rate test works on the same idea with pointer events.