What is a really good reaction time?

What is a really good reaction time? For an adult pressing a button when something appears on a screen, about a quarter of a second is ordinary, and about a fifth of a second or less is quick. In a large laboratory study, 1,469 adults averaged 230.8 ms, and most were within 26.8 ms of that^[1]. The fastest a human can truly answer a sound is close to a tenth of a second, which is why sprinting treats any quicker start as a false start^[2].

Take the reaction time test

The figures in one table

Reaction times in the studies and rules cited on this page
What was measured	Figure
Adults pressing a mouse button when a target appeared: the average	230.8 ms
How far most of those adults were from the average	26.8 ms
Clicks on a popular online test: the median	273 ms (reported by the site)^[3]
Sprint start: quicker than this counts as a false start	0.1 second
Fastest muscle response measured at a sprint start	under 85 ms
Time the brain needs to tell whether a photo shows an animal	under 150 ms
Young adults answering a loud sound on a phone: the average	405 ms

The rows are not one ladder. Each was measured with different equipment and a different task, which is the most important thing to know when you compare a number of your own with any of them.

What the largest careful study measured

The study behind the average in the first paragraph was published in 2015. Its 1,469 volunteers, aged 18 to 65, watched a screen and pressed the button of a gaming mouse as soon as a target appeared to the left or right of the centre. Each person did many practice and test tries, and the study kept each person's own average^[1].

That is simple reaction time: one signal, one answer, no choice. It is the fastest kind there is. As soon as a task asks you to choose (press left for red, right for green), every answer takes longer, because the brain has to pick before the hand can move.

A second, much larger figure comes from a popular website that runs a reaction test of its own. It reports a median of 273 ms (reported by the site)^[3] over millions of clicks. That figure counts clicks rather than people, includes every kind of phone and computer, and has not been checked by anyone outside the site, so we show it as reported and do not compare you with it.

How fast can a human possibly react?

Sprinting has the clearest answer, because it has to: a runner who leaves the blocks before a human could have heard the gun has guessed. The rules of World Athletics, as in force from 1 July 2026, treat a reaction time of less than 0.1 second, measured by sensors in the blocks, as a possible false start^[2].

Is that line too strict? A study of nine sprinters published in 2007 put force sensors in the starting blocks and found that 20% of the starts in its first two conditions came in under 100 ms. The muscles themselves began to fire even sooner: the authors concluded that the body's own part of a reaction to a sound can be under 85 ms^[4]. So the true human limit sits a little under a tenth of a second, for trained athletes, reacting to a sound they are waiting for.

Seeing is not instant either. In a study published in 1996, people decided whether a photograph flashed for only 20 ms showed an animal. Their brain activity showed the decision being made within 150 ms of the picture appearing, before any hand had moved^[5]. Recognising something and pressing a button for it are two steps, and each takes its share of the time.

Sight, sound and touch

People usually answer a sound faster than a light. A study of 120 medical students aged 18 to 20, who pressed the space bar of a laptop for a beep and for a red circle, found the answers to the sound significantly quicker in both women and men^[6]. A sound reaches the brain by a shorter path than an image, which the eye has to turn into signals first.

Touch can be quick too, and combining senses helps most. In a study published in 2023, 20 adults aged 20 to 29 held a phone that beeped, vibrated or lit up. A loud beep on its own brought the fastest single-sense answers, at 405 ms on average, and a faint light the slowest, at 528 ms. A strong beep, vibration and light together gave the quickest answers of all, 320 ms^[7].

Those phone figures are much higher than the laboratory average. That is not because the young adults were slow: a phone adds its own delay between a touch and the moment the app records it, and the people held the phone in their hands instead of resting a finger on a button.

Athletes and racing drivers

Fast reactions are part of many sports, and practice makes a familiar signal easier to answer. A small study published in 2006 compared eight élite racing drivers with 10 active people of the same age and weight: the drivers reacted significantly faster, while their balance and strength were no different^[8]. A group that small cannot tell us how much faster drivers are in general, only that the difference was there.

Formula 1 starts are built to test that skill. Under the sporting rules of the FIA, five red lights come on one after another at intervals of 1 second, and the race starts when they all go out after a pause that the starter chooses^[9]. Because the pause changes every time, a driver cannot learn the rhythm and has to react. We could not find a published study of drivers' start reactions measured by the timing system, so we give none.

Our F1 start lights test works the same way: 5 lamps light up 1 sec apart, then go out after a random hold between 0.2 sec and 3 sec.

What this means for your own result

Your result in a browser includes more than you. The screen shows the signal a moment after it is drawn, the mouse or touch screen reports your press a moment later, and the browser stamps the time. Robot tests of everyday devices found that this chain adds 44.1 ms to 115.1 ms more than a laboratory's with a keyboard, and 39.8 ms to 52 ms with a touch screen^[10]^[11]. The reaction time test allows for that and compares you with the study as a range.

Use the same device each time you test, so that its delay stays the same.
Rest a finger on the button or the screen before the signal, as the people in the studies did.
Look at the middle of several tries, not at your single best one.
Expect the result to change a little with tiredness, the time of day and how much you expected the signal.

Age matters as well. Reaction time is quickest in young adulthood and slows slowly after that; a survey of 7,130 adults in the United Kingdom found little slowing of simple reaction time until around the age of 50^[12].

Read on: how reaction time changes from childhood to old age, what a screen, a mouse and a browser add and how reaction time is measured.

Questions

Is a fifth of a second a good reaction time?

Yes, for a simple reaction measured on a computer. The adults in the large study averaged 230.8 ms, so a fifth of a second is quicker than their average. On a phone the same person usually measures slower, because the phone adds a delay of its own.

Can anyone react faster than a tenth of a second?

Only just, and only in ideal conditions. Trained sprinters waiting for the gun sometimes start their muscles a little under 100 ms after the sound. A reaction to something you see, or measured through a mouse and a screen, is slower than that.

Why is my reaction time slower on my phone?

A touch screen needs time to notice and report a touch, and phones differ a lot. In a phone study, young adults took 405 ms on average to answer a loud beep, far above the laboratory average for a light. Compare your phone results with each other, not with a computer.

Are racing drivers faster than other people?

In a small study, eight élite racing drivers reacted significantly faster than active people of the same age. The study was too small to say by how much drivers in general are faster.

Sources

Woods, D. L., Wyma, J. M., Yund, E. W., Herron, T. J., & Reed, B. (2015). Factors influencing the latency of simple reaction time. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 131.doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00131
n = 1,469; Community volunteers in Rotorua, New Zealand, aged 18 to 65 (mean age 45.8, 40% men)
Abstract: "Experiment 1 examined a community sample of 1469 subjects ranging in age from 18 to 65. Mean SRT latencies were short (231, 213 ms when corrected for hardware delays) and increased significantly with age (0.55 ms/year)". Table 2, column Experiment 1: "N 1469", "SRT 230.8", "SRT SD 26.8". (read on 2026-10-01: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00131/full)
World Athletics (2026). Book C, C2.1 Technical Rules, Rule 16 (The start), version in force from 1 July 2026. World Athletics Book of Rules.https://worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/book-of-rules
C2.1 Technical Rules (document "C1.1 & C2.1 - Competition Rules & Technical Rules", dated 01 JUL 2026): "When a World Athletics certified Start Information System is in use, the Starter and/or an assigned Recaller shall wear headphones in order to clearly hear the acoustic signal emitted when the System indicates a possible false start (i.e. when the reaction time is less than 0.100 second)." (read on 2026-10-06: https://worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/book-of-rules)
Human Benchmark (2026). Reaction Time Statistics. humanbenchmark.com.https://humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/statistics
n = 81,000,000; Reaction-time clicks by visitors to the site: attempts, not people
"Since this site was created, it's recorded over 81 million reaction time clicks. The median reaction time is 273 milliseconds. The average reaction time is 284 milliseconds." (read on 2026-10-01: https://humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/statistics)
Pain, M. T. G., & Hibbs, A. (2007). Sprint starts and the minimum auditory reaction time. Journal of Sports Sciences, 25(1), 79–86.doi:10.1080/02640410600718004
Nine sprinters starting from instrumented blocks
Abstract: "The simple auditory reaction time is one of the fastest reaction times and is thought to be rarely less than 100 ms." "Reaction time in nine athletes performing sprint starts in four conditions was measured using starting blocks instrumented with piezoelectric force transducers" "Five of the athletes had mean reaction times of less than 100 ms in at least one condition and 20% of all starts in the first two conditions had a reaction time of less than 100 ms. The results demonstrate that the neuromuscular-physiological component of simple auditory reaction times can be under 85 ms and that EMG latencies can be under 60 ms." (read on 2026-10-06: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17127583/)
Thorpe, S., Fize, D., & Marlot, C. (1996). Speed of processing in the human visual system. Nature, 381(6582), 520–522.doi:10.1038/381520a0
Abstract: "Here we use a go/no-go categorization task in which subjects have to decide whether a previously unseen photograph, flashed on for just 20 ms, contains an animal. ERP analysis revealed a frontal negativity specific to no-go trials that develops roughly 150 ms after stimulus onset. We conclude that the visual processing needed to perform this highly demanding task can be achieved in under 150 ms." (read on 2026-10-06: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8632824/)
Jain, A., Bansal, R., Kumar, A., & Singh, K. D. (2015). A comparative study of visual and auditory reaction times on the basis of gender and physical activity levels of medical first year students. International Journal of Applied and Basic Medical Research, 5(2), 124–127.doi:10.4103/2229-516X.157168
n = 120; Medical students aged 18 to 20 in Patiala, India
Abstract: "The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 healthy medical students in age group of 18-20 years. RT for target stimulus that is, for the beep tone for measuring ART, and red circle for measuring VRT was determined using Inquisit 4.0 (Computer Software) in the laptop. The task was to press the spacebar as soon as the stimulus is presented. Five readings of each stimulus were taken, and their respective fastest RT's for each stimuli were recorded." "In both the sexes' RT to the auditory stimulus was significantly less (P < 0.001) as compared to the visual stimulus." (read on 2026-10-06: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26097821/)
Yoshida, K. T., Kiernan, J. X., Okamura, A. M., & Nunez, C. M. (2023). Exploring human response times to combinations of audio, haptic, and visual stimuli from a mobile device. IEEE World Haptics Conference 2023 (arXiv:2305.17180).https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.17180
n = 20; Adults aged 20 to 29 holding an iPhone 11
"Our user study included 20 participants (13 female, 6 male, 1 non-binary; aged 20-29)." "Participants had the shortest response time for the high audio stimulus (405 ± 50 ms) and longest response time for the low visual stimulus (528 ± 105 ms)." "The mean response time is the fastest in the condition with high levels of all three stimuli (mean ± standard deviation, 320 ± 43 ms)" "The fastest mean response time recorded for a particular subject was 250 ms, and the slowest was 819 ms." "The overall mean response time across all conditions was (380 ± 52 ms)." (read on 2026-10-06: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2305.17180)
Baur, H., Müller, S., Hirschmüller, A., Huber, G., & Mayer, F. (2006). Reactivity, stability, and strength performance capacity in motor sports. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 40, 906–910.doi:10.1136/bjsm.2006.025783
Eight élite racing drivers and ten physically active people of the same age and weight
Abstract: "Eight élite racing drivers and 10 physically active controls matched for age and weight were tested in reaction and determination tests." "Racing drivers demonstrated significantly faster reaction times than controls (p = 0.004). However, no significant differences were found for postural stability, leg extensor strength, or arm strength and endurance." (read on 2026-10-06: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/search?query=PMCID:PMC2465029&format=json&resultType=core)
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) (2026). 2026 Formula 1 Regulations, Section B: Sporting, Issue 07, Article B5.7.2. FIA, 25 June 2026.https://api.fia.com/system/files/documents/fia_2026_f1_regulations_-_section_b_sporting_-_iss_07_-_2026-06-25.pdf
Article B5.7.2: "There will be a standing start, the signal to start the TTCS being given by means of five red lights on the start gantry" "The time interval between the illumination of each of the five red lights in the sequence described above shall be one (1) second." "The time interval between the illumination of the fifth light and all lights being extinguished, to signal the start of the TTCS, is at the sole discretion of the permanent starter." (read on 2026-10-06: https://api.fia.com/system/files/documents/fia_2026_f1_regulations_-_section_b_sporting_-_iss_07_-_2026-06-25.pdf)
Pronk, T., Wiers, R. W., Molenkamp, B., & Murre, J. (2020). Mental chronometry in the pocket? Timing accuracy of web applications on touchscreen and keyboard devices. Behavior Research Methods, 52(3), 1371–1382.doi:10.3758/s13428-019-01321-2
Four devices from 2015 and 2016: a MacBook Pro, an ASUS laptop, a Samsung Galaxy S7 and an iPhone 6S, pressed by a robot
Abstract: "In controlled circumstances, as can be realized in a lab setting, very accurate stimulus timing and moderately accurate RT measurements could be achieved on both touchscreen and keyboard devices, though RTs were consistently overestimated." Table 4 "Descriptives of RT overestimations (in milliseconds) per device and browser" (OS, Web Browser, Minimum, Maximum, Mean, SD): "Android Chrome 46.0 103.5 69.8 7.4", "iOS Safari 48.3 96.3 57.6 6.5", "MacOS Safari 93.0 163.7 132.9 8.1", "Windows Chrome 64.7 70.6 68.5 1.7", "Windows Firefox 49.8 84.9 61.9 5.7". (read on 2026-10-06: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC7280355/fullTextXML)
Anwyl-Irvine, A., Dalmaijer, E. S., Hodges, N., & Evershed, J. K. (2021). Realistic precision and accuracy of online experiment platforms, web browsers, and devices. Behavior Research Methods, 53(4), 1407–1425.doi:10.3758/s13428-020-01501-5
Desktop and laptop computers with Windows 10 and macOS, pressed by a robot; and the equipment of 202,600 online participants
Abstract: "We then employed a robot actuator in realistic set-ups to measure response recording across the aforementioned platforms, and between different keyboard types (desktop and integrated laptop)." "We found that modern web platforms provide reasonable accuracy and precision for display duration and manual response time". Table 2 "RT delay is calculated as the difference between known and recorded RT." Browser means: "Chrome 78.81", "Edge 80.10", "Firefox 82.30", "Safari 76.50"; device means: "macOS-Desktop 85.35", "Windows-Desktop 76.24", "Windows-Laptop 73.65". Results: "We found that 77% of these devices were desktop or laptop computers, whereas only 20% were mobile devices" "Based on a sample of 202,600 participants." (read on 2026-10-06: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC8367876/fullTextXML)
Der, G., & Deary, I. J. (2006). Age and sex differences in reaction time in adulthood: Results from the United Kingdom Health and Lifestyle Survey. Psychology and Aging, 21(1), 62–73.doi:10.1037/0882-7974.21.1.62
n = 7,130; Adults in the United Kingdom Health and Lifestyle Survey
Abstract: "The authors reanalyzed data for 7,130 adult participants in the United Kingdom Health and Lifestyle Survey" "The authors modeled the age differences in simple and 4-choice reaction time means and variabilities" "Simple RT shows little slowing until around 50, whereas choice RT slows throughout the adult age range." (read on 2026-10-06: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16594792/)