colemak vs dvorak
Colemak changes fewer keys and keeps the QWERTY shortcuts; Dvorak changes almost everything and is already installed on every operating system. Neither is reliably faster than the other, and both cost you the same few weeks of being slow. For most people switching from QWERTY the deciding question is not speed but whether you want to keep undo, cut, copy and paste where your left hand already expects them.
the short answer
If you are coming from QWERTY and want to keep your shortcuts and some of your muscle memory, Colemak. If you want a clean break, or you want a layout that is already installed on every computer you will ever sit at, Dvorak. If you are starting from nothing and have no strong feeling either way, pick Colemak and stop reading — the difference between them is far smaller than the difference between finishing a course and abandoning one.
what each one actually changes
Colemak keeps seventeen QWERTY keys in place, including Z, X, C and V, and rebuilds the home row as A R S T on the left and N E I O on the right. Dvorak, designed in the 1930s, puts all the vowels under the left hand — A O E U I — and the most common consonants under the right — D H T N S — and moves nearly everything else as well. Both are trying to do the same thing: put the letters you type most under the fingers that reach least.
the shortcut question, which is the real one
This is where the two genuinely differ in daily life rather than in theory. Dvorak moves Z, X, C and V, so undo, cut, copy and paste change hands and fingers, and every application-specific shortcut you have memorised needs relearning alongside the letters. Colemak leaves that corner alone on purpose. For someone who lives in an editor or a design tool, this single decision usually settles the choice.
what is already on your computer
Dvorak has been built into Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS for decades, so it is a settings change everywhere with nothing to download. Colemak ships with macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, but on Windows it is often not listed and needs the official package from colemak.com installed first. If you use a managed work or school machine where you cannot install software, that difference can decide it for you.
what the evidence actually supports
Less than either camp claims. Both layouts clearly reduce how far your fingers travel for English text, and that is measurable and not in dispute. Whether reduced travel makes a trained typist meaningfully faster is a much weaker claim: the comparative studies are few, old, and mostly ran on people who had chosen a side. Comfort is the honest reason to switch. Speed is a reason to practise.
if you are learning to touch type for the first time
Then you have no muscle memory to protect, and the calculation changes: you can learn any layout for the same price. The argument for learning QWERTY anyway is that it is on every computer, in every classroom, and in every job. The argument against is that you will spend decades on whichever you choose. Either is defensible — what is not defensible is switching layouts three times in the first year, which is the actual way this goes wrong.
how to try one here
Both courses are complete and work the same way: 20 lessons for Colemak and 20 for Dvorak, each built around that layout's own home row rather than translated from the QWERTY course, with the on-screen keyboard and the finger map showing the layout you are actually learning. Both landing pages include the setup steps for Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS. There is nothing to sign up for, so trying one costs you a few minutes.
questions
is colemak or dvorak faster?
Neither reliably. The comparative evidence is thin, old, and mostly measures people who chose their layout and were motivated to prove it good. Both reduce finger travel against QWERTY, and both are typed very fast by people who have put the hours in. If a specific speed number is what you are after, hours of practice will move it much further than the choice between these two.
which is easier to learn coming from qwerty?
Colemak, for most people. It leaves seventeen keys where QWERTY put them, including the whole bottom-left corner, so a good deal of what your hands already know still applies. Dvorak rearranges almost everything, which makes it a cleaner break but a longer one.
will i lose my keyboard shortcuts?
On Dvorak, largely yes: Z, X, C and V all move, so undo, cut, copy and paste land under different fingers. Colemak deliberately leaves those four keys alone, which is one of its main design decisions and the practical reason many programmers pick it.
can i still type on other people's computers?
Only if you keep your QWERTY. Most people who switch do keep it, and find the two coexist better than expected because the layouts are different enough not to blur together. It is worth deciding up front that you are adding a layout rather than replacing one.
how long does switching take?
Expect a few weeks before you are useful again and a couple of months before you are back where you were, at fifteen minutes or so of deliberate practice a day. The first week is genuinely slow. That cost is the same for both layouts, and it is the main thing to weigh against a benefit that is mostly comfort rather than speed.
what is colemak-dh?
A popular variant that moves two more keys to shorten the index-finger stretch that some people find uncomfortable in standard Colemak. It is worth knowing about before you commit, because switching between Colemak and Colemak-DH later means relearning those reaches.