How to use the speedcubing average calculator
- Paste your solve times, oldest first, separated by spaces, commas or new lines.
- Write a minute time as 1:05.21, add + for a two second penalty (10.50+) and DNF for a did-not-finish.
- Enter the averages you want, such as 5 12 100.
- Read the current and best average for each size and the mean of 3.
Formula
Average of N: drop the fastest and slowest ceil(5 percent of N) solves, average the rest
Dropped for N = 5 and 12: one at each end; for N = 100: five at each end
A DNF counts as the slowest solve; too many DNFs in a window make the average a DNF
Rounded to the nearest hundredth of a second; mean of 3 uses all three solves
A +2 penalty adds two seconds to the time. The averages in a session are the best of every window of N consecutive solves.
Five solves and a longer session
For the five solves 12.34, 11.80, 13.05, 10.92 and 14.50, the fastest (10.92) and the slowest (14.50) are dropped and the rest average (12.34 + 11.80 + 13.05) / 3 = 12.40. The mean of the last three is 12.82.
In a 14 solve session of 12.34, 11.80, 13.05, 10.92, 14.50, 13.20, 12.75, 11.95, 14.10, 12.60, 13.45, 12.05, 11.70 and 13.90, the current average of 5 is 12.70 and of 12 is 12.88. The best average of 5 is 12.40 and the best of 12 is 12.67. One DNF in a window of 5 is dropped as the slowest, but two make the average a DNF.
Why averages drop the best and worst
A single slow or lucky solve can say little about your pace. Dropping the extremes makes an average of 5 reflect how you usually solve while ignoring one lock-up or one lucky case. Larger averages drop the same share, 5 percent from each end, so an average of 100 ignores the best 5 and worst 5.
For a stopwatch see the stopwatch, for chess games the chess clock, for running splits the running pace calculator, and for any plain mean the average calculator.
Penalties and DNFs
A plus-two penalty is added to the time before averaging. A DNF has no time, so it takes the place of the slowest solve and is dropped first. The best average only counts windows that are not DNF. Competitions also have their own rounding and limit rules, so use this page for practice and check the rules of your event for competition results.
Assumptions and limits
- Times are in seconds, with optional minutes as m:ss.xx, and are read to the hundredth of a second.
- The trimmed share is 5 percent of each average, rounded up and at least one solve at each end.
- Up to 5,000 solves. Average sizes from 3 to 1000.
- Events with different averaging or rounding rules may give different results.
Frequently asked questions
How is an average of 5 calculated in speedcubing?
Take five solves, remove the fastest and slowest, and average the middle three. The result is rounded to the hundredth of a second.
How are DNFs handled?
A DNF counts as the slowest solve and is dropped first. If an average has more DNFs than solves dropped (more than one in an average of 5), the average is a DNF.
What is the difference between a mean and an average?
A mean of 3 takes all three solves and averages them. An average of 5 or more drops the extremes first, so one bad solve does not spoil the result.
Does a +2 penalty change the best single?
Yes. The time with the two seconds added is the time that counts for the solve, so it may not be your best, and it also enters every average that includes it.