Remember a growing number sequence and enter it in order. How many digits can you hold?
3 to 12 digits
2 min
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About this test
Digit span is the classic short-term memory task: digits are shown one at a time and repeated back in order, with the sequence growing by one after each success. The result is the longest sequence you reproduced before missing twice at one length. For reference, in a computerised study of 763 adults aged 18 to 65 (Woods and colleagues, 2011), the same kind of score, the longest list repeated before two misses at one length, averaged 6.35 digits forward, and 80% of people reached 5 to 7.
What this test reports
longest span
attempts
How the task works
Three digits appear one at a time, about one per second.
Repeat them in the order shown, using the keypad or your keyboard, then Submit.
Every correct sequence grows by one digit; two misses at the same length stop the task.
This route is holding alone: the working memory test in this hub puts a task between the items, which is the part that makes it working memory.
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For context
Typical digit spans in a published study
Published research figures for adults, not targets and not a ranking. Each study used its own equipment and method, so set your own figure beside your earlier runs first.
Mean longest list repeated before two misses at one length, from Woods and colleagues (2011). In that study the digits were heard; on this page they are seen.
Group
Forward span
Backward span
763 community volunteers, ages 18–65
6.35 digits
4.61 digits
30 younger adults, ages 18–46
7.36 digits
5.80 digits
This page asks for the digits in the order shown, the forward span, and shows them rather than reading them aloud, so compare your result with your own earlier runs first.
The page shows every digit at the same steady pace and stops on two misses rather than one, so a single slip does not end the attempt early.
A small next step
Try chunking the digits into pairs or triples on a second attempt and see whether the span changes.
Questions people ask
What does digit span measure?
How much unrelated material you can hold in mind for a few seconds and give back in the order it arrived. It is a narrow thing measured narrowly, and it moves with sleep, noise and whether you thought to group the digits.
Does a phone give me a shorter span?
Possibly, though less than you would expect: the digits are shown at a fixed pace on any screen, and what usually costs a phone user is the keypad rather than the memory. Stay on one device if you want two runs to be comparable.
What should I do with my span?
Try a second run and deliberately chunk the digits into pairs or triples, the way you would a phone number. If the span moves, you have learned something about your strategy, which is more useful than the first figure was.
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