Free digit span test
Free digit span test online: digits appear one per second, then you recall them forward or in reverse. Spans grow from 3 to 12. Get your largest completed span.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
How this test works
3–12 digits · forward or backward
Choose forward or backward before starting. Digits appear for 800 ms with a 200 ms blank gap. Recall them only after the sequence ends. Start at three digits; one correct response advances the span. Two errors at the same span end the run. The ceiling is 12. Do not write the digits down. A hidden tab interrupts the run.
The timer begins only after you press Start. No signup. Full results are free.
What the digit span test measures
Digit span is the oldest and simplest measure of short-term memory. Digits are presented one at a time, and you repeat them back. Each correct sequence is followed by a longer one, and your span is the longest sequence you can reproduce. Forward span measures how much you can hold; backward span, where you reverse the order, adds the mental manipulation that defines working memory. Both appear in clinical batteries such as the Wechsler intelligence scales, and both are used in research on attention, ageing and learning.
This version reproduces the structure in the browser: one digit per second, ascending spans and the two-failure stopping rule. It shows you your capacity in each mode and how the two compare.
How this free test works
- Choose forward or backward before you start. The two modes are different tasks and are scored separately.
- Digits appear one at a time, each for 800 milliseconds with a 200 millisecond gap, so the pace is one digit per second.
- Recall after the sequence ends, typing the digits in the order shown or, in backward mode, in reverse.
- Spans start at three digits. A correct response adds one digit; two errors at the same span end the run. The ceiling is 12.
- Your score is the longest sequence you recalled in full, with the counts of correct and incorrect sequences.
- An optional shareable result with a permanent link, preview image and an Add to LinkedIn profile button.
Sample digit span sequence
The screen shows 7, then 2, then 9, then 4, then 1, one after another, and then a box to type in. In forward mode the correct answer is 72941. In backward mode it is 14927. Five digits is where most people start to feel the load; at seven or eight, almost everyone needs a strategy rather than raw repetition.
How to improve your digit span score
- Group the digits as they arrive. “Seven two, nine four, one” is three items to hold rather than five. Pairs and triples are the standard trick.
- Say them in your head at the presentation pace. Rehearsing the sequence silently keeps it in the phonological loop while the next digit appears.
- For backward span, wait for the end. Trying to reverse while digits are still arriving loses the last ones. Hold the whole sequence, then read it back from the end.
- Do not write anything down. The instructions say so, and a written span measures your handwriting speed.
- Keep the tab in front. A hidden tab interrupts the timing and the run.
Reading your result
Your result is your longest fully recalled sequence in the mode you chose, out of a ceiling of 12. The result guide explains the stopping rule and why forward and backward scores should not be combined. Visual presentation, practice and device conditions affect performance, so this is a practice measure, not a clinical digit span assessment.
Related free tests
- Chimp test: numbered positions on a grid, memory for places rather than sequences.
- Memory test: a pattern of lit tiles to reproduce, growing one tile per level.
- Stroop test: the interference task, for attention control rather than storage.