What is a good Rubik's Cube time?
Cubeathon guide · Reviewed October 2026
A good time is a time that is good for you. Two minutes is a great result a week after your first solve; it would be a bad day for someone who averages 20 seconds. So the useful question is what's typical at your stage, and what comes next.
The benchmarks below are for the 3×3 and use averages, not single solves. They describe common milestones, not strict categories, and every cuber moves through them at their own pace.
Judge by your average, not your best single
A single solve depends heavily on the scramble: an easy one can be several seconds faster than your usual. That is why cubers compare their Ao5 (the middle three of five solves) and Ao12, and why WCA competitions rank most events by average.
When someone says they are "sub-20", they usually mean their average is under 20 seconds. If they mean a single, it is worth asking.
Benchmarks by level
First solves
Any finished solve
If you have just learned to solve the cube, the time doesn't matter yet: finishing without looking up a step is the achievement. First solves with the beginner method often take several minutes.
Comfortable beginner
About 1–2 minutes
Once the beginner method is memorised and your turning is steady, solves come down to a minute or two. Getting under a minute is the first milestone most cubers aim for.
Improving
Sub-60 to sub-30
Planning the cross, learning 2-look OLL and PLL and starting F2L bring averages down towards 30 seconds. Sub-30 is a common goal for people who practise regularly.
Speedcuber
Sub-30 to sub-20
Full CFOP with intuitive F2L and full PLL. Breaking 20 seconds is the point where many people start to call themselves speedcubers.
Advanced
Sub-20 to sub-10
Efficient F2L, good lookahead, most or all of OLL and PLL, and a lot of practice. Sub-15 and then sub-10 take most cubers years.
World class
Well under 10 seconds
The fastest competitors in the world average well under ten seconds in official competition. The current records are listed on the WCA website.
Each step usually comes from a specific skill rather than from turning faster: what to work on at each milestone.
Other puzzles are a different scale
Times only compare within the same puzzle. A 2×2, Pyraminx or Skewb solve takes a fraction of a 3×3, while a 4×4 takes several times as long, and a 7×7 longer still. Cubeathon keeps separate sessions and personal bests for every puzzle, so a big-cube session never drags down your 3×3 average.
What counts at a competition
At WCA competitions, results are official and public: the WCA website lists every competitor's results and the world, continental and national records. Rounds are usually an average of five, with inspection and penalties.
You don't need a particular time to compete. Some rounds have a cutoff or a time limit, which the event lists in advance, but first competitions are full of people solving in a minute or more. How competitions work.
Find your own level
Do 12 timed solves with real scrambles and inspection, and look at your Ao5 and Ao12. That is your level today. Then pick the next milestone (sub-60, sub-30, sub-20) as a target. Cubeathon's Compete page shows your next barrier and how close your recent solves are to it.
Official results and records: WCA rankings.