What Do Ao5, Ao12, and Ao100 Mean in Cubing?
Reviewed by CuberPal Editorial Team · Updated 2026-07-07 · Practice with purpose learning path
Quick answer
Ao5 (average of 5) is the mean of your last 5 solves after dropping the best and worst — the standard competition format. Ao12 and ao100 apply the same trim to 12 and 100 solves. Cubers quote averages instead of single times because one lucky solve proves nothing; a trimmed average proves consistency. "Sub-20" means your average, not your best single, is under 20.
Browse any cubing forum and the numbers fly: "I’m sub-20 ao100", "just got a 14.83 ao5". These are not plain averages — they are trimmed means, and they are the universal language of speedcubing skill.
Here is exactly how each is calculated, what counts as "sub-X", and which average to actually care about.
How the averages are calculated
All standard cubing averages drop outliers before taking the mean:
- Ao5 — take your last 5 solves, remove the single best and single worst, average the remaining 3. This is the format used in WCA competition rounds.
- Ao12 — last 12 solves, drop the best and the worst, average the middle 10.
- Ao100 — last 100 solves, drop the best 5 and worst 5, average the middle 90.
- Mo3 (mean of 3) — plain mean with nothing dropped; used for big cubes and events with fewer solves.
- A DNF counts as your worst solve — one DNF in an ao5 is survivable; two make the whole average a DNF.
Why cubers judge by average, not single
Any solver occasionally gets a scramble with a free cross and an easy last layer — singles are as much luck as skill. Trimming the best and worst removes both the lucky spike and the fumbled disaster, leaving a number that reflects what you can do on demand.
Convention: when a cuber says "I’m sub-20", they mean their typical average (usually ao100 or a consistent ao12) is under 20 seconds. A single 19.9 with a 28 average is a great moment, not a milestone.
Which average should you track?
Watch ao12 during a session — it is responsive enough to show today’s form. Judge progress by ao100 across weeks — it is stable enough that improvement in it is real, not noise. And chase ao5 PBs for fun, because that is the number that mirrors competition.
The real value of tracking is the trend line: an ao100 chart over three months tells you more about your practice than any single number, and shows exactly when a new skill (full PLL, better lookahead) started paying off.
Tracking your averages with CuberPal
CuberPal computes every standard average automatically and turns your history into trends:
- 1Solve on the WCA-style timer — ao5, ao12, ao100, session mean, and best single update live after every solve.
- 2Open Stats to see performance metrics: PB single, best ao5/ao12/ao100, and current rolling averages side by side.
- 3Read the solves-over-time chart to spot trends, with your PB solves flagged on the curve.
- 4Keep events honest: 3x3, 2x2, 4x4, 5x5, and OH each maintain separate histories and averages.
- 5When the trend flattens, record a solve for AI analysis to find out which phase is holding the average up.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the best and worst solves dropped?▾
To remove luck in both directions. One easy scramble or one fumbled solve should not define your skill, so trimmed averages measure your dependable middle rather than your extremes.
What does DNF do to an average?▾
A DNF (did not finish) counts as your worst solve, so one DNF in an ao5 gets trimmed away. Two DNFs in five solves make the entire ao5 a DNF — which is why competitors solve conservatively after a first DNF.
What is a good ao100 for a beginner?▾
After learning the beginner method, anywhere from 1–3 minutes is normal. Within a few months of practice most solvers reach sub-60; committed CFOP learners commonly reach sub-30 within a year. Compare against your own last month, not against YouTubers.