Keyboard Shortcut Statistics (2026)

The most reused keyboard shortcut in software is Ctrl + D — it appears in 55 of the 264 applications we track. This page reports original statistics computed from the shortcut-tools dataset: 4,259 hand-verified shortcuts and CLI commands across 264 applications, as of July 2026. Every number below is derived directly from our own data — not aggregated from other sites.

Key findings

• The dataset contains 4,259 shortcuts across 264 applications — an average of 16.1 per app.

34.4% of all shortcuts use the Ctrl key (1,467 shortcuts). Shift appears in 14.8% (629), Cmd in 6.9% (292), and Alt in 5.2% (222).

26.6% are single-key shortcuts (1,134) — mostly in creative tools and vi-style apps where modes replace modifiers.

20.7% are CLI commands rather than key combos (880), reflecting the growth of terminal-first and AI-agent tooling in 2025–2026.

The most universal shortcuts

Counting how many distinct applications bind the exact same combination. If you learn these 15, you carry them across dozens of tools.

ShortcutUsed by
Ctrl + D55 apps
Ctrl + Z41 apps
Ctrl + Enter39 apps
Ctrl + S32 apps
Ctrl + E32 apps
Ctrl + B32 apps
Ctrl + N31 apps
Ctrl + L31 apps
Ctrl + K30 apps
Ctrl + I30 apps
Ctrl + F28 apps
Ctrl + G28 apps
Ctrl + C26 apps
Ctrl + /26 apps
Ctrl + Shift + P24 apps

Apps with the largest shortcut sets

ApplicationShortcuts in dataset
Mac100
Premiere Pro96
Microsoft Word93
Excel90
AutoCAD74
Photoshop69
Spyder IDE59
Vim57
Windows54
Figma53

Methodology

Counts are computed directly from the shortcut-tools dataset (4,259 entries, 264 applications) on 2026-07-09. Every shortcut is verified by hand against official documentation before entering the dataset; version-specific commands carry a verification stamp on their platform page. Modifier counts match whole words (e.g. "Ctrl") within each key combination; the universal-shortcut table counts exact normalized matches only. Because the dataset curates the most useful shortcuts per app rather than exhaustive lists, per-app totals are floors, not ceilings.

Cite this page: shortcut-tools.com Keyboard Shortcut Statistics, July 2026. This page is refreshed when the dataset changes; the date above reflects the last computation.

Explore the dataset behind these numbers

Browse All 264 Platforms Practice Shortcuts