It depends on what input system you use. If you draw characters with your finger, as many Chinese do, it's pretty slow. If you're on Android and use Google Pinyin you can swipe across letters just like you can in English. Based on your swipe gestures it predicts what you're trying to type pretty well. If you're a Chinese typing expert, you can use Wubi[1] which can be used to achieve typing speeds higher than most English typists.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wubi_method