Online Timer

A simple countdown timer and stopwatch in your browser. Set hours, minutes and seconds or tap a quick preset, press Start, and an alarm sounds when the time is up. The remaining time also appears in the browser tab title, so you can see it while working in another tab. Switch to stopwatch mode to time an activity, with lap times and the fastest, slowest and average lap.

Your last timer length and settings are remembered on this device. No account, sign-up or download is needed.

Remaining = set time − (now − start time) − time already run before a pause

Rather than counting ticks, the timer compares your device's clock with the moment you pressed Start. Browsers slow down or pause scripts in background tabs to save battery, so a tick-counting timer can drift by seconds or minutes; measuring against the clock means the display is correct again the instant you return to the tab. The countdown display rounds up, so it reads 0:00 exactly when the time runs out.

Three laps recorded at total times of 1:02.4, 2:06.1 and 3:07.3 give lap times of 1:02.4, 1:03.7, 1:01.2. The fastest lap was 1:01.2 and the average 1:02.4, which makes it easy to see whether you are holding a steady pace on a track or in interval training.

• Cooking: pasta, eggs, tea steeping and resting meat.
• Study and work: timed focus blocks, exam practice and meetings. For repeating work and break cycles, try the Pomodoro timer.
• Classrooms: activities, presentations and quiz rounds, shown on a projector or shared screen.
• Exercise: planks, stretching holds, rest between sets and lap timing.
• Games: turn limits and party games.

Browsers only allow sound after you have interacted with a page, which pressing Start does. Make sure your device is not muted and the volume is up. On phones, the alarm may not play if the screen locks or the browser is in the background, because mobile operating systems suspend web pages to save power; keep the page open and the screen on for important timings, or use the phone's built-in clock app for alarms that must ring when locked.

Setting a fixed amount of time for a task turns an open-ended job into a short, defined one, which makes it easier to start. Many people find that a visible countdown reduces the urge to check messages, because they know a break is coming. Short blocks also help with tasks you have been avoiding: committing to just ten minutes is often enough to get going. For cooking, a timer frees you to prepare other parts of the meal without watching the clock, and for exercise it keeps rest periods honest so workouts stay consistent from week to week.

Use the tab title to keep an eye on the countdown while you work in other tabs or windows. Pause stops the clock without losing your place, and Reset returns to the full time you set earlier. For long or overnight timing, keep your device plugged in, since some laptops sleep when idle and pause all web pages until you wake them, which would delay the alarm.