Hours Calculator

Hours calculator — free, fast, and private

Working out how long you were on the clock sounds simple until the shift runs past midnight or you need to knock off a lunch break. This calculator does it in one step: enter a start time and an end time, optionally subtract a break, and it shows the hours and minutes between them — plus a decimal-hours figure for payroll. Nothing to install, no sign-up, and the whole thing runs in your browser, so your times never leave your device.

It updates live as you type. Change the start, the end, or the break, and the result moves with it — handy for checking a timesheet, planning a shift, or figuring out how much of the day a task really took.

How to calculate hours between two times

The idea is straightforward: convert both times into minutes, subtract the start from the end, and turn the difference back into hours and minutes. For example, 9:00 to 17:30 is eight and a half hours — 8h 30m. The calculator handles the arithmetic and the awkward carrying (like 15 minutes past the hour) so you don't have to count on your fingers.

If you subtract a break, that time comes straight off the total. A shift from 9:00 to 17:30 with a 30-minute lunch is 8h 30m minus 30m, which is 8h 0m of paid time. The break is entered in minutes because that's how most people think about lunches and rest breaks.

Shifts that cross midnight

Overnight shifts are where mental math usually breaks down. If you start at 22:00 and finish at 06:00, the end time looks "smaller" than the start, but you obviously worked eight hours, not minus sixteen. This calculator assumes that when the end time is earlier than the start, the shift rolled over into the next day, and it adds the 24 hours back in automatically. So 22:00 → 06:00 correctly returns 8h 0m, and it flags that the end fell on the next day.

The one case to decide for yourself is when the start and end times are identical. The calculator treats that as zero — no elapsed time — rather than assuming a full 24-hour shift, which is the safer default for the everyday timesheet.

Decimal hours for pay

Payroll systems and hourly wages almost always work in decimal hours, not hours-and-minutes. The trick is that minutes are sixtieths of an hour, so 30 minutes is 0.5 hours, 15 minutes is 0.25, and 45 minutes is 0.75. That means 8h 30m is 8.50 hours, and multiplying by an hourly rate gives the gross pay for the shift. The calculator shows the decimal figure right next to the hours-and-minutes result, so you can drop it straight into a pay calculation. To then apply a rate, a bonus percentage, or a deduction, the Percentage Calculator can help — also entirely in your browser.

Common uses

People reach for an hours calculator for all sorts of reasons: totalling a work shift for a timesheet, checking that a paycheck matches the hours actually worked, logging billable time for a client, tracking study or practice sessions, or just settling how long an event ran. Because it handles breaks and overnight spans, it fits shift work, freelancing, and hourly jobs equally well. If instead you need to add or subtract durations, or add a length of time to a clock time, the Time Calculator does that.

Works on your phone

The calculator is built mobile-first and runs in your phone's browser with nothing to install. The start and end fields use the native time picker, so on a phone you get the familiar scrolling clock instead of fiddly typing, and the break field opens the numeric keypad. The result appears right below without any scrolling, and because everything is worked out locally, it responds instantly.

Privacy: your times never leave your device

The start time, end time, and break are used only to do the arithmetic in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored on a server, and there is no account to create. When you close the page the values are gone, because they were never sent anywhere in the first place.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate hours between two times?

Enter the start time and end time and the calculator shows the hours and minutes between them. Add a break in minutes to subtract lunch or rest time from the total.

Does it handle shifts that cross midnight?

Yes. If the end time is earlier than the start time, it assumes the shift ran into the next day and adds 24 hours, so 22:00 to 06:00 correctly comes out as 8h 0m.

How do I convert the result to decimal hours?

Minutes are sixtieths of an hour, so 30 minutes is 0.5 and 15 is 0.25. The calculator shows the decimal figure automatically (8h 30m = 8.50), which is what payroll usually needs.

Is my data uploaded to a server?

No. Everything runs in your browser — the times you enter never leave your device, and nothing is stored or sent anywhere.