Every timer you need, in one place — kitchen, workouts, focus, games and more
Six timing tools on one page: a countdown accurate to 1/100 of a second, ten alarm sounds, ready-made cooking presets, interval sequences, a metronome and a sleep cycle calculator — free, no account, nothing to install.
Best Timers tools
Scan to open this timer
Sequence steps
0 stepsOn each step: ▲▼ to reorder, ⧉ to duplicate, ✕ to remove — handy for building programs with repeating phases.
💾 Saved programs
Save the sequence above to reload it later (requires local saving to be enabled).
A sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes. Waking at the end of a cycle — rather than in the middle of one — makes it far easier to get up. We also allow about 15 minutes to fall asleep. Most adults do best on 5 to 6 cycles (7.5 to 9 hours).
This week
Alarm history
About Best Timers
Best Timers is a free online timer built around one idea: you should never need a second tab. Whether you are boiling eggs, running a Tabata circuit, timing a study block, practicing scales or working out when to go to bed, the tool you need is already on this page. Nothing to install, no account, and it works the same on a phone propped against the kitchen backsplash as it does on a desktop with three monitors.
Online timer, accurate to 1/100 of a second
Most web timers count by ticking a number down once a second. It sounds fine until you leave the tab, come back, and find the clock has quietly drifted. Best Timers works differently: the time remaining is recalculated on every frame against a stable reference clock, so a 25-minute countdown is still exactly 25 minutes whether you watched it the whole way or switched tabs six times. Hundredths are shown when they matter and hidden when they would just add noise.
A 25-MINUTE COUNTDOWN, WITH THE TAB SWITCHED AWAY PART OF THE WAY THROUGH
Setting a timer in three steps
Type hours, minutes and seconds, or tap one of the quick presets — 30 seconds, 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 60 minutes. Pick one of ten alarm sounds and decide how long it should ring: a short two-second chirp, a medium five seconds, a long ten, or continuously until you stop it. Then press Start. The circular dial fills as time passes, and when it reaches zero the alarm sounds, the screen flashes, your phone vibrates and a browser notification fires. Between those four signals, it is hard to miss.
Kitchen timer: eggs, pasta, rice, baking, tea
Cooking is where a timer earns its keep, and where being a minute off actually ruins something. The preset library covers the classics with sensible defaults: soft-boiled eggs at 6 minutes, hard-boiled at 10, pasta al dente at 9, white rice at 18, brown rice at 45. Baking is covered too — chocolate chip cookies at 11 minutes, brownies at 30, a layer cake at 32, apple pie at 50. Tea gets the attention it deserves, because the difference between a good cup and a bitter one is about ninety seconds: green tea 3 minutes, white 4, oolong 4, black 5, herbal 6, matcha 2.
Every preset is a starting point, not a rule. Ovens run hot or cold, pasta shapes differ, and everyone has an opinion about steak. Use the preset to get close, then adjust and remember what worked for your kitchen.
WHERE THE KITCHEN PRESETS SIT ON THE CLOCK
Counting down to a specific time or date
Sometimes you do not want a duration, you want a deadline. Switch to target mode, pick a date and time, and Best Timers works out the remaining time and counts down to it. This handles anything from "ring at 4:30" to a countdown spanning several days — a product launch, a trip, a deadline. Past 24 hours the display switches to a days-plus-clock format and scales itself down so it always fits inside the dial instead of spilling over the edge.
Timers for the small rituals
A timer is not only a kitchen tool. Two minutes of brushing, the length dentists actually recommend and almost nobody hits. Twenty minutes for a power nap, short enough to avoid waking up groggy from deep sleep. Ten minutes of meditation. The 20-20-20 rule for screen breaks: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Fifteen minutes for a face mask, thirty for hair dye, five for a shower when the water bill is on your mind.
Search that understands what you type
The search box at the top accepts three kinds of input. Plain durations written however you like — "25 minutes", "1h30", "90 seconds", "2 min 30", "3 days", or just a bare number, which is read as minutes. Preset names like "boiled egg", "pizza", "pomodoro" or "nap". And tool names like "stopwatch", "metronome" or "sleep", which jump straight to the right tab. Suggestions appear as you type and are navigable with the arrow keys. On Chrome and Edge, the microphone button lets you say it instead.
Fullscreen, dark mode, and staying awake
Fullscreen strips away every control and leaves only the countdown, scaled up so it is readable across a room — useful for classrooms, gyms and kitchens. An exit button stays visible the whole time, and the Escape key works too. The light and dark themes are there for the obvious reason: nobody wants a white screen at 6 a.m. And while a timer is running, Best Timers asks the browser to keep your screen awake, so your phone does not go dark thirty seconds before the alarm.
Multiple timers at once
A single countdown is fine until you are cooking a real meal, at which point one timer becomes actively unhelpful. Run as many independent countdowns as you need, side by side, each with its own name, duration and alarm sound — so you can tell which one just went off from the next room without looking.
Read the full guide → worked kitchen examples, quick-add presets, and how timers survive an accidental reload.
Interval sequences: Tabata, HIIT, CrossFit, Yoga, Pomodoro
Some routines are not one duration but a chain of them. Build a list of named steps that run back to back automatically, with a beep and a spoken announcement at every transition, so you never have to look at the screen mid-burpee. Ready-made presets cover Tabata, HIIT, CrossFit, Yoga and Pomodoro, or build your own from scratch.
Read the full guide → how each preset works, building your own sequence, and saving it for next time.
Online stopwatch with laps
A countdown answers "how long until"; a stopwatch answers "how long did that take". Counts up with hundredth-of-a-second precision, with lap times and splits, and stays exact even in a background tab.
Read the full guide → lap versus total time, fullscreen mode, and why a browser tab beats the stopwatch on your phone.
Alarm history
Every alarm that fires — from the main timer, a multi-timer or a sequence step — is logged with its date and time in the History tab. Nothing is added manually; the log builds itself as you work.
What it is actually good for
Reconstructing what happened. How many Pomodoro cycles you really completed, as opposed to how many you remember. How many sets you got through. What time each dish went in the oven. When each market signal fired. And, occasionally, confirming that an alarm really did go off and you slept through it.
It is also the quickest way to answer "how long have I been at this?" after a long session, since the first and last entries bracket the whole thing without you having to have started a separate timer.
A simple record of your day
Because every tool on the site writes to the same log, the history doubles as a rough timeline: cooking, focus blocks, workouts and games all appear in one chronological list. For anyone tracking how their time actually gets spent, that is more honest than a plan written in the morning. A Clear button empties the log whenever you want a fresh start.
Kept privately, on your device
With local saving enabled, history persists between visits so you can look at patterns over several days. All of it stays on your device. None of it is sent anywhere, and you can clear the log or switch saving off entirely at any time from the link in the footer.
Free online metronome
A reliable metronome changes how fast you improve — and here it is always one tab away, nothing to install. 30 to 260 BPM with tap tempo, a visual marker on every beat, and a click scheduled on the browser's audio clock so it never drifts, even at 240 BPM over a long session.
Read the full guide → time signatures, finding a tempo by ear, and how to actually practice with one.
Sleep cycle calculator
Two mornings, the same hours in bed, completely different results — the difference is often exactly when the alarm went off, not how long you slept. This sleep calculator works out a wake-up that lands at the end of a 90-minute cycle rather than in the middle of one, from your bedtime or from the hour you need to be up.
Read the full guide → how the calculation works, how many cycles to aim for, and where the 90-minute average stops being exact.
A dedicated page for every timer
Each tool below has its own page with a full guide to using it. They all run the same app, so you can also reach any of them from the tab bar above without losing what you have running.
From the blog
Practical guides on getting timing right, published regularly. Every article stands on its own and links to the tool that does the job.
- How long to boil an egg
- The Pomodoro Technique explained
- How to practice with a metronome
- What time should I go to bed?
- The Tabata workout guide
- How to time a whole meal
- All articles →
Direct links: share a timer that is ready to run
Best Timers can open on a specific duration straight from a link, so the person clicking does not have to set anything. That is handy for recipe posts, workout plans, tutorials and classroom materials: link to the right timer and your reader lands on a countdown that is already configured.
Link examples
- A 10-minute timer:
besttimers.com/?min=10 - A 25-minute Pomodoro:
besttimers.com/?min=25 - 1 hour 30:
besttimers.com/?h=1&min=30 - 3 days:
besttimers.com/?d=3(or?d=2&h=6for 2 days 6 hours) - 90 seconds:
besttimers.com/?sec=90 - A ready-made pizza timer:
besttimers.com/?timer=pizza - Soft-boiled egg:
besttimers.com/?timer=soft-boiled-egg - A Tabata sequence:
besttimers.com/?program=tabata - Short form using the hash:
besttimers.com/#10min,besttimers.com/#pizza,besttimers.com/#1h30
Links to the other tools
Every tool has its own link, which is useful for pointing readers at exactly the right one:
- Programs:
?program=tabata,?program=hiit,?program=yoga,?program=pomodoro. - Multi-timers:
?tab=multi— for several countdowns in parallel. - Stopwatch:
?tab=stopwatch· Multi-timers:?tab=multi. - Metronome:
?tab=metronome· Sleep calculator:?tab=sleep· Stopwatch:?tab=stopwatch. - These also work in short form:
#tabata,#multi,#stopwatch,#metronome,#sleep.
Add &start=1 to the end of any link to begin the countdown automatically, for example besttimers.com/?min=5&start=1. Depending on the browser, a first click may be required before sound is allowed. The 🔗 Copy link button under the main timer generates the link for whatever duration is currently set, ready to paste.
How long does it take? A timing reference
A cheat sheet for the durations people look up most. Tip: click any underlined item to set the timer to it instantly. Cooking times depend on the size of the food, the oven and personal taste — treat these as a reliable starting point and adjust to your kitchen.
Eggs, pasta and grains
- Soft-boiled egg: 6 minutes · jammy egg: 8 minutes · hard-boiled egg: 10 minutes (from boiling water).
- Poached egg: 4 minutes · fried egg: 3 minutes · omelet: 4 minutes.
- Pasta al dente: 8 to 9 minutes depending on shape · gnocchi: 2 minutes · instant ramen: 3 minutes.
- White rice: 18 minutes · brown rice: 45 minutes · quinoa: 15 minutes · steel-cut oats: 20 minutes.
- Lentils: 25 minutes · soaked chickpeas: 40 minutes · soaking dry beans: 12 hours.
Meat, seafood and the oven
- Steak, per side: about 3 minutes rare, 4 minutes medium, 6 minutes well done — then rest it for 10 minutes, which matters more than most people think.
- Roast chicken: about 20 minutes per pound at 375 °F · turkey: about 15 minutes per pound at 325 °F · wings: 40 minutes at 400 °F.
- BBQ ribs: 3 hours low and slow · meatloaf: 1 hour · burger patty: 6 minutes · bacon: 5 minutes.
- Salmon fillet: 15 minutes at 400 °F · shrimp: 4 minutes · lobster tail: 8 minutes.
- Frozen pizza: 15 minutes · lasagna: 45 minutes · baked potato: 55 minutes · fries: 18 minutes.
Baking
- Chocolate chip cookies: 11 minutes at 350 °F · brownies: 30 minutes · cupcakes: 20 minutes.
- Banana bread: 60 minutes · apple pie: 50 minutes · cheesecake: 55 minutes.
- Bread dough rising: 60 minutes · pizza dough: 90 minutes · cinnamon rolls: 25 minutes.
Coffee and tea
- Green tea: 3 minutes · white: 4 · oolong: 4 · black: 5 · herbal: 6 · matcha: 2.
- French press: 4 minutes · pour over: 3 minutes · espresso shot: 25 to 30 seconds · cold brew: 12 hours.
Focus, study and wellbeing
- Pomodoro: 25 minutes of work, 5 of break · deep work block: 90 minutes · study session: 45 minutes.
- Power nap: 20 minutes · micro nap: 10 minutes · full sleep cycle: 90 minutes.
- Meditation: 10 minutes · breathing exercise: 5 minutes · screen break (20-20-20): every 20 minutes.
Fitness and games
- Tabata: 20 s work / 10 s rest × 8 (about 4 minutes) · plank: 30 to 60 seconds.
- Brushing teeth: 2 minutes · soccer half: 45 minutes.
Home, beauty and everyday
- Face mask or hair mask: 15 minutes · hair dye: 30 minutes · nail polish drying: 15 minutes.
- Laundry: 30 minutes · paint drying between coats: about 4 hours · soaking seeds: 8 hours.
Why use Best Timers rather than a kitchen timer or a phone app
A stove timer or a phone alarm usually handles one countdown with one sound. Best Timers goes further:
- Ten alarm sounds, chosen independently on every tool, so you can tell which one is ringing without looking.
- As many simultaneous timers as you need, with no artificial limit — unlike almost every oven ever made.
- Sequences that chain themselves (Tabata, HIIT, Pomodoro), which no mechanical timer can do.
- Specialized tools no ordinary timer offers: a metronome with tap tempo and accented downbeats, and a sleep cycle calculator that works in both directions.
- Nothing installed, no account, no data sent to a server — it all runs in your browser.
- Free on desktop, tablet and phone, with a responsive layout and a clean fullscreen mode.
Glossary
Tabata
A very short interval method: 20 seconds of maximum effort followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times — about four minutes in total. Named after Dr Izumi Tabata, whose research on speed skaters popularized it.
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
Training that alternates hard efforts with recovery periods, over more variable durations than Tabata.
Pomodoro
A time management method built on focus blocks — traditionally 25 minutes — separated by short breaks. Named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer its inventor used.
BPM (beats per minute)
The unit of musical tempo: how many pulses occur in a minute. 60 BPM is one beat per second; most pop songs sit between 100 and 130.
Tap tempo
A feature that derives the tempo in BPM from a beat you tap by hand — the quickest way to find the speed of a song you are listening to.
Sleep cycle
The progression through light sleep, deep sleep and REM that repeats several times a night, averaging about 90 minutes. Waking at the end of a cycle rather than the middle generally makes getting up easier.
Frequently asked questions
Is the timer really accurate to a hundredth of a second?
Yes. The remaining time is recalculated on every rendered frame from a stable reference clock, which avoids the drift you get from timers that simply decrement a counter at fixed intervals.
Is Best Timers free, and do I need an account?
It's completely free and works without any sign-up. Open the page and use everything immediately.
How many alarm sounds are there, and can I choose per tool?
Ten: classic bell, digital alarm, soft chime, siren, gentle tone, desk bell, marimba, urgent beep, grandfather clock and soft pop. Every tool — timer, multi-timers, sequences, metronome — has its own selector, so you can tell them apart by ear.
Can I run several timers at once?
Yes. The Multi-timers tab runs as many independent countdowns as you need, each with its own name, duration and sound.
Does it work for Tabata or HIIT?
Yes. The Sequences tab has presets for Tabata, HIIT, CrossFit, Yoga and an advanced Pomodoro, all fully editable in number of steps and durations.
Can I set the timer to ring at a specific time?
Yes. Target mode works out the time remaining until the date and time you choose and counts down to it.
How do I leave fullscreen?
An exit button stays visible and clickable the whole time you are in fullscreen, and the Escape key works as well.
Is any of my data sent to a server?
No. Best Timers runs entirely in your browser: timers, history and settings stay on your device and are never transmitted anywhere.
Are my theme, history and programs kept if I reload the page?
Yes, if you accepted local saving through the banner. Best Timers then stores your theme, history, saved sequence programs, metronome settings and running timers on your device, and restores them next time — including countdowns still in progress, whose remaining time is recalculated from the real clock. If you decline, nothing is kept and everything resets on each load. You can change your mind at any time using the "Manage local saving" link in the footer.
How do I save a reusable workout or study program?
In the Sequences tab, build your list of steps (using ⧉ to duplicate and ▲▼ to reorder), give it a name under "Saved programs", then press Save. It reloads with one click. This requires local saving to be enabled.
How do I stop everything at once?
The ⏹ button at the top right immediately stops every running countdown — main timer, multi-timers, sequences, games and the market signal — and silences any alarm currently sounding.
Does the timer keep counting if I switch browser tabs?
Yes. Remaining time is derived from a reference clock rather than counted tick by tick, so the duration stays exact even if the display pauses while the tab is in the background. Note that some browsers may delay the sound or notification until you return to the tab.
Does the metronome have tap tempo and accented beats?
Yes. Set the tempo from 30 to 260 BPM with the slider, the + / − buttons or the presets, choose how many beats are in a measure to accent the downbeat, and start: each beat gets a click and a visual marker. Tap tempo derives the BPM from a beat you tap, and the traditional tempo marking (Largo, Andante, Allegro, Presto…) is displayed. Because each click is scheduled ahead on the browser's audio clock, the pulse stays steady even at high tempos.
"If I go to bed at 11 pm, when should I wake up?"
The sleep cycle calculator answers exactly this. It counts 90-minute cycles, allows about 15 minutes to fall asleep, and gives the wake times that land at the end of a cycle. For an 11 pm bedtime that means 6:45 am for 5 cycles (7.5 hours) or 8:15 am for 6 cycles (9 hours). It also works backwards from a wake-up time, and a button turns any slot into an alarm.
Does voice search work in every browser?
It relies on the browser's built-in speech recognition, available in Chrome and Edge in particular. If your browser does not support it, a clear message appears and text search continues to work.
Can I type a duration directly into the search box?
Yes. It understands durations written freely: "25 minutes", "1h30", "90 seconds", "2 min 30", "3 days", or even a bare number, which is read as minutes. A timer suggestion appears immediately alongside matching presets and tools.
How do I link to a specific timer from my own site?
Add a parameter to the address: ?min=10 for 10 minutes, ?sec=90 for 90 seconds, ?h=1&min=30 for 1 hour 30, ?d=3 for 3 days, or ?timer=pizza for a named preset. Other tools have links too: ?program=tabata, ?tab=multi, ?tab=stopwatch, ?tab=metronome, ?tab=sleep. Add &start=1 to start automatically. The 🔗 Copy link button generates the link for the duration currently displayed.
Can a timer start by itself when the link opens?
Yes — add &start=1 (or &go=1) to the end, for example besttimers.com/?min=5&start=1. Depending on the browser, one user interaction may be required before sound is permitted.
How many ready-made timers are there?
More than 170, covering cooking (eggs, pasta, rice, meat, seafood, baking, coffee and tea), focus and study, sleep and wellbeing, fitness, home, personal care and kids — all reachable in one click through search or a direct link.
Where do I find the alarm history?
In the History tab, which lists every alarm that has fired — from the timer, multi-timers, sequences, games and the market signal — with the date and time, plus a button to clear it.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes. The whole interface is responsive and adapts to small screens, including fullscreen mode.
What happens with a countdown spanning several days?
It stays precise internally, and the display switches to a days-plus-clock format ("3d 14:22:05") and shrinks so it always stays readable inside the dial rather than overflowing it.
How do I stop an alarm that is ringing, especially in "until stopped" mode?
Press the Stop button on the tool concerned, or the large Stop alarm button in the banner that appears. The sound cuts immediately, including in continuous mode.
Is Best Timers suitable for meditation, naps or screen breaks?
Yes. The preset list includes a 20-minute power nap, a 10-minute meditation and a screen break on the 20-20-20 rule, each set with one click.