Free · Accurate · Instant

Hours Calculator

Find the exact time between two clock times — for work shifts, freelance billing, study sessions, or any duration you need to track. Deduct breaks, handle overnight shifts, and get paid the right amount.

✓ Free Forever ✓ Handles Overnight Shifts ✓ Instant Results

Advanced Hours Calculator

Please enter a valid start and end time to calculate.

Bonus Tool

Weekly Timesheet Calculator

Log start, end and break times for each day of the week and get your total hours worked — handy for freelancers and hourly employees tracking a full week at once.

DayStartEndBreak (min)Hours
Monday--
Tuesday--
Wednesday--
Thursday--
Friday--
Saturday--
Sunday--
Total Hours This Week 0h 0m
Reference

Minutes to Decimal Hours Chart

Payroll systems usually need decimal hours, not hours:minutes. Use this quick reference to convert.

MinutesDecimal HoursMinutesDecimal Hours
6 min0.1036 min0.60
12 min0.2042 min0.70
15 min0.2545 min0.75
18 min0.3048 min0.80
30 min0.5054 min0.90
24 min0.4060 min1.00
The Method

How We Calculate Time Duration

The math looks simple but has two common traps: crossing midnight, and converting minutes to decimal correctly. Here's exactly what happens behind the scenes.

Basic Duration

Duration = End Time − Start Time − Break Minutes

Overnight Shift (End Time is Next Day)

Duration = (24:00 − Start Time) + End Time − Break Minutes

Decimal Hours Conversion

Decimal Hours = Hours + (Minutes ÷ 60)
Worked Example

Step-by-Step Example

A shift starting at 9:15 AM, ending at 5:45 PM, with a 30-minute lunch break.

1
Raw duration: 5:45 PM − 9:15 AM = 8 hours 30 minutes
2
Subtract break: 8h 30m − 30m = 8 hours 0 minutes
3
Convert to decimal: 8 + (0 ÷ 60) = 8.00 decimal hours
4
At ₹500/hour: 8.00 × 500 = ₹4,000 estimated pay
Reference Data

Average Weekly Work Hours by Country

For context, here's how a typical full-time work week compares globally (OECD-style estimates).

India
47.7h
Mexico
45.0h
USA
36.4h
UK
36.0h
Germany
34.3h
Netherlands
29.3h
Who Uses This

Common Ways People Use This Calculator

💼
Payroll & Timesheets
Calculate hourly employee pay
🖥️
Freelance Billing
Bill clients by the hour accurately
📚
Study Sessions
Track focused study or exam duration
✈️
Travel & Flights
Work out layover or journey duration
🏦
Overtime Tracking
Spot hours beyond a standard shift
📅
Project Management
Estimate time spent on projects
⏰
Shift Planning
Calculate employee shift duration
🏠
Daily Productivity
Track work, exercise, or hobby hours
Get It Right

Tips for Accurate Time Tracking

Use 24-Hour Format When Possible

AM/PM mix-ups are the most common source of time-tracking errors, especially near midnight or noon.

Log Breaks Separately

Don't estimate breaks from memory — log the actual start and end of lunch or rest periods for accuracy.

Round Consistently

Pick one rounding rule (e.g. nearest 15 minutes) and apply it every time, not just when it benefits you.

Double-Check Overnight Shifts

Always confirm whether your end time falls on the next calendar day before calculating.

Convert to Decimal for Payroll

Most payroll software expects decimal hours (8.5), not hours:minutes (8h 30m) — use the chart above.

Keep a Daily Time Log

Recording your start and finish times each day helps avoid forgotten hours and improves payroll accuracy.

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Subtract the start time from the end time. If the end time is on the next day, add 24 hours before subtracting. Then subtract any break time to get your net working hours.
A decimal hour expresses time as a fraction rather than minutes — for example, 30 minutes becomes 0.5, and 8 hours 15 minutes becomes 8.25. It's the format most payroll systems require.
Toggle "End time is next day" in the calculator above. This adds 24 hours to your end time before calculating, so a 10 PM to 6 AM shift correctly returns 8 hours instead of a negative number.
Yes, in most jurisdictions unpaid lunch or rest breaks are excluded from paid work hours. Paid short breaks (5-10 minutes) are typically included — check your local labour law or company policy.
0.25 decimal hours equals 15 minutes. Use the Minutes to Decimal Hours chart above for other common conversions.
Multiply your total decimal hours worked by your hourly rate. Use the Weekly Timesheet Calculator above to log each day and get an automatic weekly total.
This varies by country and employer, but commonly any hours worked beyond 8 hours/day or 40 hours/week are classified as overtime, often paid at 1.5x the normal rate.
This usually happens when your end time is earlier than your start time on the same day — most often an overnight shift. Enable the "next day" toggle to fix this.
Yes. Enter your hourly rate along with start and end time to get an instant pay estimate for a single session, or use the weekly timesheet for a full billing period.
No, results are calculated to the exact minute you enter. If your company uses rounding rules (e.g. nearest 15 minutes), apply those separately based on your policy.
The math is exact — it's simple time arithmetic with no estimation involved. Accuracy depends only on entering the correct start, end and break times.
For a single overnight shift, use the "next day" toggle. For a full week of different days, use the Weekly Timesheet Calculator further up this page.
They solve the same core problem — this calculator focuses on quick single-session and weekly totals, while dedicated time card tools often add features like multiple clock-in/out entries per day or approval workflows.
No. All calculations run in your browser — nothing you enter is sent to or stored on our servers.

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