How Long Is a Tabata Workout? (And Why 4 Minutes Works)
A Tabata workout is 4 minutes - 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, eight rounds. Here's why it works and how to stack blocks into a full session.
Online Countdown Timer You Can Share and Embed
Start a countdown in one click, share a ready-made duration, or switch to a visual, interval or presentation mode. Timer settings stay in your browser and require no account.
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Tip: press Space to start or pause, R to reset, F for full screen.
Quick start
Popular Timers
Jump straight to the durations people set most.
What it's for
What people use timer.now for
One timer, tuned for the moments you actually reach for it.
Cooking
Eggs, pasta, bakes and tea, timed to the second.
Study & focus
Pomodoro-style blocks that hold your attention.
Workouts & HIIT
Cap a session or run work and rest rounds.
Pomodoro
Auto-cycling 25-minute focus and 5-minute breaks.
Meditation
A calm sit with a gentle end, or silent.
Classroom
A big countdown the whole class can read.
Presentations
Give speakers a full-screen clock with green, amber and red cues.
Sleep & naps
A quiet wind-down that won't oversleep.
Tabata & intervals
20/10 rounds and custom work/rest loops.
Countdown to a date
Christmas, birthdays, exams, launches.
Exam revision
See the days left and pace your prep.
Stopwatch
Count up with laps and split times.
Count down to a day
Popular countdowns
Live countdowns to the dates people look forward to most.
Browse by unit
Second, Minute & Hour Timers
Every whole-number duration has its own page, ready to run.
Second Timers
Precise, short countdowns for plank holds, breathing, espresso and interval training.
Browse second timers →Minute Timers
The everyday workhorse - Cooking, study blocks, workouts, breaks and focus sessions.
Browse minute timers →Hour Timers
Long-haul countdowns for work shifts, slow cooking, fasting, parking and sleep.
Browse hour timers →
Why timer.now
One Countdown Engine, Several Useful Modes
Accurate display
Anchored to your device clock, so delayed screen updates correct instead of accumulating drift.
Alarm sound
A clear alert at zero, with a choice of sounds, a volume slider and a silent option.
Full-screen
Blow the countdown up so you can read it from across the room.
Loop & pause
Repeat for intervals, or pause and resume without losing a second.
Private
Runs on your device. Nothing about your timers is sent to a server.
Private timer settingsNo account is required. Names, durations and timer settings stay in your browser and are not sent to our server.
Clock-anchored and transparentThe finish time is anchored to the real clock. Read our timer accuracy and browser limitations.
Documented methodsRead the editorial and testing standards used for tools and guides.
Timer modes
Full-Screen, Loop & Interval Timers
More than a plain countdown - The extras that make timer.now genuinely useful.
Full-Screen Timer
Expand the countdown to fill your display for classrooms, presentations, workouts or viewing across a room.
Open the full-screen timer →Interval & Loop Timer
Turn on Loop to repeat automatically - Set work/rest rounds for HIIT, Tabata, circuits and any repeating interval.
Open the interval timer →Custom Timer
Type any hours, minutes and seconds, name the timer, and start - Or bookmark a preset duration for one-tap access.
Browse durations →What Makes timer.now Different
timer.now combines a quick countdown timer with bookmarkable duration pages, shareable configurations, iframe embeds and purpose-built visual, interval, presentation and focus modes. There is nothing to install or sign up for: open the relevant page, choose the settings and press Start.
Because the timer is anchored to your device's real clock, the remaining time corrects when a delayed tab or sleeping screen resumes. Your settings - The timer's name, whether sound is on, whether it loops - Are saved in your own browser, so reloading can restore the scheduled finish. A closed or suspended browser cannot guarantee sound; see how online timer accuracy and alarms work. Nothing about the countdown is sent to our server.
How to set a timer in three steps
- Pick a duration. Tap a popular preset above, or type your own hours, minutes and seconds.
- Press Start (or the Space bar). Go full screen if you want it readable from across the room.
- Watch for the finish. The page attempts to play the selected sound and flashes at zero. Test audio first and keep the page open.
Tip: Working or studying? Try the Pomodoro timer - It runs 25-minute focus blocks and short breaks for you automatically.
Timer or stopwatch - Which do you need?
They sound alike but do opposite jobs. A timer counts down to zero when you have a fixed amount of time. A stopwatch counts up from zero to measure elapsed time.
| You want to… | Use |
|---|---|
| Cook, focus, rest or run intervals for a set time | The countdown timer |
| Get an alert at a specific clock time | The online alarm clock |
| Measure elapsed time, laps or splits | The online stopwatch |
| Repeat work/rest rounds automatically | The interval timer |
Bookmarkable durations and specialist tools
Common durations have ready-to-run pages for bookmarking or sharing, such as a 25-minute focus block, a 10-minute break, or a one-hour session. Browse curated timers by seconds, minutes and hours, or compare purpose-built options in the timer tools directory.
From the blog
Guides on Focus, Study & Time
Practical ways to make every minute count - And the timers to match.
How to Use an Online Stopwatch: Laps, Splits and Tips
How an online stopwatch works: start, lap, split and reset explained, plus keyboard shortcuts and the difference between a stopwatch and a timer.
The Best Nap Length: How Long Should You Nap?
How long should you nap? The best nap lengths (10, 20, 30, 90 minutes), the science of sleep inertia, and how to time a power nap that leaves you sharp.
Online Timer FAQ
Is timer.now free to use?
Yes. Every timer is completely free, with no sign-up, no download and no limits on how many you set.
Does the timer keep running if I switch tabs?
The remaining time is based on your device clock, so it corrects itself when you return. Keep the tab open: browsers and operating systems can delay or suppress audio from a background or locked device.
Will the alarm still go off if my phone screen is locked?
It may not. The display catches up from the saved finish time when the page resumes, but many phones suspend browser audio while locked. Keep the page open and visible, and use a native alarm as backup when the alert matters.
Can I set a custom time?
Absolutely. Use the hours, minutes and seconds fields to set any duration, or jump straight to a preset from the quick-pick grid.
Does it work offline?
A timer that is already loaded can continue without a connection. Opening a page or asset that your browser has not cached may still require internet access.
Can I change or turn off the alarm sound?
Yes. Pick from several alarm sounds, set the volume, or switch to a silent finish that just flashes the screen. There is a test button so you can hear each one before you start.
How do I count down to a date instead of a length of time?
Use the countdown to a date tool, or one of the ready-made countdowns like Christmas or the New Year. Pick a moment and it counts down in live days, hours, minutes and seconds.
Are there keyboard shortcuts?
Yes. Press Space to start or pause, R to reset, and F for full screen, so you can run the timer without reaching for the mouse.
Do you show ads or track timer activity?
The current site has no advertising or analytics scripts. Timer names, durations and settings are stored in your browser and are not sent to our server.
Is the timer accurate?
Instead of counting ticks, which can drift when a tab is throttled, it works out a finish time from your device clock and watches for it, so the display corrects to the scheduled finish time when the browser runs the page. Audible delivery still depends on browser and device permissions.
Can I put a timer on my own website?
Yes. The embed generator creates an iframe for a duration or date countdown and lets you choose the title, theme and dimensions before copying the code.