Time Duration Calculator — Hours Between Two Times
Find the hours and minutes between two times, including overnight shifts. Subtract a break for net work hours, and read the result in decimal hours, total minutes and total seconds.
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Duration between two times
Add or subtract time
How It Works
Enter start and end times
Overnight spans are detected automatically.
Pick a display format
Switch between 12-hour and 24-hour time.
Read the duration
Hours, minutes and totals update instantly.
Privacy note: everything happens locally in your browser. Your times are never sent to a server.
How to calculate time duration
To find the hours between two times, convert each time to minutes since midnight, subtract the start from the end, and convert the result back to hours and minutes. When the end time is earlier on the clock than the start time, add 24 hours — the span crossed midnight.
Examples
| Start | End | Duration | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30 AM | 5:45 PM | 8h 15m | 8.25 |
| 10:00 PM | 6:00 AM | 8h 0m (overnight) | 8.00 |
| 8:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 8h 30m | 8.50 |
| 7:00 AM | 3:00 PM −30m break | Net 7h 30m | 7.50 |
Overnight time calculation
If the end is before the start on the clock, this tool adds a day automatically. For multi-night spans, tick "Use specific dates".
Work shift duration
Enter clock-in and clock-out, then a break length. You get gross, break and net hours — the net figure is what payroll wants.
Decimal hours
Minutes shown as a fraction of an hour: 15 min = 0.25, 30 min = 0.5, 45 min = 0.75. Used by most timesheets.
Need the gap between two calendar dates instead of two clock times?
Open the Date Difference CalculatorFrequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate the hours between two times?+
Enter a start time and an end time. The calculator converts both to minutes past midnight, subtracts, and shows the result as hours and minutes, decimal hours, total minutes and total seconds. If the end time is earlier than the start time it is treated as the next day, so 9:30 AM to 5:45 PM is 8 hours 15 minutes and 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM is 8 hours.
How does this calculator handle overnight time spans?+
If the end time is earlier than the start time, the calculator assumes the end time falls on the next day. For example, 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM is treated as a 4-hour span, not a negative duration.
How do I subtract a lunch break to get paid hours?+
Enter the break length in the optional Break fields. The calculator then shows a gross duration (clock-in to clock-out), the break, and the net duration, along with the net figure in decimal hours for payroll.
What are decimal hours?+
Decimal hours express minutes as a fraction of an hour instead of as minutes. 8 hours 15 minutes is 8.25 decimal hours, and 8 hours 30 minutes is 8.5. Timesheets and payroll systems usually want the decimal form.
Can I calculate a duration longer than 24 hours?+
Enable "Use specific dates" to add a date to each time, which allows the calculator to compute any multi-day duration precisely, not just spans within a single day or overnight.
Does this account for time zones?+
No. This calculator treats both times as being in the same time zone and simply computes the clock-time difference between them. It doesn't convert between time zones.
How do I add or subtract time from a specific time?+
Use the Add/Subtract section: enter a starting time, an amount of hours and minutes, choose add or subtract, and the resulting time is shown, including whether it rolled into the next or previous day.
Can I switch between 12-hour and 24-hour time display?+
Yes. Use the display toggle to switch results between 12-hour format (with AM/PM) and 24-hour format at any time.
What if I enter the same start and end time?+
The duration is zero. It is not treated as a full 24-hour span unless you explicitly use the multi-day date option to indicate the end time is exactly one full day later.
Does this tool store the times I enter?+
No. All calculations happen locally in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server or saved.