Hours Calculator
Calculate total hours and minutes between two times, or sum multiple time entries for timesheets.
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How to use this calculator
- 1
Enter your start time (hours and minutes).
- 2
Enter your end time.
- 3
Enter break time in minutes to be deducted.
- 4
The result shows total hours worked in both H:MM and decimal format.
Frequently asked questions
How does this tool work out hours worked?
It converts the start and end times to minutes since midnight, subtracts to get the raw duration, and then deducts the break. Nine o’clock to 17:30 is 510 minutes, and a 30-minute break leaves 480 minutes, shown as 8h 0min, 8.00 hrs and 480 min.
What happens with a shift that crosses midnight?
If the end time is earlier than the start time, 24 hours are added to the raw duration. A shift from 22:00 to 06:15 is read as 8h 15min, and with a 45-minute break the worked time is 7h 30min, or 7.50 hrs. Because of this rule, a single entry can never exceed 24 hours.
What if the start and end times are the same?
The raw duration is zero, not 24 hours. Nine o’clock to 09:00 returns 0h 0min. To record a full-day shift, split it in two entries or enter an end time one minute earlier than the start.
What if the break is longer than the shift?
The worked time is clamped to zero rather than going negative. A 08:45–12:10 shift with a 300-minute break shows 0h 0min worked, while the Break Deducted line still shows 300 min so you can spot the mistake. A negative break is treated as zero.
Why does 8h 10min show as 8.17 hours?
Decimal hours are the worked minutes divided by 60, rounded to two decimals: 490 ÷ 60 = 8.1667, displayed as 8.17. If you are billing or paying by the decimal, multiply by the exact minutes ÷ 60 rather than the rounded figure, or the totals can drift over a long run of shifts.
Can it add up a week of timesheet entries?
No. It handles one shift at a time. For a week, run each day, note the Total Minutes line, add those totals together and divide by 60 for decimal hours. Using minutes avoids rounding each day separately.
Does it calculate overtime, pay rates or legal break entitlements?
No. It reports the time between two clock times less one break, nothing else. Overtime thresholds, pay multipliers and statutory breaks depend on your contract and local employment law, so check those separately.
Are seconds supported?
No. The inputs are hours and minutes, and each value is rounded to a whole number. Use the add or subtract time calculator on this site if you need to work to the second.
Hours calculator — shift length, break and decimal hours
From clock times to minutes
A shift is easiest to measure in minutes, because minutes avoid the base-60 carrying that makes hours and minutes awkward. The calculator turns both clock times into minutes after midnight and subtracts, adding a day when the end is earlier than the start so that night shifts work. The break is subtracted from that raw span. The result is then shown three ways: as hours and minutes, as decimal hours for payroll or invoicing, and as a total number of minutes you can add up across days.
Worked examples
Five shifts were run through the calculator with the start, end and break shown. They include the default office day, a night shift that crosses midnight, an identical start and end, a break larger than the shift, and a shift whose worked time does not convert to a tidy decimal.
| Start – end | Break | Raw duration | Worked | Decimal hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 17:30 | 30 min | 8h 30min | 8h 0min (480 min) | 8.00 |
| 22:00 – 06:15 | 45 min | 8h 15min | 7h 30min (450 min) | 7.50 |
| 09:00 – 09:00 | 0 min | 0h 0min | 0h 0min | 0.00 |
| 08:45 – 12:10 | 300 min | 3h 25min | 0h 0min (clamped) | 0.00 |
| 08:20 – 16:50 | 20 min | 8h 30min | 8h 10min (490 min) | 8.17 |
Decimal hours and rounding
The last row shows the usual trap. Eight hours ten minutes is 8.1666… hours, which the tool displays as 8.17. Multiplying the rounded figure by a pay rate can differ slightly from multiplying the exact minutes divided by 60, and the difference accumulates over many shifts. When precision matters, take the Total Minutes line, multiply it by the per-minute rate, or sum minutes for the whole week before converting once at the end. The conversion back is just as direct: 0.75 hours is 45 minutes, so 7.75 hours is 7h 45min.
Edge cases the rules produce
Because an earlier end time is read as the next day, an overnight entry works without any extra input, but an identical start and end is zero rather than a full day. A break that exceeds the span cannot make worked time negative; it stops at zero and the Break Deducted line preserves what you typed so the error is visible. Minutes and hours are rounded to whole numbers before use, so fractional entries will not behave as decimals.
Using it for weekly totals
There is no memory between runs, so a weekly total is a manual step. Record the Total Minutes figure for each shift, add them, then divide by 60 for decimal hours or by 60 with a remainder for hours and minutes. For instance, two days of 480 and 450 minutes make 930 minutes, which is 15h 30min or 15.50 hours. The page does not apply overtime, pay or legal break rules, so compare the total with the arrangement in your own contract.
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Results are estimates for informational purposes only and do not constitute professional financial, medical, legal, or technical advice. Read full disclaimer →