Find the exact hours, minutes & seconds between any two times — overnight shifts, break deductions, decimal hours & pay estimator included.
Enter start & end time → Get instant result in hours, minutes, seconds & decimal hours
💰 Estimated Pay: $0.00
Calculate time between two times in 4 simple steps — works for shifts, payroll, study sessions, and any time gap:
Type your start time or use the time picker. Use 12-hour or 24-hour format — both work. You can also click a Quick Pick button to load common shift times like 9 AM–5 PM or 10 PM–6 AM instantly.
Type your end time in the second field. If your end time is earlier than start time — like an overnight shift — the time difference calculator automatically handles the 24-hour rollover. No extra steps needed.
Toggle Deduct Break to subtract a lunch or rest break in minutes from the total. Toggle Pay Estimator and enter your hourly rate to instantly calculate your estimated earnings for that time period.
Instantly see time in hours and minutes, total minutes, total seconds, and decimal hours — all at once. Click Copy to save the result to your clipboard for payroll, timesheets, or scheduling.
Use this table to instantly know how many hours between two times for the most common shift patterns and daily schedules:
| Start Time | End Time | Total Time | Decimal Hours | Common Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 8h 0m | 8.00 | Standard workday |
| 8:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 9h 0m | 9.00 | 9-hour shift |
| 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | 8h 30m | 8.50 | Workday with extra |
| 6:00 AM | 2:00 PM | 8h 0m | 8.00 | Morning shift |
| 2:00 PM | 10:00 PM | 8h 0m | 8.00 | Afternoon shift |
| 10:00 PM | 6:00 AM | 8h 0m | 8.00 | Overnight shift |
| 9:00 AM | 1:00 PM | 4h 0m | 4.00 | Half day |
| 12:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 1h 0m | 1.00 | Lunch break |
| 8:00 AM | 3:00 PM | 7h 0m | 7.00 | School day |
| 6:00 PM | 11:00 PM | 5h 0m | 5.00 | Evening study |
More than just basic subtraction — our time difference calculator covers every use case:
Automatically detects when end time is earlier than start time and adds 24 hours. Calculate overnight nurse shifts, security guard rotations, and cross-midnight work without any manual adjustment.
Subtract lunch breaks, rest breaks, or any unpaid time in minutes. See both gross time and net paid hours. Essential for accurate payroll, timesheets, and shift planning with mandatory break laws.
Enter your hourly rate and instantly see estimated pay for the time period. Uses decimal hours for precise calculation. Perfect for freelancers, hourly workers, and anyone tracking billable time.
Every result includes decimal hours — the format used by payroll systems. 8 hours 30 minutes = 8.50, 7 hours 45 minutes = 7.75. Copy-ready for spreadsheets, billing software, and time tracking apps.
Seven pre-loaded common shift patterns — click to instantly fill both time fields. Covers standard 9–5, 8–5, 9–6, morning, afternoon, overnight, and full-day patterns for fastest workflow.
One-click copy sends your full result — hours, minutes, decimal hours, and pay estimate — directly to your clipboard. Ready to paste into timesheets, invoices, emails, or any other document.
Our free tool to calculate time between two times is used daily across every profession and activity:
Calculate exact hours worked each day, track overtime, and prepare accurate timesheets. The break deduction feature makes it easy to record net hours for HR reporting and payroll submission.
Nurses, doctors, and hospital staff on rotating or overnight shifts use our time difference calculator to track long shifts, calculate 12-hour rotations, and manage break compliance accurately.
Calculate billable hours between clock-in and clock-out times, apply break deductions, and estimate invoice amounts using the built-in pay rate calculator. Works for hourly and project-based billing.
Track study session durations, calculate exam times, and plan daily schedules. Know exactly how many hours between two times to allocate the right amount of study time for each subject.
Calculate driving hours, rest period gaps, and shift durations for compliance with driving hour regulations. Overnight routes and cross-midnight shifts are handled automatically.
Manufacturing, warehouse, and production workers on rotating shifts use our time elapsed calculator to verify shift length, calculate overtime thresholds, and track break compliance.
Understanding the math behind a time difference calculator helps you verify results and apply them correctly:
Step 1: Convert both times to total minutes from midnight
Start Minutes = Start Hours × 60 + Start Minutes
End Minutes = End Hours × 60 + End Minutes
Step 2: Subtract start from end
Difference = End Minutes − Start Minutes
Step 3: If result is negative (overnight), add 1440 minutes (24 hours)
If Difference < 0 → Difference = Difference + 1440
Step 4: Convert back to hours and minutes
Hours = floor(Difference ÷ 60) | Minutes = Difference mod 60
Step 5: Decimal hours = total minutes ÷ 60
For example: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM → 540 minutes to 1050 minutes → 510 minutes difference → 8 hours 30 minutes = 8.50 decimal hours.
Overnight example: 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM → 1320 to 360 → 360 − 1320 = −960 → −960 + 1440 = 480 minutes = 8 hours exactly.
Overnight auto-detect — no manual date selection needed. Set end time earlier than start time and the calculator handles the next-day rollover automatically.
6 output formats at once — hours, minutes, seconds, decimal hours, total minutes, and total seconds all displayed simultaneously. Use whichever format your system needs.
Break + pay calculator built in — subtract unpaid breaks and estimate earnings without leaving the page. No spreadsheet needed for basic payroll math.
Native time picker on mobile — uses your phone's built-in time selector for the fastest, most accurate input experience on any iOS or Android device.
100% private — all calculation happens in your browser. No data sent to any server. No login, no account, no data stored. Close the tab and everything is gone.
Instant results, zero loading — single self-contained HTML file means sub-second load time on any device. No ads blocking the tool, no redirects, no paywalls.
These free tools work perfectly alongside the time difference calculator:
The most complete free tool — overnight shifts, break deduction, decimal hours, and pay estimator all in one page.