What next?
Hours and minutes between two times, then what you do with the total.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the start date and time.
- Enter the end date and time.
- Read the total duration broken down for you.
What your result means
The duration is the elapsed time between the two moments, shown in days, hours and minutes. Useful for timesheets, shifts and working out how long something actually took.
Why this one is different
A span between two date-and-time pairs comes back as one headline duration and then flat in days, hours, minutes and weeks, which is the set a timesheet or an invoice wants. A pair entered the wrong way round is named as such rather than returned as a negative number to be puzzled over.
Measure the exact gap between two moments
This tool subtracts one date-and-time from another and expresses the gap in whatever unit you need — days, hours, minutes or weeks. It counts real elapsed time, including partial days, so a start of 9:00 and an end of 17:30 the following week gives seven days and eight and a half hours, not just "8 days".
Use it for timesheets, project durations, event countdowns, or working out how long something has been running. Everything is calculated in your browser using your device clock.
Why timesheet hours and clock hours are not the same thing
The commonest payroll error in the UK is writing 7 hours 45 minutes into a spreadsheet as 7.45. Decimal hours divide the minutes by 60, so the same shift is 7.75 — a gap of 18 minutes per shift, or roughly two working days a year on a five-day week. If your timesheet asks for a decimal, convert once at the end rather than shift by shift, because rounding each day compounds the error.
Shifts that cross midnight are the other reliable trap. A 22:00 to 06:00 night is eight hours, but subtracting the two clock times gives minus sixteen. This calculator rolls forward to the next day whenever the end time is earlier than the start, which is the convention every payroll system uses. What it deliberately does not do is guess at unpaid breaks: work out the gross duration first, then deduct the break as a separate figure, so the two numbers stay visible and auditable.
One more thing worth knowing if you are billing rather than being paid: most professional services round to the nearest six-minute unit, so 0.1 of an hour. Working in whole minutes and converting at the end keeps you honest in both directions, and it makes a disputed invoice much easier to reconstruct.
Frequently asked questions
Does it include the end time?＋
It measures elapsed time between the two moments you enter, so the result is the gap from start to end — it does not add an extra day at either end.
Can the end be before the start?＋
Yes. If the end is earlier, the tool still shows the size of the gap and notes that the end comes before the start.
How do I handle a shift that crosses midnight?＋
Enter the times as they are and the calculator rolls forward to the next day when the end is earlier than the start, so 22:00 to 06:00 returns eight hours.
How do I convert the result to decimal hours for a timesheet?＋
Divide the minutes by 60. Seven hours 45 minutes is 7.75 hours, not 7.45, which is the most common payroll error.
Should I subtract unpaid breaks?＋
Yes, if you are calculating paid time. Work out the gross duration first, then deduct the break, rather than trying to enter split periods.
Can I add several durations together?＋
Total them in minutes and convert back at the end. Adding hours and minutes columns separately works too, as long as you carry every 60 minutes into the hours.
Related calculators
Worked example
A shift from 08:45 to 17:20 with a 45-minute break:
8 h 35 min − 45 min = 7 h 50 min
As a decimal for payroll = 7.83 hours
Payroll systems usually want decimal hours, where 50 minutes is 0.83 of an hour — not 0.50. Mixing the two is the most common timesheet error there is.
Assumptions & limitations
Time arithmetic carries at 60, which is where mistakes creep in:
- Minutes carry at 60, not 100. Seven hours fifty minutes is 7.83 decimal hours, not 7.50.
- A span crossing midnight is treated as continuing into the next day.
- Daylight-saving transitions are not modelled — the clocks-change days are 23 and 25 hours long in reality.
- Breaks are only deducted if you enter them.