Online Countdown Timer
FreeSet a countdown timer for any duration — minutes, hours, or a specific date. Alarm sounds when it hits zero. Free, browser-based, shareable link.
What's next
Settings guide
Setting the duration:
- ·Enter hours, minutes, and seconds in the three fields
- ·Or click a preset: 1 min, 5 min, 10 min, 25 min (Pomodoro), 30 min, 1 hr
- ·Or enter a specific date and time for a long-range countdown (event countdowns)
Sound alert: The timer plays a browser-native audio alert when it reaches zero. Ensure your system audio is not muted before starting a critical timer. The alert repeats until you stop it.
Tab title display: The remaining time appears in the browser tab title (e.g., "12:35 | Countdown Timer"). You can see the time remaining in the tab strip without switching to this tab.
Shareable link: After setting the duration, the URL updates to encode the timer parameters. Copy the URL and share it — recipients open the same timer with the same duration pre-loaded.
Background behavior: Modern browsers may throttle JavaScript timers in background tabs, but this timer recomputes remaining time from the absolute end timestamp on each tick, so the display is always accurate when the tab is viewed.
Format comparison
vs a stopwatch: A countdown counts down from a set duration and alerts at zero. A stopwatch counts up from zero and you decide when to stop. Use a countdown when you have a fixed duration to track and want an automatic alert. Use a stopwatch when you want to measure how long something takes without a predetermined end time.
vs a phone timer: Phone timers are excellent and always accessible. A browser timer is preferable when you are already at a computer and want the remaining time visible in a tab without picking up your phone. Browser timers also work well in multi-monitor setups where you can have the timer visible in a corner while working in another window.
vs a physical kitchen timer: Physical timers have the advantage of never going to sleep and being visible across the room. For kitchen use, a physical timer or a voice assistant ("Hey Google, set a timer for 15 minutes") is faster. For desk work and screen-based activities, a browser countdown is always already at hand.
How it works
Set the duration
Enter hours, minutes, and seconds — or click a preset duration. For event countdowns, enter the target date and time.
Start the countdown
Press Start. The display counts down with the remaining time updating every second. The tab title shows the remaining time.
Alert at zero
When the timer reaches zero, an audio alert fires. The timer resets to the original duration so you can restart immediately for the next interval.
About this format
A countdown timer counts down from a set duration to zero and alerts you when time is up. The fundamental use is universal: you need to do something for a specific amount of time without watching the clock. Set the timer, do the thing, the alert tells you when to stop.
The use cases span everything. Cooking: 12 minutes for pasta. Presentations: 20 minutes per speaker, with an alert. Exam practice: 90 minutes timed. Workout rest: 60 seconds between sets. Classroom: 15 minutes for a group activity. Meeting management: alert the speaker at 25 minutes. Brewing: 4 minutes steep time.
The browser-based countdown timer has a practical advantage over a phone timer in many contexts: it is visible on your screen while you work. A phone timer requires you to pick up the phone to check remaining time. A browser timer displays in the tab title, so you can see remaining time in the tab strip without switching to it.
This timer generates a shareable URL encoding your duration. Send the URL to a meeting participant and they start their own synchronized countdown. Useful for distributed teams running the same timed activity simultaneously.