About this tool
The Hours Calculator computes the duration between two clock times in hours and minutes. Optionally enter an hourly rate to calculate total earnings. Handles times crossing midnight.
What this hours calculator does
This tool finds the elapsed time between a start clock time and an end clock time, reported as hours and minutes, as decimal hours, and (optionally) as pay. Enter a start, an end, an unpaid break in minutes, and an hourly rate, and it returns the worked duration with the break removed. Everything is computed in your browser, so your timesheet data stays on your device.
It is built for timesheets and shift pay. Because it understands shifts that run past midnight and lets you subtract a lunch break, it matches how real payroll is worked out rather than just subtracting two numbers.
How it works: the time math
Clock times are converted to minutes since midnight, subtracted, adjusted for overnight shifts, and then the break is removed before converting to hours.
start_min = start_hour*60 + start_minute end_min = end_hour*60 + end_minute if end_min < start_min: end_min += 24*60 (crossed midnight) gross_min = end_min - start_min net_min = gross_min - break_min hours = floor(net_min / 60) minutes = net_min mod 60 decimal = net_min / 60 pay = decimal x hourly_rate
The overnight adjustment is the key detail: when the end time looks earlier than the start, the calculator adds a full day so a 22:00 to 06:00 shift reads as 8 hours rather than a negative result.
Worked example: a 9-to-6 shift with lunch
Take the default inputs: start 09:00, end 18:30, a 60-minute unpaid break, at a rate of 500 per hour.
- Start in minutes: 9 x 60 = 540.
- End in minutes: 18 x 60 + 30 = 1110.
- Gross span: 1110 - 540 = 570 minutes, which is 9 hours 30 minutes.
- Remove the break: 570 - 60 = 510 minutes.
- Convert: 510 / 60 = 8 hours 30 minutes, or 8.5 decimal hours.
- Pay: 8.5 x 500 = 4,250.
Where this is useful
Working out worked hours sounds trivial until breaks, overnight shifts, and decimal conversion collide. A quick, accurate result helps in several everyday situations.
- Hourly pay: turn a shift into decimal hours and multiply by your rate to check a payslip before it lands.
- Freelance invoicing: log start and end times per task and convert to billable decimal hours for the invoice line.
- Overtime tracking: total your true daily hours so you can see when you cross a standard 8-hour or 40-hour threshold.
- Shift planning: confirm that a rota leaves the required rest gap between an evening finish and a morning start.
- Childcare and contractors: compute pay for anyone billed by the hour, with the unpaid break handled correctly.
Minutes to decimal hours reference
Payroll runs on decimal hours, so this conversion comes up constantly. Divide minutes by 60.
| Minutes | Decimal hours | Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0.083 | 35 | 0.583 |
| 10 | 0.167 | 40 | 0.667 |
| 15 | 0.25 | 45 | 0.75 |
| 20 | 0.333 | 50 | 0.833 |
| 30 | 0.5 | 60 | 1.0 |
Common pitfalls
- Forgetting the overnight case. Subtracting 06:00 from 22:00 by hand gives a negative number. The tool adds 24 hours so the shift reads correctly as 8 hours.
- Counting a paid break as unpaid. Only deduct breaks your employer does not pay. Entering a paid coffee break shortens the result wrongly.
- Mixing 12-hour and 24-hour entries. The time fields use your browser's clock format; be sure 6:30 means evening (18:30) if that is the shift.
- Reading 8:30 as 8.30 for pay. Eight hours thirty minutes is 8.5 decimal hours, not 8.3. Always divide the minutes by 60.
- Ignoring overtime rules. This tool gives raw paid hours; it does not apply time-and-a-half or daily overtime thresholds, which you must add separately.
- Rounding each day before summing. Rounding daily hours then totalling a week drifts from the true figure. Sum the exact minutes first, then round once.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate hours worked?
Subtract the start time from the end time, then convert the gap to hours and minutes. For example 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM is 8 hours 30 minutes. If a shift crosses midnight, add 24 hours to the end time before subtracting. This calculator does all of that and can deduct a break.
How does it handle shifts that cross midnight?
If the end time is earlier than the start time, the tool assumes the shift ran past midnight and adds 24 hours to the end before subtracting. So 22:00 to 06:00 is treated as 8 hours, not a negative number.
What is the difference between hours-and-minutes and decimal hours?
Hours-and-minutes is the clock format, such as 8 hours 30 minutes. Decimal hours expresses the same span as a single number for payroll, where 30 minutes is 0.5, so 8:30 becomes 8.5 hours. Multiply decimal hours by the hourly rate to get pay.
How is the break deducted?
The break, entered in minutes, is subtracted from the gross time between start and end. An unpaid 60-minute lunch turns a 9.5-hour gross span into 8.5 paid hours, which is what the rate is then applied to.
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours by hand?
Divide the minutes by 60. So 15 minutes is 15/60 = 0.25 hours, 20 minutes is 0.333 hours, and 45 minutes is 0.75 hours. The whole hours stay as they are, so 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 decimal hours.