Guide
How to Set a Countdown Timer Online
A countdown timer works backwards from a length you choose to zero — the opposite of a stopwatch. It's the simplest tool for time-boxing: give a task a fixed window and stop when the clock does.
Setting your countdown
Type the number of minutes you want — whole numbers or decimals both work, so 0.5 gives you 30 seconds and 25 gives you a classic study block. Press Start and the display begins counting down.
The display shows minutes:seconds, or hours:minutes:seconds for countdowns over an hour, so 90 minutes appears as 1:30:00.
Pause, resume and reset
Pause freezes the countdown exactly where it is; the button then becomes Resume, which continues from the remaining time. Reset clears the countdown so you can enter a new duration.
What happens at zero
When the countdown reaches zero the timer stops, the display highlights and a "Time's up!" message appears. Keep the tab visible so you see it — the timer runs in your browser, not on a server.
Popular ways to use a countdown
Some tried-and-tested uses:
- Pomodoro study sessions: 25 minutes of focus, then a 5-minute break
- Cooking and baking steps that need exact timing
- Workout intervals and rest periods
- Limiting meetings, games or screen time
Countdown vs stopwatch
Use a countdown when you want to stop at a fixed limit — "work on this for 20 minutes". Use a stopwatch when you want to measure how long something actually takes — "how long does this recipe step really need?". Both tools are on this site, and both are free.
Try it yourself
Put this guide into practice with our free Countdown Timer — no sign-up, no download.
Open the Countdown Timer