Work Hours Calculator
Find hours worked between two times minus breaks.
Results update as you type.
How it works
Figuring out how many hours you worked from clock-in to clock-out, minus your break, is a daily need, and this calculator does it instantly. You enter your start time and end time in 24-hour HH:MM format and the length of any unpaid break in minutes, and it returns the hours worked in decimal form and the total minutes. The calculation converts both times to minutes since midnight, subtracts the start from the end, and subtracts the break. It correctly handles overnight shifts: if the end time is earlier than the start time, it adds 24 hours, so a shift from 22:00 to 06:00 correctly comes out as eight hours before breaks. Decimal hours are especially useful because payroll systems, invoices, and timesheets usually express time as a decimal, where, for example, eight hours and thirty minutes is 8.5 hours rather than 8:30. This makes it easy to multiply by an hourly rate to compute pay. The tool is handy for employees checking their timesheets, freelancers billing clients, and managers verifying hours. Enter times in 24-hour format, so 5:30 PM is 17:30, to avoid AM/PM confusion. For multiple shifts in a day or week, calculate each and add the results. Enter your start time, end time, and break to find the hours worked.
Hours = (end − start − break) / 60, wrapping past midnight
The calculator converts the start and end clock times to minutes, subtracts the start from the end (adding 24 hours if the shift crosses midnight), then subtracts the break minutes. Dividing by 60 gives the hours worked in decimal form, which is convenient for payroll and timesheets.
Source:Time calculation
We review all our tools from time to time to ensure accuracy.
Worked example
How to use this calculator
- 1
Enter your values
Enter start time (hh:mm, 24h) and end time (hh:mm, 24h).
- 2
Adjust the options
Adjust break if they apply — sensible defaults are already set.
- 3
Read your result
Hours worked updates instantly as you type — no button to press.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate hours worked?
Subtract your start time from your end time to get the elapsed time, then subtract any unpaid break. The calculator converts the clock times to minutes, handles the subtraction including shifts that cross midnight, and returns the result as decimal hours and total minutes, ready for payroll or invoicing.
How does the calculator handle overnight shifts?
If the end time is earlier than the start time, the calculator assumes the shift crossed midnight and adds 24 hours. So a shift from 22:00 to 06:00 is correctly computed as eight hours before breaks, rather than a negative number. This makes it reliable for night shifts and late schedules.
What are decimal hours?
Decimal hours express time as a decimal number rather than hours and minutes, so eight hours and thirty minutes is 8.5 hours, and eight hours and fifteen minutes is 8.25. Payroll systems and invoices use decimal hours because they multiply directly by an hourly rate. The calculator provides this format alongside the total minutes.
Why enter times in 24-hour format?
Using 24-hour format, where 1:00 PM is 13:00 and 5:30 PM is 17:30, avoids the ambiguity of AM and PM and lets the calculator correctly compute durations, including overnight shifts. It also matches the format used on many time clocks and schedules, reducing the chance of entry errors that would throw off the result.
How do I handle multiple shifts?
For more than one shift in a day, or to total a week, calculate the hours for each shift separately and add the decimal results together. This calculator handles a single start-to-end period with one break; summing several results gives your daily or weekly total, which you can then multiply by your rate to estimate pay.