Hours Calculator

How to calculate hours between two times

1. Subtract the start time from the end time. If the end is earlier than the start, the shift ran past midnight, so add 24 hours.
2. Subtract any unpaid breaks.
3. For decimal hours, divide the minutes by 60.

Hours worked = end − start − unpaid breaks

For 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute lunch: 8 h 30 min − 30 min = 8 hours, which is 8.00 in decimal hours.

Hours between common start and end times

Shifts that cross midnight

When the end time is at or before the start time, the calculator treats the end as the next day. 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM is 8 hours 30 minutes; with a 30-minute break, 8 hours worked. If the start and end are exactly the same, it is counted as a full 24-hour shift and the result says so.

On the night the clocks change for daylight saving time, a night shift is an hour longer or shorter than the clock times suggest: 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM is 9 hours worked when the clocks go back, and 7 hours when they go forward. Open Daylight saving change under the result to correct for it. When and whether the clocks change depends on where you live.

Paid and unpaid breaks

Under US federal rules, short rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes count as work time and are paid (29 CFR 785.18). A bona fide meal period, ordinarily 30 minutes or more, where you are completely relieved of duty, does not count and can be unpaid (29 CFR 785.19). Many US states, and other countries, set their own break rules, so check the ones that apply to you. Whatever the rule, enter only unpaid breaks in the calculator.

In the EU, workers are entitled to a rest break when they work more than 6 hours, with the length set by each country (European Commission). In the UK, it’s one uninterrupted 20-minute break when you work more than 6 hours a day, paid or unpaid depending on your contract (GOV.UK).

What time do I clock out?

To find when your shift ends, switch the calculator to Clock-out time, enter when you start, how many hours you need to work, and your unpaid break. The break is added on top of the hours worked: an 8-hour shift with a 30-minute lunch means 8 hours 30 minutes at work.

12 AM and 12 PM

12:00 AM is midnight and 12:00 PM is noon. A shift from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM is 5 hours. If AM and PM get confusing, switch to the 24-hour clock, where midnight is 00:00 and noon is 12:00. You can also type a time like 17:30 on the 12-hour clock and it is read as 5:30 PM.

Hours between two times in Excel or Google Sheets

Spreadsheets store a time as a fraction of a day, so subtract the start from the end and multiply by 24. With the start in A1, the end in B1 and an unpaid break in minutes in C1:

=(MOD(B1-A1, 1) - C1/1440) * 24

MOD(…, 1) handles shifts that end after midnight, and dividing the break by 1,440 (minutes in a day) turns it into the same unit as the times. The result is in decimal hours; round it with =ROUND(…, 2) if payroll needs two decimals. For hours and minutes instead, leave out the * 24 and format the cell as [h]:mm.

When to use the hours calculator

• Checking how many hours you worked on one shift, with or without a lunch break.
• Working out when an 8-hour, 10-hour or 12-hour shift ends, including the unpaid break.
• Night shifts that start one day and end the next.
• Timing anything between two clock times, such as a booking or a trip.

Worked more than one day? Total the week on the time card calculator. Need the result in decimal hours for payroll? The time to decimal calculator has a full conversion chart.