ES
Online Timer: Free Countdown with Alarm (2026)
Set hours, minutes and seconds — or start a preset with one click. The alarm rings even if the tab is in the background.
Set the time, press Start, and the alarm sounds when the countdown hits zero — even with the tab minimized. The most-used presets are 25 minutes (Pomodoro), 5 minutes (breaks), 45 seconds (HIIT intervals) and 60 minutes (exams). No account, no download, works on phone and desktop.
How to use this timer
- Set duration: enter hours, minutes and seconds, or tap a preset button.
- Start: the timer counts down in real time. You'll see hours, minutes and seconds remaining.
- Alarm: when the timer reaches zero, a sound plays and the display flashes so you notice even if you switched tabs.
- Reset: stops and clears the countdown so you can set a new duration.
Pomodoro timer: the 25/5 method
The Pomodoro Technique alternates 25 minutes of focused work with 5-minute breaks; after four cycles you take a longer 15–30 minute break. Why it works:
- 25 minutes is short enough that starting doesn't feel heavy, long enough to get real work done.
- The ticking countdown externalizes discipline — you negotiate with the timer, not with yourself.
- Breaks are scheduled, so you stop "just checking" your phone mid-task.
A full Pomodoro session (4 × 25 + 3 × 5 + 15) is exactly 2 hours 10 minutes — two sessions fill a productive morning. Use the 25-minute preset above, or open the Pomodoro timer directly.
Workout and HIIT intervals
Common interval protocols to run with this timer:
| Protocol | Work | Rest | Rounds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tabata | 20 s | 10 s | 8 | 4 min |
| Classic HIIT | 45 s | 15 s | 10 | 10 min |
| EMOM | 60 s | — | 10–20 | 10–20 min |
| Circuit | 90 s | 30 s | 6 | 12 min |
Tip: turn the volume up before starting — mid-burpee nobody looks at the screen. If you need to measure elapsed time instead of a countdown, use the stopwatch.
Exam and study timer
Practicing under real time pressure is the single best exam preparation:
- SAT sections: 32–35 min each → preset 35 min.
- IELTS writing: 60 min for two tasks → 20 + 40 min splits.
- Flashcard review: 2 min per card, hard stop.
Set the timer visible on a second screen or phone; when it rings, pencils down — training the stop matters as much as the content.
Cooking timer
Phones lock, hands are wet, and kitchen timers vanish into drawers. A browser timer on the kitchen tablet solves it:
| Food | Time |
|---|---|
| Soft-boiled egg | 6–7 min |
| Hard-boiled egg | 10–12 min |
| Al dente pasta | 8–10 min |
| Rice (absorption) | 18 min |
| Steeping green tea | 2–3 min |
The alarm keeps ringing until you dismiss it — burnt rice becomes someone else's story.
Timer vs stopwatch vs countdown
- Timer (this page): counts down from a set time to zero, then alarms. "Wake me in 25 minutes."
- Stopwatch: counts up from zero, measures how long something takes. "How fast was that lap?"
- Countdown: counts down to a calendar date — days, hours, minutes until an event. "How long until New Year?"
Pick by direction and target: down-to-zero = timer, up-from-zero = stopwatch, down-to-a-date = countdown.