Time Duration Between Two Times
Calculate the duration between two times of day in hours, minutes and total minutes.
How to use this tool
- Enter start time and end time in the fields above.
- Results update instantly as you type — or click Calculate.
- Read your hours and the full breakdown beneath it.
Calculate the duration between two times of day in hours, minutes and total minutes.
How it works
Enter a start time and an end time and this tool calculates the exact duration between them, expressed in hours, minutes, and total minutes. Both 12-hour (AM/PM) and 24-hour formats are accepted.
The calculator handles spans that cross midnight correctly. If your end time is earlier in the day than your start time, the tool assumes the end time is on the following day, so 22:00 to 06:00 correctly returns 8 hours rather than a negative result.
Common uses include timesheet and payroll calculations, billing for hourly services, determining how long a flight or journey took, and scheduling gaps between tasks or classes.
If you need to add up several separate time spans in one session, calculate each segment individually and sum the total-minutes figures for an accurate combined total.
Worked example
Calculate hours worked for a timesheet
- Enter Start time: 08:45.
- Enter End time: 17:20.
- The tool calculates the difference: 8 hours 35 minutes.
- Total minutes: 515 — useful for decimal-hour payroll systems (515 / 60 = 8.583 hours).
The shift was 8 hours and 35 minutes, or 8.58 decimal hours for billing.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Entering times in AM/PM format but forgetting to set the AM/PM selector correctly, causing a 12-hour error.
- Using this for multi-day spans — the tool is designed for durations within a 24-hour window.
- Forgetting to convert to decimal hours when the result needs to go into a billing system that expects hours as a decimal.
Key terms
- Duration
- The length of a time interval, measured in hours and minutes (or total minutes).
- 24-hour format
- A time notation where hours run from 00 to 23, removing ambiguity between AM and PM. Also called military time.
- Decimal hours
- Hours expressed as a decimal fraction rather than hours and minutes. For example, 1 hour 30 minutes = 1.5 decimal hours. Used in billing and payroll.
Frequently asked questions
- What happens if the end time is before the start time?
- The calculator assumes you cross midnight, e.g. 22:00 to 06:00 = 8 hours.