Countdown Timer — Free Online Timer with Visual Progress Ring and Alarm

Our free online countdown timer makes it easy to set a precise timer for any duration from seconds to hours. The large circular progress ring visually tracks remaining time, turning green when the countdown finishes and playing a 4-burst alarm sound. Use the H/M/S spinners to set an exact time, or choose from 8 quick presets ranging from 1 minute to 1 hour. The timer uses an accurate wall-clock approach — it tracks the target timestamp rather than counting down, so pausing and resuming never causes drift.

How to Use the Countdown Timer

Set your time using the Hours, Minutes, and Seconds spinner controls below the ring — or click a quick preset.
Quick presets: 1m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 25m, 30m, and 1h are available for the most common durations.
Optionally add a label in the header to name your timer (e.g., "Pizza Oven" or "Meeting").
Click Start or press Space to begin the countdown. The ring animates and the time counts down.
Click Pause at any time to pause. Click Resume (or press Space) to continue from exactly where it left off.
When the timer reaches zero, the ring turns green, "Time's up!" appears, and an alarm sounds.

When to Use the Countdown Timer

Cooking and baking — use as an online kitchen timer for precise cooking times.
Study sessions — time focused work blocks like Pomodoro intervals or timed study sprints.
Exercise and workouts — time rest periods, intervals, or workout sets.
Presentations and talks — keep presenters on time during meetings or events.
Game time limits — add a time constraint to board games, quizzes, or challenges.
Classroom activities — time student presentations, quizzes, or timed exercises.

Key Features

Visual progress ring — an SVG circular ring shows remaining time as an arc that depletes as time passes.
Accurate timing — uses target timestamp (Date.now() + remaining × 1000) polled at 250ms to avoid drift.
Alarm sound — a 4-burst square-wave oscillator plays via Web Audio API when the timer finishes.
Pause and resume — pausing freezes the remaining time exactly; resuming continues without any drift.
8 quick presets — click 1m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 25m, 30m, or 1h for instant timer setup.
H/M/S spinners — precise control over hours (0–23), minutes (0–59), and seconds (0–59).
Optional label — add a label inside the ring to identify what the timer is for.
Sound toggle — mute the alarm in the header without disabling other functionality.
Keyboard shortcut — Space to start/pause.

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is this countdown timer?

The timer uses a wall-clock approach — it records the target end time as Date.now() + remaining_seconds × 1000 and polls that timestamp every 250ms. This means it cannot drift more than 250ms, even when paused and resumed. It is accurate enough for all practical use cases.

Does the timer work when the browser tab is in the background?

Yes. Because the timer measures the difference between the current time and the target end time, it continues counting accurately even when the tab is not focused. The alarm will play when time is up, as long as the tab is still open.

Can I set a timer longer than 1 hour?

Yes. Use the Hours spinner to set any number up to 23 hours. The 1h quick preset is the longest preset, but you can manually set up to 23:59:59 using the spinners.

Can I add a custom sound for the alarm?

The current timer uses a built-in Web Audio API alarm. Custom sound upload is not supported in this version. Use the sound toggle in the header to mute if needed.