How to use the online stopwatch
This stopwatch times to a hundredth of a second, records laps and split times, and keeps your session if you close the tab, so you never lose your times. Use it for sports, work intervals, experiments, or cooking, right in your browser with no sign-up. If you'd rather count down than count up, try the countdown timer.
Using the stopwatch
- Start: Press the green Start button. This starts the main timer (large display) and the split timer (smaller display below it) at the same time.
- Split (lap): While the stopwatch runs, click Split. The current time is recorded as a lap in the table below, the main timer keeps running, and the split timer resets to zero so you can time the next segment. Good for tracking each interval on its own.
- Pause and resume: Click the red Pause button to stop timing. A "Pause" event is logged. Click Start again to resume; a "Resume" event is logged and the time picks up where it left off.
- Reset: When the stopwatch is paused, the Reset button is active. Clicking it (and confirming) stops timing, clears both displays to zero, and erases all recorded laps and events.
Reading the laps table
Every Split, Pause, and Resume is logged in the table, so you have a full history of the session.
- #: A number for each entry.
- Label: Splits start out as "Split 1," "Split 2," and so on; events read "Pause" or "Resume." Click any label to type your own (e.g. "Runner finish," "Task break," "Lap 3 best"). Custom labels are saved with your session.
- Interval: For a split, this shows the time since the previous split (or since the start, for the first one). Pause and Resume rows show '---' since they aren't a timed interval.
- Total: The running time from the start of the session up to that split or event.
- Show more details: Check this box to add two columns. Time Recorded is the system timestamp for each entry, and a delete (X) button lets you remove a single row.
- Reverse order: Check this to put the newest entries at the top instead of the bottom.
Other features
- Export: Click the export icon (↑) to open the export dialog. Pick a column separator (Tab, Comma, or Semicolon) for your spreadsheet, switch on "Machine-readable format" to export times as raw milliseconds, then copy the data or download it as a .txt file.
- Session restore: If you close the browser or leave the page, your elapsed time, splits, labels, and settings are saved. When you come back you'll be asked to restore the session, and the time that passed is added back in. Need several clocks at once? Use the multi-timer.
- Light and dark mode: Click the sun/moon icon to switch themes.
- Fullscreen: Click the fullscreen icon to expand the stopwatch to fill the screen, handy for focused timing or showing it on a big display.
- Sound: Start, Pause, and Split play a short click so you don't have to watch the screen. Mute or unmute with the speaker icon.
Frequently asked questions
1. How is the split timer different from the main timer?
The main timer (large display) shows the total time since you first hit Start, minus any time you were paused. The split timer (smaller display) shows the time since your last Split press. When you hit Split, the split timer resets to zero for the next interval while the main timer keeps running.
2. What does "Interval" mean in the laps table?
For a split, it's the length of that lap: the time between this split and the previous one (or the start, for the first split). Pause and Resume rows show '---' because they're event markers, not timed intervals.
3. Will the stopwatch keep running if I switch tabs or apps?
Yes, as long as this tab stays open, even in the background. If you close the tab or browser, the session restore prompt brings your time back when you reopen the page.
4. Is there a limit to how many splits I can record?
Not in practice. You can record a very large number of splits and events. The real ceiling is your browser's memory, which you won't hit in normal use.
5. How can I use the exported data?
Export with a comma or tab separator and you can open the file in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers to chart or keep a record of your times. If you need to work with raw timestamps, the Unix timestamp converter turns those numbers into readable dates.
6. Does this stopwatch use a lot of battery?
It's light. While running it uses a JavaScript timer and updates the display often, so leaving it open for hours in the foreground will use more battery than a static page. For very long unattended timing, keep the device plugged in.
7. Can I run more than one stopwatch at a time?
Yes. Open this page in two or more tabs or windows, and each one runs as its own stopwatch with its own laps, events, and saved state.