Hours Calculator
Calculate the total hours worked between a start time and an end time, minus an optional unpaid break. Handles overnight shifts and shows results in both H:M and decimal hours — perfect for payroll and timesheets.
Hours Calculator
Single-session time difference
Start & End Time
Break & Rate (Optional)
Total Time
7h 30m
7.50 decimal hours
Breakdown
7
Hours
30
Minutes
7.50
Decimal Hrs
—
Pay Earned
💡 Pro Tip: Decimal Hours for Payroll
Always use decimal hours for payroll — 7 hours 30 minutes is 7.50 hours, not 7.3. Multiply decimal hours by the hourly rate to get exact pay. For a full week of shifts, try our time card calculator.
How to Use the Hours Calculator
Enter a start time and an end time for a single work session, plus any unpaid break you took. The calculator finds the exact hours and minutes between the two clock times, subtracts the break, and shows the net total worked — in both an H:M breakdown and decimal hours for payroll. Need a full week of shifts instead? Use our time card calculator, or try the time calculator for adding and subtracting arbitrary durations that aren't tied to clock times.
🧮 The Formula
End time − Start time = Shift durationShift duration − Break = Net hours workedDecimal hours = hours + (minutes ÷ 60)For overnight shifts, the calculator adds 24 hours to the end time whenever it's earlier than the start time — e.g. 10 PM to 6 AM = 8 hours, not a negative number.
☕ Breaks & Overnight Shifts
- Unpaid breaks: subtract meal breaks of 30+ minutes; they're typically unpaid.
- Paid short breaks: breaks under ~20 minutes are usually still paid — leave them out.
- Overnight shifts: an end time earlier than the start time is treated as crossing midnight automatically.
- Same-day only: for a single continuous session — split shifts need two calculations.
🔢 Hours Conversion Reference
- 15 min = 0.25 decimal hours
- 30 min = 0.50 decimal hours
- 45 min = 0.75 decimal hours
- 1h 15m = 1.25 decimal hours
- 1h 30m = 1.50 decimal hours
- 7h 30m = 7.50 decimal hours
💼 Real-World Use Cases
- Payroll: log exact hours for a single shift before it goes on a timesheet.
- Freelancing: track billable hours for a single client session.
- Night shifts: calculate overnight hours that cross midnight correctly.
- Study or fitness: measure a study block or workout session's length.
— FAQ