🕐 Hours Calculator

Find the exact hours and minutes between two clock times, subtract an unpaid break, convert to decimal hours, and estimate pay.

🕐 Calculate Hours
Result
Net Hours Worked
Raw Time Span
Break Deducted
Decimal Hours
Estimated Pay
🕐

Enter a start and end time, then click Calculate Hours

Guide

About the Hours Calculator

Last updated: July 2026 · Reviewed by the NeftCal editorial team

This free hours calculator finds the exact number of hours and minutes between a clock-in and clock-out time, subtracts an unpaid break, and converts the result to decimal hours — the format payroll systems use to multiply against an hourly rate.

What This Hours Calculator Computes

Enter a Start Time and an End Time, tick the overnight box if the shift crosses midnight, add any unpaid break minutes, and optionally enter an hourly rate. The calculator returns the Raw Time Span, the Net Hours after the break is deducted (shown as both hours:minutes and decimal hours), and an estimated gross pay figure if a rate was entered.

Who Should Use This Calculator

Hourly employees checking their own shift hours, small-business owners doing quick payroll math without full timesheet software, freelancers billing by the hour, and anyone who just needs to know "how many hours is 9:15 AM to 5:45 PM" without counting on their fingers.

Decimal Hours, Explained

Clock time uses base 60 — 60 minutes to an hour — but payroll math uses base 10. 7 hours 30 minutes is not 7.30 in payroll terms; it's 7.5, because 30 minutes is half an hour. This calculator handles that conversion automatically so you never have to do minutes-to-decimal math by hand.

  • Quick hourly-wage pay estimates for a single shift
  • Freelance or contractor time billing for a work session
  • Double-checking a payroll system's decimal-hours conversion
  • Overnight shift hours that cross midnight
  • Pairing with NeftCal's Time Card Calculator for a full multi-day weekly timesheet
How It Works

How Hours Between Two Times Are Calculated

The logic behind Raw Time Span, Net Hours, and Decimal Hours

Raw Time Span
Raw minutes = (End Time − Start Time) in minutes, plus 1,440 minutes (24 hours) if the overnight box is checked

Net Hours
Net minutes = Raw minutes − Unpaid Break minutes

Decimal Hours
Decimal Hours = Net minutes ÷ 60, rounded to 2 decimal places

Estimated Pay
Estimated Pay = Decimal Hours × Hourly Rate
🌙

Overnight Handling

If End Time appears earlier than Start Time on the clock and the overnight box is checked, the calculator adds a full 24 hours to the end time before subtracting, correctly handling shifts like 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM.

Break Deduction

Unpaid break minutes are subtracted from the raw span, not from the decimal hours figure, so the conversion to decimal happens after the true net working time is known.

💵

Pay Estimation

Pay is estimated as decimal hours × hourly rate — a straightforward gross-pay calculation that doesn't account for overtime multipliers, taxes, or other deductions.

⚙️ Why Decimal Hours Matter

Multiplying an hourly rate by a base-60 time value (like 7:30) gives the wrong answer — 7:30 × $20 is not $150. Converting to decimal hours first (7.5 × $20 = $150) is the standard payroll approach, and this calculator performs that conversion automatically.

🎯 When to Check "Overnight"

  • Any time the End Time clock value is numerically earlier than the Start Time
  • Night shifts, graveyard shifts, and late-closing retail or hospitality shifts
  • Leave unchecked for any shift that starts and ends within the same calendar day

📋 Assumptions

  • Exactly one continuous work period per calculation (for multiple punches, use the Time Card Calculator)
  • Break minutes are unpaid and deducted from the total
  • Estimated Pay is gross, before tax or other deductions

⚠️ Limitations

  • Does not apply overtime multipliers automatically
  • Doesn't support multiple break periods in a single calculation
  • Not a substitute for your employer's official timekeeping system
Walkthrough

Step-by-Step: How to Use the Hours Calculator

From clock-in time to an estimated pay figure

Enter a Start Time and End Time

Pick the clock-in and clock-out times for the period you're calculating.

Check the overnight box if needed

Tick "End time is the next day" for any shift that crosses midnight.

Enter an unpaid break, if any

Add unpaid lunch or break minutes to subtract from the total worked time.

Optionally enter an hourly rate

Add an hourly rate to see an estimated gross pay figure for the period.

Click "Calculate Hours"

See the raw time span, net hours after break, decimal hours, and estimated pay.

Example

Worked Example

A daytime shift with a lunch break, and an overnight shift

Scenario 1 — 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM With a 30-Minute Lunch

Start9:00 AM
End5:30 PM
Break30 min
Step 1 — Raw span: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM = 8 hours 30 minutes (510 minutes).
Step 2 — Subtract break: 510 − 30 = 480 minutes net.
Step 3 — Convert to decimal: 480 ÷ 60 = 8.00 decimal hours.
Step 4 — Pay at $20/hr: 8.00 × $20 = $160.00.
Net Hours
8h 0m
Decimal Hours
8.00
Est. Pay
$160.00

Scenario 2 — Overnight Shift, 10:00 PM to 6:15 AM

Step 1 — Raw span (overnight checked): 22:00 to 06:15 the next day = 8 hours 15 minutes (495 minutes).
Step 2 — No break entered: Net minutes stay at 495.
Step 3 — Convert to decimal: 495 ÷ 60 = 8.25 decimal hours.
Pros & Cons

Advantages and Limitations

What this Hours Calculator does well, and where it has boundaries

✅ Advantages

  • Free, instant, and requires no signup
  • Runs entirely in your browser — no data is sent to a server
  • Handles overnight shifts that cross midnight
  • Automatically converts to decimal hours for payroll-style math
  • Optional pay estimate from an hourly rate
  • Deducts unpaid break time before converting to decimal

⚠️ Limitations

  • Covers one continuous shift at a time — for a full week, use the Time Card Calculator
  • Doesn't apply overtime multipliers or shift differentials automatically
  • Doesn't account for taxes or other payroll deductions in the pay estimate
  • Not a substitute for your employer's official timekeeping system
📝

Summary: This Hours Calculator finds the net hours between two clock times, subtracts an unpaid break, converts to decimal hours, and estimates gross pay — free, instant, and entirely client-side. For a full weekly timesheet with multiple days, use the Time Card Calculator.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about calculating hours worked

How do I calculate hours between two times?
Enter a Start Time and an End Time, and click Calculate Hours. The calculator shows the total hours and minutes between them, plus the equivalent in decimal hours.
What is a decimal hour, and why does payroll use it?
A decimal hour expresses minutes as a fraction of an hour instead of a base-60 value — for example, 7 hours 30 minutes becomes 7.5 decimal hours. Payroll systems use decimal hours because they multiply cleanly against an hourly rate (7.5 × rate), whereas 7:30 does not.
How do I subtract an unpaid lunch break from hours worked?
Enter the number of unpaid break minutes in the Unpaid Break field. The calculator subtracts that break time from the raw hours between your Start Time and End Time to give Net Hours — the figure typically used for payroll.
Can I calculate hours for an overnight shift that crosses midnight?
Yes. Check "End time is the next day" if your shift ends after midnight — for example, a 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM shift. The calculator then correctly adds 24 hours to the end time before computing the difference.
How does the pay estimate work?
Enter an hourly rate in the optional Hourly Rate field. The calculator multiplies your Net Hours (in decimal form) by that rate to estimate gross pay for the period — before taxes or other deductions.
How is this different from the Time Duration Calculator?
This Hours Calculator is purpose-built around work-hours tasks — clock in/out times, unpaid breaks, decimal-hour conversion, and pay estimates for a single period. NeftCal's Time Duration Calculator is a more general tool for adding, subtracting, and comparing time durations. For a full multi-day weekly timesheet, use the Time Card Calculator instead.
Is my time data saved or sent to a server?
No. This calculator runs entirely in your browser — the times and rate you enter are never transmitted to or stored on a server.

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