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Decimal hours
Calculate the hours and minutes between two clock times, with optional unpaid break deduction.
This tool calculates the exact amount of time between a start time and an end time on the clock — for example, from 9:15 AM to 5:45 PM — and returns the duration in both hours-and-minutes and decimal-hours form, with an optional deduction for an unpaid break. It also supports overnight shifts that cross midnight, where the end time is technically 'earlier' on the clock than the start time.
Other tools on this site measure the span between two calendar dates (days, weeks, months); this one measures the span between two times of day, independent of which date they fall on. That distinction matters for anything based on clock hours worked in a single shift — timesheets, hourly billing, or simply figuring out how long a single session or appointment lasted — rather than a multi-day date range.
Most timesheet and invoicing systems expect duration expressed in decimal hours (like 7.75) rather than hours and minutes (7 hours 45 minutes), since decimal values are easier to multiply directly by an hourly rate. This tool provides both formats side by side so you can read the duration naturally while also having the decimal figure ready to drop into a payroll or invoicing system.
A shift that runs from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM can't be calculated with simple subtraction, since the end time is numerically earlier than the start time on a 24-hour clock. Selecting 'Yes' for the overnight option tells the calculator to treat the end time as falling on the following day, so the duration comes out correctly as 8 hours rather than a nonsensical negative number.
The calculator will compute a negative or unexpectedly short duration, since it will assume both times fall on the same calendar day. Always select 'Yes' for shifts where the end time is earlier on the clock than the start time.
It subtracts the number of unpaid break minutes you enter from the raw duration between your start and end times, giving you the actual worked (or billable) time rather than the full elapsed clock time.
The main duration is shown in the familiar hours-and-minutes format, while the decimal hours figure expresses the same duration as a single number (like 7.75 hours) that's easier to plug directly into payroll or billing calculations.
Yes, it works for any two clock times — timing a workout, a meeting, a flight, or any activity bounded by a start and end time of day.
No, it performs a straightforward clock-time subtraction and doesn't adjust for a daylight saving transition that might occur during an overnight shift. For dates spanning a clock change, treat the result as approximate.