Timer & Stopwatch
Countdown and stopwatch in one window, with saved durations, optional chime, and timestamp-based timekeeping.
How to Use
- Pick a mode at the top: Countdown or Stopwatch.
- For a countdown, click a preset or enter a whole number from 1 to 999 minutes. Save up to three durations for later.
- Press Start. Pause and resume whenever you like; Reset returns to the selected duration.
- At zero, the display turns red and shows a message. Turn on the optional chime if you want a sound.
Features
- Countdown and stopwatch in one tool
- One-click presets: 1, 3, 5 and 10 minutes
- Custom countdown length from 1 to 999 whole minutes; save three favorites
- Optional end chime, off by default, plus a visible completion message
- Timestamp-based timekeeping — pausing and resuming stays accurate
- Runs as a Win98-style desktop window on BytePlay
- Free, no signup
About This Tool
Some timers live on your phone, some on your microwave — this one lives in a browser tab, which turns out to be exactly where office timing needs to happen. Steeping tea for three minutes, keeping a stand-up to ten, timing a presentation run-through, giving yourself "five more minutes" of a break that would otherwise stretch to twenty: an online timer covers all of it without you touching your phone. This one is two tools in a single window. Countdown mode counts a set duration down to zero — hit one of the presets (1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes) or enter 1–999 whole minutes. Save up to three favorite durations for repeat use. Stopwatch mode counts up from zero for anything open-ended: how long the build takes, how long that "quick" call actually ran, your plank. Under the hood it does timekeeping the honest way. Naive web timers add up little one-second ticks, and each tick can land late, so the errors pile up. This timer records real timestamps instead and recomputes elapsed time from the clock every time it draws the display, so late screen updates do not accumulate into timing drift. Pausing and resuming use the same calculation. Browsers slow background tabs to save power, so an end alert may arrive late while the tab is hidden. Returning to the tab updates the display and completion state immediately. At zero the display turns red and shows a message; a short chime can be enabled if you want one, though browser audio rules may also delay it. On BytePlay's Windows 98-style desktop the timer opens as a small draggable window you can park in a corner of the screen next to whatever you're doing. No download or account is needed — open it, press start, and go do whatever those three minutes are for.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I set a timer for 5 minutes?
- In Countdown mode, click 5 min and press Start. You can enter a whole number from 1 to 999 minutes and save up to three frequently used durations.
- Does the timer keep running in a background tab?
- Elapsed time is calculated from timestamps. Returning to the tab immediately updates the display and completion state. Browsers may delay callbacks and sound while a tab is hidden, so background alerts are not guaranteed at the exact second.
- What's the difference between the timer and the stopwatch?
- The countdown starts from a duration you choose and runs down to zero — good for tea, breaks and time-boxed tasks. The stopwatch starts at zero and counts up until you stop it — good for measuring how long something takes. Both share the same Start, Pause and Reset controls.
- Is there a sound when the timer ends?
- The display turns red and shows a message. Sound is off by default; turn on the optional chime if you want it. Browser audio restrictions and background throttling can delay the sound.
