Hours Between Two Times Calculator

Enter a start time and an end time to get the total hours and minutes between them, then subtract any unpaid break to see net worked time in both HH:MM and decimal-hour format.

Quick Facts

Formula
Net hours = (End time − Start time) − unpaid break
An end time earlier than the start time is treated as falling on the next day when auto-detect is on.

Your Results

Calculated
Gross duration
-
Start to end, before the break
Break deducted
-
Unpaid time removed
Net worked time
-
Hours and minutes, after break
Net decimal hours
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For payroll or billing

Ready

Enter a start time, end time, and any unpaid break to calculate.

About the Hours Between Two Times Calculator

This tool finds the duration between a start time and an end time — the same arithmetic behind a timesheet, a work-hours log, or figuring out how long a meeting or trip actually lasted. Enter both clock times, subtract any unpaid break, and the calculator reports the span in hours and minutes as well as decimal hours.

The formula

Both times are converted to minutes past midnight (hours × 60 + minutes). The gross duration is simply end minutes − start minutes. If the end time is earlier than the start time — an overnight shift like 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM — the calculator adds 1,440 minutes (24 hours) before subtracting, so the span correctly rolls into the next day. Net worked time is gross duration − unpaid break, and dividing net minutes by 60 gives the decimal-hour figure many payroll systems use (for example, 7 hours 30 minutes is 7.50 decimal hours).

  • Gross duration: end time minus start time, in minutes, then converted to hours and minutes.
  • Overnight handling: when the end clock time is numerically smaller than the start, 24 hours is added so a 11:00 PM–7:00 AM shift correctly reads 8 hours rather than a negative number.
  • Net worked time: gross duration minus any unpaid break (lunch, rest periods) that should not count as worked time.
  • Decimal hours: net minutes ÷ 60, rounded to two decimal places — the format most payroll and invoicing software expects instead of HH:MM.

Common uses

  • Timesheets and payroll: converting clock-in/clock-out times into billable or payable hours
  • Shift scheduling, including overnight shifts that cross midnight
  • Tracking how long a meeting, class, flight, or task actually took
  • Freelance and contractor billing in decimal-hour increments

Precision note

The calculator works to the minute and assumes both times fall on the same 24-hour cycle unless you enable next-day auto-detect for an end time that is earlier than the start. It does not account for time zone changes or daylight saving transitions — if a shift crosses a clock change, adjust the result manually by the amount the clock shifted.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you calculate hours between two times?
Convert both times to minutes past midnight, subtract the start from the end, and divide by 60 to get hours. If the end time is earlier than the start time, add 24 hours (1,440 minutes) first to account for the span crossing midnight, then subtract any unpaid break to get net worked time.
What happens if the end time is before the start time?
That usually means the span crosses midnight, for example a 10:00 PM start and a 6:00 AM end. With auto-detect on, the calculator adds 24 hours to the end time before subtracting so the duration comes out correctly. Switch to same-day-only mode if you instead want that combination flagged as an input error.
Why subtract a break from the total time?
Gross duration is the full clock span from start to end, but an unpaid lunch or rest break is not worked time. Net worked time equals gross duration minus the unpaid break, and it is the figure payroll and timesheets typically use for pay or billing.

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