Fifteen minutes is a real unit of work — long enough to make visible progress, short enough to stay sharp. This free 15-minute timer counts down in your browser with an alarm and stays accurate even when the tab is hidden.
What is a 15 minute timer good for?
- A 15-minute cleaning or decluttering sprint
- A focused study or revision block
- A stretching, yoga or cool-down session
- Capping a break so it doesn’t quietly become an hour
How this 15 minute timer works
Press Start and the countdown runs full-screen in your browser; press it again to pause and resume, hit Reset to return to 15 minute, or +1 min to extend. You can also press the spacebar to start or pause. It is wall-clock accurate, so it stays correct even in a background tab, and it rings when it reaches zero. Need a different length or a stopwatch and date countdown? Open the full timer.
Frequently asked questions
How long is 15 minutes for getting things done?
Fifteen minutes is the length behind the well-known “15-minute tidy” — set the timer, clean fast, and stop when it rings — and it is a comfortable single study or revision block for most people before attention dips. It is also long enough for a short stretching or yoga flow. The value of timing it is the hard stop: a 15-minute break stays 15 minutes instead of drifting, and a 15-minute task gets your full pace because you can see the clock running down.
Does the timer keep accurate time if I switch tabs?
Yes — the 15 minute timer stays wall-clock accurate in a background tab. Instead of counting ticks (which browsers throttle in background tabs), it records the exact end time and works out the remaining time from your clock on every update, so the figure on screen is always correct. When you return to the tab the display instantly shows the true time left. The alarm tone is generated with the Web Audio API and plays when the countdown reaches zero with the page on screen, so keep the tab visible if you need the sound at the exact second.
Will it make a sound when it finishes? Is it free?
Yes to both — the 15 minute timer rings at zero and is completely free. When the countdown reaches zero it plays three short rising tones and the card flashes with a “Time’s up” message, so you are notified even with the sound off — use the speaker button to mute or unmute. The first time you press Start the browser unlocks audio from that tap, which is why a timer you start yourself can ring later. It runs entirely in your browser, needs no sign-up, and nothing is uploaded.
Does the browser tab show how much of the 15 minutes is left?
The 15 minute timer writes the remaining time into the browser tab title, so the countdown appears in the tab strip as well as on the page. The title reverts to the normal page title when you pause or reset, and it changes to a “Time’s up” line once the countdown reaches zero. Because the display is drawn on animation frames, the title stops updating while the tab is hidden and catches up the moment you look at the page again. The countdown underneath is exact either way, because it is computed from your device’s clock rather than from how often the page redraws.