Productivity Tools
Work Hours Calculator
Calculate total work hours with breaks, overtime, and pay. Track daily, weekly, or project hours for accurate time tracking and payroll calculations.
Use Work Hours Calculator to get instant results without uploads or sign-ups. Everything runs securely in your browser for fast, reliable output.
Your results will appear here.
About this tool
Accurate work hour tracking is essential for employees, freelancers, and businesses. Our Work Hours Calculator helps you quickly determine total hours worked after deducting breaks, calculate overtime based on standard 8-hour days or 40-hour weeks, and compute earnings if you enter your hourly rate. Whether you're tracking time for payroll, billing clients, or monitoring productivity, precise hour calculations prevent disputes and ensure fair compensation.
The calculator handles common scenarios: standard 9-5 workdays with lunch breaks, shift work spanning midnight, partial hours and minutes, multiple break periods, and overtime calculations. It automatically converts time inputs to decimal hours for accurate calculations and displays results in both standard time format and decimal hours (useful for billing and payroll systems that use decimal time).
For employees, the tool helps verify timesheet accuracy and understand overtime eligibility. For freelancers and consultants, it tracks billable hours for client invoicing. For employers and payroll managers, it ensures accurate wage calculations and labor cost tracking. Small business owners use it to monitor employee hours and calculate labor costs for project bidding and profitability analysis.
Time tracking is more than just payroll—it's about productivity analysis, project management, and resource allocation. Understanding how much time tasks actually take (versus estimates) improves future planning. For remote workers and distributed teams, consistent time tracking creates accountability and transparency. Our calculator makes time tracking simple, accurate, and accessible without expensive time clock software.
Usage examples
Standard Workday
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with 30-minute lunch
8 hours - 0.5 hours = 7.5 hours worked
Shift Work
11:00 PM to 7:30 AM with 45-minute break
8.5 hours - 0.75 hours = 7.75 hours worked
Overtime Day
8:00 AM to 6:30 PM with 1-hour break
10.5 hours - 1 hour = 9.5 hours (1.5 overtime @ $25/hr = $262.50)
Part-Time Shift
2:00 PM to 6:15 PM, no break
4.25 hours worked @ $18/hr = $76.50
Freelance Session
10:30 AM to 3:45 PM with 15-minute break
5.25 hours - 0.25 hours = 5 hours @ $75/hr = $375
How to use
- Enter your start time (e.g., 9:00 AM).
- Enter your end time (e.g., 5:30 PM).
- Enter break duration in minutes.
- Optionally enter hourly rate for pay calculation.
- Click "Calculate" to see total hours worked.
- View regular hours, overtime, and earnings.
Benefits
- Instantly calculates total hours worked minus breaks
- Converts time to decimal hours for payroll systems
- Calculates overtime hours beyond 8 hours/day
- Computes total earnings with optional pay rate
- Handles shifts crossing midnight automatically
- Perfect for timesheets and hour tracking
- Prevents payroll errors and disputes
- Essential for freelancers billing by the hour
- Useful for employees verifying timecard accuracy
- Free alternative to expensive time tracking software
- Simple interface for quick daily calculations
- Helps employers calculate labor costs accurately
FAQs
How is overtime calculated?
Our calculator identifies overtime as hours beyond 8 in a single workday. Standard overtime pay is 1.5x regular hourly rate ("time and a half"). However, overtime rules vary by jurisdiction, employment contract, and whether you're calculating daily or weekly overtime. Some states require overtime after 8 hours/day, others only after 40 hours/week. Check your local labor laws and employment agreement for specific overtime rules.
What if my shift crosses midnight?
The calculator automatically handles shifts spanning midnight. If you enter end time earlier than start time (e.g., 11:00 PM to 3:00 AM), it assumes the end time is the next day and calculates correctly. This works for overnight shifts, night security, hospital shifts, and other work spanning midnight. The total hours will be calculated across the midnight boundary.
Should breaks be paid or unpaid?
Depends on regulations and company policy. In most U.S. jurisdictions: meal breaks 30+ minutes are typically unpaid, short rest breaks under 20 minutes are usually paid. Our calculator subtracts break time, assuming unpaid breaks. If your breaks are paid, enter 0 for break duration. Check your employment contract and local labor laws—regulations vary significantly by location and industry.
How do I calculate hours for multiple days?
Calculate each day separately, then sum the results. For example, Monday 8 hours + Tuesday 7.5 hours + Wednesday 8 hours = 23.5 hours for the week. For weekly overtime (40+ hours/week), track your running total—hours beyond 40 per week are typically overtime even if no single day exceeds 8 hours. Weekly overtime rules depend on jurisdiction.
What format should I use for entering times?
Most calculators accept formats like "9:00 AM", "9:00", "09:00", or using 24-hour format "13:00" for 1:00 PM. Include AM/PM for 12-hour format or use 24-hour format to avoid confusion. Be consistent with your format. If entering in a standard time input field, browsers typically provide time pickers to eliminate formatting errors.
How accurate are decimal hour conversions?
Decimal hours are precise: 15 minutes = 0.25 hours, 30 minutes = 0.5 hours, 45 minutes = 0.75 hours. Many payroll systems use decimal time because it simplifies calculations and prevents errors from manual time conversion. For billing clients or submitting timesheets, decimal format (7.5 hours) is often preferred over time format (7:30 hours).
Can I use this for freelance project billing?
Yes. Enter your start and end times for work sessions, deduct non-billable time (like breaks or admin work) using the break field, and enter your hourly rate. The calculator shows billable hours and total charges. For project work, track each work session, sum total hours, and multiply by rate. Many freelancers round to quarter-hour increments (0.25 hour minimum) for billing.
What about salary employees—do they track hours?
Salary (exempt) employees typically aren't required to track hours for pay, since they receive fixed salary regardless of hours. However, many still track hours for: project billing, client charges, productivity analysis, resource allocation, and demonstrating work for remote positions. Some salaried employees are non-exempt and still eligible for overtime—know your classification and local laws.
Related tools
View all toolsCalendar Generator
Generate printable calendars for any month and year. Create custom monthly calendars with holidays and important dates.
Productivity ToolsCountdown Timer Maker
Calculate countdown timer duration to any date and time. Create countdowns for events, launches, and deadlines.
Productivity ToolsDays Between Dates Calculator
Calculate days, weeks, months, and years between two dates. Perfect for project planning, age calculation, deadline tracking, and event countdowns.
Productivity Tools