A big, accurate online countdown timer with alarm
The Countdown Timer is a clean, full-screen-ready timer for cooking, workouts, exams, presentations, classroom activities and short focus sessions. Set hours, minutes and seconds — or tap a preset from 1 to 60 minutes — and a large display with a progress ring counts down. When time is up, an alarm repeats until you stop it, the browser tab title changes, and you can get a desktop notification too.
A second mode counts down to a date and time and offers quick picks for Indian exams (CAT, JEE Main, UPSC), festivals (Christmas, Diwali, Holi, Eid and more) and your wedding. Give it a name and share the link: anyone who opens it sees the same countdown in their own time zone. Your last settings are remembered on your device.
How to use the Countdown Timer
- Choose Timer, then type hours, minutes and seconds — or tap a preset such as 5, 25 or 60 min to start straight away.
- Press Start. Use Pause and Resume as needed, +1 min to add time, and Reset to go back to the set duration. The Space bar also starts and pauses.
- Choose a Display (ring, progress bar, pie or sand timer) and an Alarm sound, then press the full-screen button for a display the whole room can read. Tick Browser notification if you will be in another tab.
- When the alarm sounds, press Stop alarm — or +1 min for a quick extra minute.
- For an event, choose Countdown to a date, use Quick pick for an exam, festival or wedding (or enter your own name, date and time), then press Copy link to share it.
Countdown Timer features
Accurate in background tabs
The timer stores the exact end time and recalculates from the clock, so it stays correct even when the browser slows down hidden tabs.
Alarm that keeps going
A beep, bell or chime made with Web Audio repeats until you stop it, with no sound files to download.
Tab title and notifications
The remaining time shows in the browser tab, and an optional notification appears when the timer finishes.
Visual classroom timers
Ring, progress bar, pie or sand timer, with beep, bell or chime alarms, all large enough to read from the back of a room. Animation is switched off if your device asks for reduced motion.
Event countdown with share link
Days, hours, minutes and seconds until any date, with a link that opens the same countdown for others.
Remembers your settings
Your last duration and event are kept on this device, and a running timer survives an accidental page reload.
How the timer stays accurate
Many simple web timers subtract one second per “tick”, but browsers slow ticks down in background tabs, so those timers fall behind. This one records the moment the countdown should end and shows the difference from the current time on every update. The display may refresh less often in a hidden tab, but the remaining time is always correct.
When the end time arrives, a single scheduled check finishes the timer, and the alarm is queued on the audio clock, which keeps running in background tabs.
Popular timer lengths
For repeating focus-and-break cycles use the Pomodoro Timer; for something without a fixed end, the Stopwatch.
| Preset | Typical use |
|---|---|
| 1–3 minutes | Tea steeping, soft-boiled eggs, plank holds |
| 5 minutes | Short breaks, quick quizzes, warm-ups |
| 10–15 minutes | Power naps, timed reading, stand-ups |
| 25 minutes | One Pomodoro focus session |
| 30–60 minutes | Exam sections, workouts, lectures |
Exam, festival and wedding quick picks
Exam dates were read from reports of the official notices because the exam bodies’ own pages could not be fetched, so always confirm on the official site, and edit the date if it changes. For an exam the page also shows study days left. Christmas is fixed on 25 December. For wedding dates and planning see the Wedding Date Finder; for a fasting timer use the Intermittent Fasting Calculator.
| Quick pick | Date used | Source (checked 24 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| CAT 2026 | 29 Nov 2026 | IIM CAT notification (iimcat.ac.in) |
| JEE Main 2027, Session 1 | 22 Jan 2027 (to 30 Jan) | NTA examination calendar notice, 16 Sep 2026; tentative |
| UPSC Civil Services Prelims 2027 | 23 May 2027 | UPSC annual calendar 2027; subject to change |
| NEET UG 2027, CBSE board 2027 | Not announced yet | Set your own date |
| Diwali, Holi, Dussehra and other Indian festivals | Next date, calculated for New Delhi | Same engine as the calendar generator; matches the government holiday list for 2026-27 |
| Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha | Expected date | Depends on moon sighting; can differ by a day |
| Easter and Orthodox Easter (Pascha) | Next date | Gregorian and Julian Easter rules |
Tips for reliable alarms
- Keep this tab open. Reopening the page within the countdown restores a running timer.
- Browsers only allow sound after you interact with the page, so start the timer with a click or tap.
- On phones, a locked screen can pause web pages. For wake-up times use the Alarm Clock.
Countdown Timer FAQ
How do I set a countdown timer?
Type the hours, minutes and seconds and press Start, or tap a preset to start immediately. The countdown timer shows the remaining time in large digits and rings when it reaches zero.
Will the timer still work if I switch tabs?
Yes. It calculates the remaining time from the real clock, so it stays accurate in a background tab, and the alarm sound plays on time. Turn on browser notifications to be alerted visually as well.
Can I count down to a specific date?
Yes. Choose “Countdown to a date”, enter an event name, date and time, and the page shows days, hours, minutes and seconds remaining. The date is in your own time zone.
How many days are left for NEET, JEE or CAT?
Choose Countdown to a date, then a quick pick. CAT 2026 and JEE Main 2027 Session 1 and UPSC Prelims 2027 have dates from official notices; NEET UG 2027 and the CBSE 2027 boards are not announced yet, so you enter your own date.
Are the Eid and Diwali dates exact?
Diwali is calculated for New Delhi and agrees with the government holiday list. Eid is expected only, because it follows the moon sighting.
How do I share a countdown?
Press “Copy link” in date mode. The link contains the exact moment in UTC, so people anywhere see a countdown to the same instant, displayed in their local time.
Why is there no sound?
Check that “Alarm sound” is ticked, your device isn’t muted, and that you tapped the page at least once, because browsers block audio until then.