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🕐 Hours Calculator

Calculate hours worked between a start and end time. Perfect for timesheets and freelance billing.

Enter Your Values

When did you start?
When did you finish?

How to Calculate Hours Worked

This calculator subtracts your start time from your end time and returns the exact hours and minutes worked. For overnight shifts — for example, starting at 10:00 PM and ending at 06:00 AM — the calculator automatically handles the date rollover, so you always get the correct duration without having to manually adjust.

Freelancers and contractors use this constantly for invoicing. If you bill by the hour, even 10 minutes of rounding error per shift adds up across a week or month. Knowing the exact hours worked means you can invoice accurately and confidently. Multiply the result by your hourly rate, or use the Freelance Rate Calculator on CalForge to work out what your rate should be based on target income.

Employees who work variable shifts — nurses, retail workers, hospitality staff — often need to verify that their payslip reflects the correct hours. Tracking each shift with a calculator like this makes it easy to spot discrepancies before the pay cycle closes.

Parents managing babysitter or domestic worker hours will also find this useful. Rather than estimating, you can log the exact start and end time each day and sum up the week at the end to calculate payment.

For total weekly hours, run the calculator for each shift and add the results together. If your shifts are consistent (e.g., always 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM), a single calculation gives you your daily hours, and you multiply by the number of shifts in your week.

How to Calculate Hours Worked

Hours worked between two times is calculated by subtracting start time from end time. If the end time is earlier in the day than the start (overnight shift), add 24 hours to the end time before subtracting. Convert minutes to decimal hours by dividing by 60.

Accurate hours tracking is essential for billing clients correctly, completing timesheets, calculating overtime, verifying payslips, and managing part-time or casual work arrangements.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert time to decimal for payroll? +
Divide the minutes portion by 60. 7 hours 30 minutes = 7.5 hours. 8 hours 15 minutes = 8.25 hours. 9 hours 45 minutes = 9.75 hours. Multiply decimal hours by your hourly rate for gross pay.
How is overtime calculated? +
Standard overtime applies to hours worked beyond 40 per week (US) or 8 per day in some jurisdictions. Overtime is typically paid at 1.5× the regular rate (time-and-a-half). Some contracts pay 2× (double time) for hours beyond 12 per day or for public holidays.
How do I calculate hours for an overnight shift? +
Add 24 to the end hour if it is less than the start hour. Starting at 22:00 (10pm) and finishing at 06:00 (6am): 06:00 + 24:00 = 30:00 − 22:00 = 8 hours worked. Most payroll software handles this automatically when you enter dates alongside times.