How to use the egg timer
This online egg timer works in four steps:
- Pick how you like your egg on the card: Soft, Jammy, Medium or Hard.
- Bring the water to the boil first.
- Lower the eggs in and press Start as they go in.
- Need another egg? Press Add egg and pick its doneness.
You can also type a time: click the digits and enter 800 for 8:00 or 8m. −30 s and +30 s fine-tune any egg.
Egg timer chart: soft, jammy, medium, hard
| Doneness | Preset | Typical range | Yolk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft | 6:00 | 6–7 min | Runny, white barely set |
| Jammy | 7:30 | 7–8 min | Thick and jammy |
| Medium | 9:00 | 8–9 min | Just set and creamy |
| Hard | 11:00 | 10–11 min | Set through, not dry |
The presets follow the method of RecipeTin Eats’ How to boil eggs (checked November 2026): water boiling first, fridge-cold large eggs of about 55 g, and the timer started once the eggs are in. That guide gives 6 minutes for runny yolks, 8 minutes for soft-boiled eggs with a just-set yolk, 10 minutes for hard-boiled and 12 minutes or more for overcooked eggs. Names differ from cook to cook: its 8-minute “soft-boiled” egg sits in our Medium range, and our Medium and Hard presets sit at the top of their ranges.
Other timers say 3 minutes, the length of a classic hourglass egg timer, which gives a dippy egg that’s too soft to peel. Some say 12 minutes for hard-boiled; they usually start the eggs in cold water or use bigger eggs.
Several eggs, several timers
Give each egg its own card, so one person’s soft egg and another’s hard egg are both right. If all the eggs go in together, press Start all.
If you want every egg ready at once, press Ready together. Say one person wants a hard egg (11:00) and another a soft one (6:00). The hard egg’s timer starts straight away; the soft egg’s card shows “Add in 5:00”. After five minutes you hear two short beeps and see “Add Egg 2 now”, so you lower the second egg, and both finish together. Making toast and beans too? The kitchen timer runs six named timers for the rest of breakfast.
Adjusting for egg size and your stove
- Egg size. Choose Extra-large +30 s (about 60 g) or Jumbo +1 min (about 65 g) above the cards, following RecipeTin Eats’ size advice. Eggs that are already cooking keep their time.
- Fridge or room temperature. Starting temperature matters: at 8 minutes, a fridge-cold egg comes out soft-boiled but a room-temperature egg is hard-boiled. The presets assume fridge-cold eggs.
- A crowded pan cooks slower. The same guide suggests a 16 cm (6-inch) pan for up to 4 eggs and an 18 cm (7-inch) pan for 6.
- Altitude. Water boils at 212 °F (100 °C) at sea level but only at about 198 °F (92 °C) at 7,500 ft, a drop of just under 1 °F for every 500 ft (USDA FSIS: High altitude cooking). Eggs then need longer; there is no fixed rule, so add 30 seconds at a time and test one egg.
Options explained
- Doneness: Soft, Jammy, Medium or Hard on each card. A typed time that matches no preset shows as Custom.
- −30 s / +30 s: change the set time, or the time left while an egg cooks. On a ringing card, +30 s stops the bell and gives the egg 30 more seconds.
- Egg size: Large, Extra-large or Jumbo.
- Sound: Bell, with Test sound to hear it. Ring for: Until I stop it (5 minutes at most).
- Count overtime and Notify me when time is up work as on our other timers.
How it works
Each egg’s end time is stored when you press Start and compared with your device clock, so a busy browser tab can’t make it drift. Ready together works backwards from one end time and books each add-in beep in advance, like the bell. The board stays in this browser. More detail: how our timers stay accurate.
Tips and limits
- When the bell rings, cool the eggs in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes before peeling.
- Keep the page open and the device awake; a closed tab or a sleeping phone can’t ring.
- Tap the page once first, so the bell is allowed to play.
- On iPhone the timers fill the browser window; add the page to your Home Screen for more room.
- This is a timer, not a food-safety tool. Follow your national food agency’s advice; US guidance is to cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm (FoodSafety.gov).
FAQ
How long should I set an egg timer for?
For large eggs straight from the fridge, lowered into water that is already boiling: about 6 minutes for a runny yolk, 7½ for jammy, 9 for a just-set creamy yolk and 11 for hard-boiled. Bigger eggs, room-temperature eggs, a crowded pan and high altitude all change that, so treat the presets as starting points.
When do I start the egg timer?
Start it the moment the eggs go into water that is already boiling. Starting with eggs in cold water works too, but then the time depends on how fast your stove and pan heat up, which is why the same timer gives different eggs in different kitchens. Boiling water first keeps it predictable.
Can I time eggs of different doneness at once?
Yes. Add a card for each egg with Add egg and pick its doneness. Press Start all if every egg goes in together, or Ready together if you want them all done at the same moment: the longest egg starts at once and each card tells you when to add its egg.
How does an egg timer work?
A classic egg timer is a small hourglass whose sand runs through a narrow neck in a set time. Wind-up ones use a spring and a bell, and some egg-shaped ones sit in the pan and change color with the heat. This online egg timer stores each egg's end time and compares it with your device clock.
Why is an egg timer 3 minutes?
Traditional hourglass egg timers run for about three minutes, roughly the time a classic soft-boiled egg takes. Started in boiling water, a three-minute egg has a barely set white and a runny inside, the dippy egg you can't peel. For eggs you can peel, choose Soft at 6:00 or longer.
Do egg timers need batteries?
Hourglass and wind-up egg timers don't; digital ones do. This egg timer runs on the phone, tablet or laptop you already have, so there's nothing to buy, but keep the device charged and awake while the eggs cook. The page asks the screen to stay on wherever the browser allows it.
Why do my eggs come out different each time?
Usually something besides the time changed: the size of the eggs, whether they came straight from the fridge, how many share the pan, or when you pressed start. At high altitude water boils cooler, so eggs take longer. Keep those the same and the timer gives the same egg every time.
Does the egg timer keep my screen on?
Yes, where your browser supports it. While an egg cooks, the page asks the device to keep the screen on; Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari 16.4 or later can do that. Open Settings to see whether it works on your device, and plug a phone in if it's low on battery.
Updated