How to use the hourglass timer
- This online hourglass timer runs in your browser. Tap a chip from 1 min to 15 min, or click the digits and type any time, such as
4m. - Press Start or the spacebar. The sand starts to fall.
- Press Flip or T to turn the glass over, just like a real one.
- Press Fullscreen or F to fill the screen with the glass.
- Pick a sand color: Amber, Rose, Sky or Slate.
- Want sand only? Switch off Show digits in Settings.
Board games, tea and quiet focus
- Turn timer at the table. Lay a tablet in the middle of a board game and set 1 or 2 minutes per turn. When a player finishes early, press Flip to hand the remaining sand to the next player, the way people flip a glass in the box.
- Tea. Set the steeping time printed on the packet, often 3 to 5 minutes, and listen for the chime.
- A calm second screen. Turn the digits off and keep a 25-minute glass on a spare monitor. You see how much is left at a glance, without numbers staring back.
- Breakout time. Put a 10 or 15 minute glass on the projector so groups can see their time drain from across the room.
Cooking several dishes at once? The kitchen timer runs up to six named timers.
What happens when you flip it half-way
When you turn a real hourglass over, the sand that has already fallen ends up on top. This one does the same: flip a 3-minute glass after 1 minute and you get 1 minute left, because one minute of sand had fallen. Flip it at exactly 1:30 and nothing changes except the picture. Flip a glass that has run out and it starts again from full. Flipping in the very first second leaves just a second on top, so the chime follows almost at once.
Sand colors and hidden digits
Pick Amber (the default), Rose, Sky or Slate with the round buttons beside the glass; the name shows below them. On the light theme, the sand gets a thin dark edge so the paler colors stay easy to see. Your color and the Show digits choice stay in this browser and travel in shared links.
Hourglass or digits?
The glass shows how much is left at a glance, which suits board games and rooms where nobody needs the exact second. The digits tell you exactly how much time remains. This page shows both by default; switch the digits off when you want only the sand.
Options explained
- Sound: Chime. Choose another sound or Off, and press Test sound to hear it.
- Ring for: 10 s, about five chimes. Once, 30 s, 1 min or until you stop it are the others.
- Show digits: on.
- Count overtime: on. After zero the digits count up, such as
+0:05, under “Over by”. - Flash at zero: off. The glass outline turns rose instead.
- −1 min and +1 min change the time left, not the size of the glass. After +1 min the top stays full until less than the glass’s length is left, so a flip right then leaves only a second.
How the sand is drawn
This is an hourglass countdown timer that follows the clock. When you press Start, the page stores the moment the sand should run out and, on every frame, draws exactly the share of sand that matches the time left, measured as area in the glass. Like a real glass, the top level sinks slowly at first and faster near the end, because the bulb is wide at the top and narrow at the neck. Nothing is drawn while the tab is hidden. When you come back, the glass jumps straight to the right level instead of replaying the sand it missed. More detail: how our timers stay accurate.
Tips and limits
- Keep the page open. Browsers slow hidden tabs; Chrome checks their timers about once a second, and after five hidden minutes only once a minute (Chrome’s timer throttling). That’s why the chime is booked on the audio clock when the glass starts.
- Phones may pause pages in the background or when the screen locks.
- On Windows or a Mac, a small browser window beside your work makes a tidy desk hourglass.
- On iPhone the glass fills the browser window instead of the whole screen; add the page to your Home Screen for more room.
Why not an hourglass video or GIF?
A video has one fixed length and can’t be flipped, paused for a question or set to 7 minutes. A GIF loops at its own speed, so its sand has nothing to do with real seconds. This glass counts the time you set.
FAQ
What is an hourglass timer?
An hourglass timer is two glass bulbs joined by a narrow neck, with sand that falls from the top bulb to the bottom one at a steady rate. When the top is empty, the time is up. This online hourglass timer draws the same picture, but your device clock decides how much sand is left at every moment.
How long does an hourglass timer last?
A physical hourglass lasts one fixed length, set by how much sand it holds and how wide the neck is, so you need one glass for every length. This one lasts as long as you set it: anything from 0:05 to 2:00:00, with chips for 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 15 minutes.
Can I set a 1, 3 or 5 minute hourglass?
Yes. Tap 1 min, 3 min or 5 min and press Start. For another length, click the digits and type it: 90 is 1:30, 7m is 7:00 and 1:30:00 is an hour and a half. The page remembers the last length you started, so it opens ready next time.
What happens if I flip it while it runs?
It behaves like a real glass: the sand that already fell is now on top. Flip a 3-minute hourglass after 1 minute and 1 minute is left, because one minute of sand had fallen. Flip a finished glass and it starts again full. Press Flip or T; when the glass is idle, T simply starts it.
Can I hide the numbers?
Yes. Open Settings and switch off Show digits. You then see only the glass and its animated sand, which is calmer on a second screen. Screen readers still hear the time left, and the digits come back the moment you switch the setting on again. Shared links remember the choice.
Does the animation use a lot of battery?
We haven't measured it, but the page does very little work. It redraws the sand only when a level moves by a fraction of a pixel, and it draws nothing at all while the tab is hidden. On most devices the lit screen uses far more power than the animation itself.
How do I make an hourglass timer?
Online, you already have one: set a length here and press Start. A physical hourglass needs two clear bottles joined at the neck with a small hole, and fine, completely dry sand. Fill it, then time how long the sand takes with a stopwatch and add or remove sand until it matches.
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