Online Timer

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5 minute timer

5 minute timer with alarm sound

Five minutes is the most requested duration for short breaks, steeping tea, a plank exercise, or the gap between Pomodoro tasks. This timer opens with 5 minutes already selected, so all you need to do is add it and hit start.

Why a browser timer drifts, and why this one does not

Most page timers use `setInterval`, firing a callback roughly every second and adding "one more second" to a counter. The problem is the browser never guarantees that interval fires at exactly 1000ms, especially in a background tab, where Chrome, Firefox and Safari deliberately throttle or slow down timers to save CPU and battery. After a few minutes like that, the counter drifts by several seconds.
This timer works differently: the moment you press "start", it computes and stores the exact millisecond instant (via `performance.now()`) when the 5 minutes are up. On every screen update, it does not ask "how much time passed since the last tick", it asks "what time is it right now" and subtracts that from the end instant. That eliminates drift entirely: it does not matter if the tab went 40 seconds without processing anything, the result is correct again the moment it does.

Common uses for a 5 minute timer

Steeping tea

Input: 5:00
Expected output: 00:00

Most black teas call for 3 to 5 minutes of steeping; green teas usually need less, 1 to 3 minutes.

Short break between tasks

Input: 5:00
Expected output: 00:00

It is the standard break length in a classic Pomodoro cycle (25 minutes of focus followed by a 5 minute break).

Full tool FAQ

Does the timer stay accurate if I switch tabs or minimize the browser?

Yes. Instead of adding up seconds on every tick, the timer stores the exact millisecond instant the countdown should end and recomputes the remaining time from the real clock whenever the page runs again. Switching tabs, minimizing the window, or the browser throttling setInterval to save battery never throws off the final result.

How many timers can I run at the same time?

What is sequence mode and what is it for?

Do I get alerted if time runs out while the tab is in the background?

Do my timers stay saved if I close the tab?

Can I share one specific timer with someone else?

What does the keep-screen-awake (wake lock) option do?

Does the alarm keep ringing until I stop it, or does it only play once?

Frequently asked questions

Will the alarm still ring if I switch tabs during the 5 minutes?

Yes. The timer does not need the tab to be in the foreground to know when it is done, and the tab title switches to show the countdown while it is minimized.

Can I quickly switch to 3 or 10 minutes instead?

Yes, the tool ships with 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minute presets, plus hour/minute/second fields and a free-text field that understands formats like "3m" or "10:00".

Next steps

Why a browser timer drifts, and why this one does not

Most page timers use `setInterval`, firing a callback roughly every second and adding "one more second" to a counter. The problem is the browser never guarantees that interval fires at exactly 1000ms, especially in a background tab, where Chrome, Firefox and Safari deliberately throttle or slow down timers to save CPU and battery. After a few minutes like that, the counter drifts by several seconds.

This timer works differently: the moment you press "start", it computes and stores the exact millisecond instant (via `performance.now()`) when the 5 minutes are up. On every screen update, it does not ask "how much time passed since the last tick", it asks "what time is it right now" and subtracts that from the end instant. That eliminates drift entirely: it does not matter if the tab went 40 seconds without processing anything, the result is correct again the moment it does.

Common uses for a 5 minute timer

Steeping tea

Input: 5:00
Expected output: 00:00

Most black teas call for 3 to 5 minutes of steeping; green teas usually need less, 1 to 3 minutes.

Short break between tasks

Input: 5:00
Expected output: 00:00

It is the standard break length in a classic Pomodoro cycle (25 minutes of focus followed by a 5 minute break).

Full tool FAQ

Does the timer stay accurate if I switch tabs or minimize the browser?

How many timers can I run at the same time?

What is sequence mode and what is it for?

Do I get alerted if time runs out while the tab is in the background?

Do my timers stay saved if I close the tab?

Can I share one specific timer with someone else?

What does the keep-screen-awake (wake lock) option do?

Does the alarm keep ringing until I stop it, or does it only play once?

Frequently asked questions

Will the alarm still ring if I switch tabs during the 5 minutes?

Yes. The timer does not need the tab to be in the foreground to know when it is done, and the tab title switches to show the countdown while it is minimized.

Can I quickly switch to 3 or 10 minutes instead?

Yes, the tool ships with 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minute presets, plus hour/minute/second fields and a free-text field that understands formats like "3m" or "10:00".