Sand Timer
An animated hourglass that drains sand from top to bottom. Pick a time, press Start, and flip it to go again.
Keyboard: Space to start or pause, R to reset, F for full screen. The alarm plays while this page stays open in a browser tab.
How to use the online sand timer
This free online sand timer shows an animated hourglass: sand drains from the top bulb into the bottom one in a thin falling stream, and the exact time remaining is printed in digits just below. Pick a preset from 30 seconds up to 60 minutes, or set your own, and an alarm sounds when the last grain drops.
It works like the hourglass timer on your shelf, with a few things a glass one can't do: pause, a precise readout, and a choice of alarm sounds.
Start the hourglass in four steps
- Choose a preset: 30 seconds, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30 or 60 minutes. For anything else, type custom minutes and seconds.
- Press Start (or hit Space) and watch the sand begin to fall.
- Press Flip any time to turn the hourglass over and start the same time again from the top.
- When the top bulb empties, the alarm plays. Choose Bell, Magic, Doorbell or another sound, or mute it for a silent sand clock timer.
Press F for full screen so the hourglass fills a laptop, tablet or TV, and R to reset.
Why use a sand timer instead of a clock?
An hourglass shows time as an amount of stuff that is running out. You don't need to read numbers or do any math to see that "about half is left." That is why sand timers are a classic for children, games and any situation where the point is fairness rather than precision.
Turn-taking for kids
Two kids, one tablet, one swing? Set a 2 or 5 minute sand timer and let each child watch their turn drain away. When the bottom fills, it's the other child's go. Tapping Flip restarts the identical turn, so nobody can argue the second turn was shorter. Because the sand itself is the referee, the timer often settles disputes that an adult announcing "time's up" would not.
Brushing teeth
Two minutes of brushing is commonly recommended by dentists. Put the 2 minute preset on a phone or tablet near the sink, and kids can see how long they still have to keep going instead of asking "Is it done yet?" every few seconds.
Board games and word games
Many board games, such as charades-style and word-guessing games, come with a small plastic hourglass that is hard to see from across the table and easy to lose. Open this page on a phone in the middle of the table and use the 30 second, 1 minute or 2 minute preset. The alarm also removes the "Wait, did it run out?" debate.
Classroom transitions and calm-down corners
A slow-falling stream of sand is pleasant to watch, which makes it a gentle choice for a calm-down corner: a child can sit with a 3 or 5 minute hourglass and simply watch it empty. Teachers can also use a 1 minute sand timer to signal "finish your sentence, then line up." If you need a timer built for projecting to the whole class, with activity presets and a custom message, the classroom timer is designed for that.
How a real hourglass works
A traditional hourglass is two glass bulbs joined by a narrow neck. Gravity pulls the sand through the neck at a fairly steady rate, so the amount of sand and the width of the neck set how long one run lasts. Turning the glass over starts it again. Hourglasses have been used for centuries, including on ships at sea, to measure fixed stretches of time.
Physical sand timers are charming but not exact; two "3 minute" glasses can finish a little apart. This online version keeps time against your device's system clock, so a 5 minute sand timer here really is 5:00, and it stays accurate even if you switch to another tab.
Online hourglass vs. a physical one
| Glass hourglass | This online sand timer | |
|---|---|---|
| Durations | One fixed length per glass | 30 seconds to 60 minutes, plus custom |
| Pause | Only by laying it on its side | Pause and resume with one key |
| End signal | None – you have to be watching | Alarm with 10 sound choices, or mute |
| Visibility | Small, best up close | Full screen on any display |
Good to know
- The alarm only sounds while this page is open in a browser tab. Closing the tab stops the timer.
- On iPhone and iPad you may need to tap the page once before sounds can play.
- The screen stays awake while the timer runs where your browser supports it, so the hourglass doesn't disappear behind a lock screen mid-turn.
- Your last duration and sound are remembered on your device. No sign-up, no ads.
Prefer a shrinking colored disc to falling sand? Try the visual timer. Need a quick, exact one-minute countdown with no animation? Use the 1 minute timer.
Sand timer FAQ
Is there a 1 minute or 5 minute sand timer?
Yes. Both are one-tap presets, along with 30 seconds, 2, 3, 10, 15, 30 and 60 minutes. For something like 90 seconds or 7 minutes, enter custom minutes and seconds.
What does the Flip button do?
It works like turning a real hourglass over: the sand refills the top bulb and the same duration starts again from the beginning. It is handy for back-to-back turns in a game.
Can I use the hourglass timer without sound?
Yes. Use the mute toggle and the sand timer runs silently. The animation and the digital time still show you exactly when it ends, which is useful in a quiet classroom or library.
Does the sand timer keep running if I switch tabs?
Yes. It measures time against the system clock, so it stays accurate in a background tab, and the remaining time shows in the tab title. The alarm needs the page to stay open, though.