10 Second Timer

Press Start to count down 10 seconds.

This free 10 second timer counts down 10 seconds with a shrinking red disc you can read at a glance. 10 seconds is 10 seconds (ten seconds). It is the classic countdown to a start, a sprint interval and a short breath hold.

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What a 10 second timer is good for

Ten seconds is the length of the countdown most people know by heart, from rocket launches to New Year’s Eve. It is short, but in sport and games ten seconds of all-out effort or anticipation is a long time.

A countdown to start

Use it before a race, a game or the start of a lesson activity so everyone begins together.

Sprint intervals

Ten second all-out sprints with longer rests are a common speed drill for athletes.

A breath hold

Breathing exercises often include short holds. Start with ten seconds and build up gently.

Quick-fire answers

Give each player ten seconds to answer in a classroom game.

To pace yourself, glance at the disc rather than the numbers. With the 10 second timer running, half the colour has gone after 5 seconds, and when only a quarter is left you have 2 seconds to wrap up. Open fullscreen if the timer needs to be read across a room, and add a label so everyone knows what the 10 seconds are for.

How to use the 10 second timer

  1. It is ready

    The dial is already set to 10 seconds. To change it, drag the disc, tap a preset or open Custom.

  2. Press Start

    Or press the Space bar. The red disc shrinks back towards 12 o’clock as the time runs down.

  3. Watch the disc

    Read the time left at a glance, or open fullscreen for a big dial that fills the screen.

  4. Time’s up

    Your alarm plays until you press Stop. Press Reset or R to run the same time again.

10 seconds in other units

10 seconds equals
Seconds10
Milliseconds10,000
Minutes0.1667
Fraction of a day1/8640

Why use this timer

Why a visual timer helps

A shrinking disc turns time into something you can see. You read how much is left at a glance, without doing sums on a clock, and an invisible deadline feels less stressful when you can watch it approach. That is why visual timers are a staple in classrooms and are widely used by people with ADHD and autistic children and adults. Read our guide to using a visual timer, how it helps with ADHD time blindness, classroom transitions and autism.

Why this timer is accurate

The countdown is anchored to your device clock rather than counted in animation frames. It does not drift if you switch tabs or your screen sleeps: it keeps running in the background and still sounds the alarm on time. When you come back, the disc jumps straight to the correct position.

Frequently asked questions

10 seconds is simply 10 seconds, which is 0.1667 of a minute or 10,000 milliseconds.

A shared countdown before a race or game, ten second sprint intervals, a short breath hold in a breathing exercise or quick-fire answers in a class game.

Yes. The 10 second countdown is anchored to your device clock rather than counted frame by frame, so it stays accurate in a background tab and the alarm still fires when the 10 seconds are up.

No. The 10 second timer runs in your browser on phone, tablet and desktop. It is free, and there is no account, app or download.

Yes. Press the fullscreen button or the F key. The dial fills the screen, so the remaining part of the 10 seconds is readable from the back of the room.

Yes, once this page has loaded. Nothing is sent over the network while the 10 seconds count down, so a dropped connection will not stop the timer.

Ten seconds is one sixth of a minute, about 0.17 minutes.

Yes. Press Start again after each alarm to repeat ten second intervals, for example ten seconds of sprinting followed by a restart after your rest.

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