How many hours between two times? Enter a start time, an end time and any unpaid break — get the duration in hours-and-minutes, decimal hours and total minutes. Overnight shifts handled automatically.
Convert both times to minutes since midnight, subtract, then subtract unpaid breaks. If the end time is “earlier” than the start (a 22:00–06:00 night shift), add 24 hours first. Example: 9:15 AM to 5:45 PM is 8 h 30 m; minus a 45-minute lunch, the paid time is 7 h 45 m = 7.75 decimal hours. The calculator above runs the same math instantly.
Payroll systems use decimal hours, not minutes. The conversion: divide minutes by 60. Quick reference:
| Minutes | Decimal | Minutes | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 0.08 | 35 min | 0.58 |
| 10 min | 0.17 | 40 min | 0.67 |
| 15 min | 0.25 | 45 min | 0.75 |
| 20 min | 0.33 | 50 min | 0.83 |
| 25 min | 0.42 | 55 min | 0.92 |
| 30 min | 0.50 | 60 min | 1.00 |
Example: 7 hours 45 minutes = 7.75 decimal hours. At $20/hour that's exactly $155.00 — the calculators above do this automatically.