Visual Timer
A coloured dial that shrinks as the time goes — the classic classroom timer.
This is the format most people mean by a visual timer: a coloured wedge that gets smaller as time passes. It works because the amount of colour left maps directly onto the amount of time left, with no counting, no reading, and no clock-face skill required. Widely used in classrooms, therapy sessions and at home for children who need to see time rather than be told it.
Quick Timers
More ways to run this timer
Proven Timer Pages
Turn this duration into a focused work cycle with Pomodoro →Related Timers
Embed this timer
Paste this into any page — a class blog, a lesson plan, a meeting agenda — and visitors get a working visual timer with no script tag, no account and no tracking. Please keep the credit link.
About the Visual Timer
A free visual timer: a red dial that shrinks anticlockwise as time passes, so how much is left is obvious at a glance without reading a number. The standard classroom and therapy timer format, free in your browser.
TimerHub calculates remaining time from an absolute finish timestamp, so missed browser callbacks do not create drift. Read the timing accuracy methodology and reproducible tests.
Common Uses
- Classroom activities
- Homework and revision blocks
- Therapy and support sessions
- Screen-time limits at home
- Task transitions for children
How to Use the Visual Timer
- Click Start (or press Space) to begin your 20 minute countdown
- Press Space again to pause and resume, or R to reset the timer
- Tap a duration chip, or click the countdown to type any time you need
- Use the Fullscreen control below the timer for a large full-screen countdown (Esc to exit)
- Choose or mute the alarm sound from the sound settings in the header
- Add
?autostart=1to the link to start the countdown on load - Enable notifications for alerts when your visual timer finishes, even in a background tab
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do visual timers help children?▾
Because they turn an abstract quantity into a concrete one. A child who cannot yet read a clock can still see that the red part is nearly gone, which makes the end of an activity predictable rather than sudden.
Which way does the dial move?▾
The coloured wedge shrinks anticlockwise from a full circle, matching the physical timers this format comes from. At the halfway point exactly half the dial is coloured.
Can I put this on a projector or smart board?▾
Yes. Press Fullscreen under the timer and the drawing fills the display at whatever size the screen allows. Esc exits. For a Chromecast or AirPlay setup, cast the browser tab and then go fullscreen on the source machine.
Can I embed this timer in my own page?▾
Yes. Every timer here has a copy-and-paste embed code that drops a working countdown into a class blog, a lesson page or a school site, with no account and no script tag.
Does it need an account or an app?▾
No. It runs in the browser with no signup, no install and no ads, which is what makes it usable on a locked-down school machine.