In short
A presentation timer keeps a talk inside its slot, either facing the speaker or shown to the room. This page opens at 20 minutes, the standard conference session. Run the talk and the questions as two separate countdowns.
- Default
- 20 minutes
- Lightning talk
- 5 minutes
- Conference session
- 20 minutes talk, 5 to 10 questions
- Keynote
- 45 minutes
- Lecture
- 50 minutes
Where to point it
At the speaker. A laptop on the front row, screen facing the stage, is the kindest setup: the speaker can pace themselves and nobody in the audience is watching a clock instead of the talk.
At the room. For lightning talks, pitch events and panels, a shared visible countdown does the chairing for you. The person on stage cannot argue with a clock everyone can see.
Slot lengths
| Format | Talk | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning talk | 5 min | — |
| Pitch | 3–10 min | 5 min |
| Conference session | 20 min | 5–10 min |
| Keynote | 45 min | 10 min |
| Lecture | 50 min | — |
Run the talk and the questions as two separate countdowns. Merging them is how question time disappears.
Rehearse against it
The most useful minute of rehearsal is the one where you find out your twenty minute talk is twenty-eight. Run it once against this timer, note where you are at the halfway mark, and cut rather than talk faster — nobody has ever complained that a talk finished early.
Questions about the presentation timer
Can the speaker see it without the audience seeing it?
Yes, with a second screen: open this page on a laptop facing the stage and keep the slides on the projector. Extended display rather than mirrored.
What happens if a speaker runs over?
The display switches to a red 'time is up' state, which is usually enough. If you would rather warn than interrupt, run a shorter timer that ends a few minutes before the real limit.
Does the countdown drift if I leave it in the background?
No. Browsers deliberately slow down background tabs to save battery, which makes naive timers lose minutes over an hour. This one compares against the system clock on every update, so what you get at the end is the length you asked for.
Will it stay free?
There is no paid tier to upgrade to and nothing gated behind an account, so there is nothing to start charging for.
Related timers
- Meeting timerEnd on time, and be seen to.
- 20 minute timerCounts down 20 minutes and rings.
- 5 minute timerCounts down 5 minutes and rings.
- Fullscreen timerGiant digits for a room, a screen or a projector.
- 45 minute timerCounts down 45 minutes and rings.
- Classroom timerBig visible countdown for a whole room.