A free Tabata timer and interval timer for any workout
This Tabata timer runs the classic protocol — 20 seconds of all-out work, 10 seconds of rest, eight rounds — and doubles as a general interval timer for HIIT, EMOM, circuits and boxing-style rounds. Pick a preset or type your own work, rest, rounds and sets, press Start and follow the huge countdown from across the room.
Every phase change is marked by a tone — a high one when work starts, a lower one for rest, and three short pips over the last three seconds — and optional spoken cues tell you the round number. The screen can be kept awake and the timer can fill the whole screen, so a phone propped against a water bottle is all you need.
It is free, needs no account and runs in your browser.
How to use the Tabata Timer
- Choose a Workout preset: Tabata 20/10 × 8, EMOM, HIIT 30/30 or 40/20, four Tabata sets, or a three-set circuit.
- Adjust Get ready, Work, Rest, Rounds, Sets, Rest between sets and Cool down if you like — type seconds (45) or minutes:seconds (1:30). Any change switches the preset to Custom.
- Leave Beeps on, tick Voice cues if you want the round announced, and keep Keep screen awake ticked.
- Press Start (or the space bar). Use the full-screen button for a bigger display, Pause to stop the clock, and the arrows to skip a phase or go back to its start.
- When the last interval ends you hear a triple tone; press Reset to set up the next workout.
Tabata Timer features
Presets plus fully custom
Tabata, EMOM, two HIIT ratios, multi-set Tabata and a circuit, or any mix of work, rest, rounds, sets, rest between sets and cool down.
Readable from a distance
A countdown that fills the screen, colour-coded phases (work in red, rest in green), a progress bar and a strip showing every interval of the session.
Beeps that stay on time
Tones are generated with Web Audio and scheduled ahead on the audio clock, so they keep their timing even when the browser throttles the page.
Voice cues
Optional spoken prompts — “Round 3. Work”, “Rest”, “Last round” — using your device’s built-in speech voices.
Keep screen awake
Uses the Screen Wake Lock API where the browser supports it, re-acquiring it when you come back to the tab, and tells you if it was refused.
Accurate pause and skip
Time is measured from the clock, not by counting ticks, so pausing, skipping and switching apps never makes the timer drift.
Popular interval formats
The name comes from a 1996 study led by Izumi Tabata (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, vol. 28), in which trained athletes did seven to eight 20-second bouts on a cycle ergometer at very high intensity with 10 seconds of rest. True Tabata effort is close to maximal; most gym “Tabata” sessions are lighter, which is fine — the timer is the same.
In EMOM (every minute on the minute) you start a set number of reps at the top of each minute and rest for whatever is left. That is why the EMOM preset has no separate rest: each 60-second round is one minute of the clock.
| Format | Work / rest | Rounds | Total (with 10 s get-ready) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tabata | 20 s / 10 s | 8 | 4:00 |
| EMOM 10 | a new round every 60 s | 10 | 10:10 |
| HIIT 30/30 | 30 s / 30 s | 10 | 9:40 |
| HIIT 40/20 | 40 s / 20 s | 10 | 9:50 |
| Tabata × 4 | 20 s / 10 s, 1 min between sets | 8 × 4 | 18:30 |
How the timer keeps exact time
Phones and browsers slow down timers in background tabs — sometimes to once a minute — so a timer that counts ticks drifts. This one stores the moment you pressed Start, subtracts any paused time, and works out the current phase from the clock every time it redraws. Come back after a minute in another app and it shows the correct round straight away.
Sounds are scheduled up to 75 seconds ahead on the Web Audio clock, which keeps running in the background, so beeps still arrive on time. Voice cues and the screen are updated when the page is allowed to run, so keep the tab visible for spoken prompts. Browsers only allow sound after you press a button, which is why nothing plays until you press Start.
Tips for interval training
- Warm up for 5–10 minutes first; add a Cool down phase so the timer reminds you to ease off.
- Pick movements you can do safely when tired — bike sprints, rowing, squats, burpees, kettlebell swings.
- Track your effort with the heart rate zone calculator and estimate energy use with the calories burned calculator.
- For strength work between intervals, the one-rep max calculator helps choose loads; for open-ended timing use the stopwatch.
Tabata Timer FAQ
What is a Tabata timer?
A Tabata timer is an interval timer preset to 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for eight rounds — four minutes in total. This one adds a 10-second get-ready phase and skips the rest after the final round (there is nothing left to rest for), so the default session is still exactly 4:00 from Start to the final tone.
Is this interval timer free to use?
Yes. It is free, has no ads inside the timer, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser. Your settings are stored only on your device.
Why don’t I hear any beeps?
Browsers block sound until you interact with the page, so tones start after you press Start. Check that Beeps is ticked, the phone is not on silent and the media volume is up. On iPhone the ring/silent switch can mute web audio.
Will the timer keep running if I lock my phone or switch apps?
The time stays correct because it is measured from the clock, and beeps already scheduled will still play while the browser is in the background. When the screen is locked some phones suspend web pages completely, so tick Keep screen awake and leave the page open.
How do I set up EMOM?
Choose the EMOM preset (60-second rounds with no rest) and change Rounds to the number of minutes you want. Each beep marks the top of a new minute.
What does keep screen awake do?
It asks the browser for a screen wake lock so the display does not dim mid-workout. It is released when you stop or finish. If your browser does not support it, the option is greyed out.