Egg timer
Medium · Large · Fridge
Get the ice bath ready. Yolks keep setting after the pan comes off.
Duck, quail, altitude and more
A free online egg timer with a loud alarm and one-tap presets for soft, jammy, medium and hard boiled eggs. Keeps running in a background tab.
How this timer works
The countdown runs off the system clock rather than a ticking counter, so it stays accurate if you lock your phone, switch apps or leave the tab sitting in the background. Most browser timers drift or stall when the tab loses focus. This one reads the clock again when you come back, so six minutes is six minutes either way.
When it finishes it beeps, vibrates on phones that support it, and writes the remaining time into the tab title so you can watch it from another tab. It also holds a screen wake lock while running, which stops your phone dimming halfway through the cook.
Nothing is sent anywhere. The timing is worked out in your browser and there is no account, no sign up and no app to install.
Set it for the egg you actually have
Most egg timers assume one egg: a large hen egg, straight from the fridge, at sea level. Change any of those and the number moves.
A jumbo egg needs about two minutes longer than a small one. An egg left on the counter for half an hour needs a minute and a half less than one straight out of the fridge. In Denver, where water boils at 94.7 °C instead of 100, everything takes noticeably longer.
Getting the result you set it for
Lower the eggs into water that is already at a rolling boil and start the timer at that moment. Starting from cold water works, but then the clock depends on how fast your hob heats the pan, which is not something a timer can know.
Have iced water ready before you start. The shell holds a lot of heat and the yolk keeps setting for a minute or two after you drain the pan, so a timer is only half the job.
Other boiling times
Egg guides
Common questions
Does the timer keep running if I switch apps or lock my phone?
Yes. It counts against the system clock rather than ticking down, so it reads the real elapsed time when you come back. Leave the tab open and it will be right.
Will it make a sound if my phone is on silent?
No. The alarm goes through the browser, so it follows your device volume and silent switch. It also vibrates on phones that support it, which usually gets through when the ringer is off.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in the browser with no account and no app. You can add the page to your home screen if you want it one tap away.
Egg times come from the thermal-diffusion equation for a spherical egg published by Charles D. H. Williams (University of Exeter), calibrated so a large fridge-cold egg at sea level matches the times cooks actually use. Size, starting temperature and altitude then follow from the physics. Treat the result as a very good starting point, not a guarantee, because pans, hobs and eggs all vary.