Loona Automation

Online Stopwatch with Lap Times

A stopwatch that reads to the hundredth of a second, records laps and splits as you go, and totals everything in a table — built on timestamps, so a background tab cannot make it drift.

In short: press Start, then Lap at every split. The big number is the total elapsed time; each lap row shows that lap’s own time and the running total, with your fastest and slowest laps marked.
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Stopwatch

00:00.00Ready
LapLap timeTotal time

How It Works

The stopwatch never adds up ticks. When you press Start it records the current timestamp; the display is always now − start time (plus whatever had accumulated before a pause). The screen redraws on the browser’s animation frame, but the value itself comes from the clock, so throttling in a background tab changes how often you see updates — never the number itself. The moment the tab is visible again, the display is exact.

Each Lap press stores the total elapsed time at that instant. A lap’s own time is the difference between its total and the previous lap’s total, which is how coaches’ split tables have always worked.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is this stopwatch?

The underlying time comes from your device clock with millisecond resolution, and the display shows hundredths of a second. Human reaction time on the Start and Stop buttons (typically 150–250 ms) is a far bigger factor than any timing error in the page.

What is the difference between lap time and split (total) time?

The split is the total elapsed time when you pressed Lap; the lap time is just that one lap — the split minus the previous split. The table shows both, newest lap first, and marks your fastest and slowest laps once you have at least two.

Does the stopwatch keep running in a background tab?

Yes. Because the elapsed time is computed from timestamps, switching tabs does not slow it down. The on-screen digits refresh less often while the tab is hidden (browsers save battery that way), but the value is exact the moment you return.

How long can the stopwatch run?

Effectively as long as the tab stays open — hours roll over into the display after 59:59.99. Closing the tab discards the run and its laps, so copy the table first if you need the record.

Can I download or print my laps?

The lap table is plain page content: select it and copy it into a spreadsheet, or use your browser’s print command to save the page as a PDF with the table included.

How it works — the maths

Every number on this page is one subtraction away from the clock:

The formula:
Elapsed = accumulated time before this run + (now − the timestamp when Start was pressed)
Lap time = this lap’s total − the previous lap’s total

Worked example

A runner presses Start, then Lap at the end of each 400 m circuit. The splits read 1:32.40, 3:01.85 and 4:35.10. The lap times are therefore 1:32.40, then 3:01.85 − 1:32.40 = 1:29.45, then 4:35.10 − 3:01.85 = 1:33.25 — so the table marks lap 2 as fastest and lap 3 as slowest, and the stopwatch total is 4:35.10. Those are exactly the numbers the table above produces from the same three Lap presses.

Embed this tool on your website — free

Add this tool to your own website or blog — it is completely free, needs no sign-up, and always shows the latest version. Copy the code below and paste it into your page where you want the tool to appear. Keeping the small “Powered by Loona Automation” credit line under the embed helps keep this tool free — but you are free to style or remove it; the tool works either way.