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Egg Timer
Use this free egg timer online to boil eggs perfectly every time. Pick soft, medium, or hard boiled, choose your egg size, or set a custom time — then start the countdown and it will beep when your eggs are ready.
Times are for eggs started in boiling water. Large eggs need a little longer; small eggs need a little less.
Leave the custom boxes empty to use the preset, or fill them in to set your own time — the preset is ignored while a custom time is set.
How it works
Boiling an egg is a timing problem, not a cooking problem. The white sets first, then the yolk firms up from the edge inward, and the difference between a jammy yolk and a chalky one is about two minutes. This timer gives you the three standard times — 6 minutes for soft, 8 for medium, 10 for hard — adjusted for egg size, plus a custom timer for anything else.
The times count from the moment the eggs go into already-boiling water. That matters: if you start eggs in cold water and bring it to a boil, the timing is unpredictable because every stove heats at a different speed. Lower the eggs gently into boiling water with a spoon, start the timer, and keep the water at a steady simmer — a rolling boil knocks the eggs around and cracks the shells.
Medium boiled = 8 minutes (jammy yolk, firm white)
Hard boiled = 10 minutes (fully set yolk)
Large egg = +1 minute · Small egg = −1 minute
Egg size shifts the time by about a minute either way, because a larger egg has more yolk to heat through. A large egg at the hard setting takes 11 minutes, and a small egg at the soft setting takes 5. The timer applies that adjustment automatically when you pick a size. Room-temperature eggs also cook a little more evenly than fridge-cold ones, so take the eggs out a few minutes early if you can.
When the timer finishes, it plays three beeps and shows a done message. Move the eggs straight into cold water or an ice bath for a minute or two — this stops the cooking at once and makes the shells easier to peel. Peeling under a little running water helps too, and eggs that are a few days old peel more easily than very fresh ones.
The timer runs entirely in your browser, and the beep is made with your device's own sound, so there are no audio files to download and nothing to install. You can switch tabs while it counts down; the timer keeps running, and the beep plays when the time is up. If your browser blocks sound until you interact with the page, press Start once and the sound will be ready.
Worked example
You want hard-boiled eggs for lunch, and your eggs are large.
Step 1: Pick the preset — hard boiled is 10:00.
Step 2: Pick the size — large adds 1 minute, so 10:00 + 1:00 = 11:00.
Step 3: Lower the eggs into boiling water and press Start.
Step 4: When the timer beeps at 11:00, move the eggs into cold water for a minute.
The result is a timer set to 11:00 for large hard-boiled eggs — exactly what the calculator shows when you pick Hard boiled and Large. The yolks will be fully set with no grey ring, as long as you cool the eggs straight away.
FAQ
How long do you boil an egg for soft, medium, or hard?
In boiling water, a medium egg takes 6 minutes for soft boiled with a runny yolk, 8 minutes for medium with a jammy yolk, and 10 minutes for hard boiled with a fully set yolk. Large eggs need about 1 minute more, and small eggs about 1 minute less. Start timing when the eggs go into boiling water, not when the water starts heating.
Should I start eggs in cold water or boiling water?
Boiling water gives a predictable time, which is what this timer is built for. Starting in cold water makes the timing depend on how fast your stove heats, so the same eggs can come out different each time. Lower eggs gently into boiling water with a spoon to avoid cracking the shells.
Why do hard-boiled eggs get a grey ring around the yolk?
The grey-green ring comes from overcooking: sulphur in the white reacts with iron in the yolk when the egg stays hot too long. It is harmless but looks unappetising. Stick to the timer, and move the eggs into cold water the moment it beeps so the cooking stops at once.
How do I peel boiled eggs easily?
Cool the eggs in cold water first, then crack the shell all over by rolling the egg gently on a counter, and peel under a little running water. The water gets under the shell membrane and lifts it off. Eggs that are a few days old peel more easily than very fresh eggs, whose whites cling to the shell.
Can I use this timer for other cooking times?
Yes. Fill in the custom minutes and seconds boxes to time anything — pasta, rice, tea, or a roast resting time. The timer counts down and beeps three times when it finishes. It keeps running if you switch tabs, so you can get on with the rest of the cooking while it counts.