What this calculator does
Timesheets and payroll systems usually record hours as a decimal, such as 7.25 hours, while a clock naturally reads in hours and minutes, such as 7 hours 15 minutes. The step that trips people up is converting just the minutes portion: 15 minutes is not 0.15 of an hour, it is 0.25, because an hour holds 60 minutes, not 100.
This calculator converts minutes to decimal, or a decimal fraction of an hour back to minutes, so a figure like "35 minutes in decimal" comes out exact rather than approximated by eye.
The formula
Divide the number of minutes by 60 to get the decimal fraction of an hour. To go the other way, multiply the decimal figure by 60 to get minutes.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Decimal hours | A fraction of an hour expressed as a decimal, such as 0.25 for 15 minutes, rather than as minutes. |
| Minutes | The minutes portion of a time, as a whole number out of 60. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Convert | Choose whether you are starting from minutes or from a decimal figure. |
| Value | The value to convert, in whichever unit you selected as the starting point. |
When to use it
Filling in a timesheet
A shift that ran 7 hours and 15 minutes is recorded as 7.25 on a decimal timesheet; converting the minutes portion correctly avoids under- or over-reporting the hours worked.
Checking a payroll or invoicing figure
Comparing a decimal hours figure on a payslip or invoice against the clock time it should represent catches rounding or data-entry errors before they affect pay.
Converting a duration for a spreadsheet formula
Spreadsheet time arithmetic is often easier in decimal hours than in hours-and-minutes format, so converting the minutes component first avoids manual mental maths.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
What decimal is 15 minutes, and other common minute amounts?
Common minute amounts converted to a decimal fraction of an hour.
How many minutes are common decimal fractions of an hour?
Common decimal fractions converted back to minutes.
Questions
What is 15 minutes in decimal?
0.25. Fifteen minutes is a quarter of an hour, and a quarter expressed as a decimal is 0.25.
What is 35 minutes in decimal?
35 ÷ 60 = 0.5833, so 35 minutes is approximately 0.58 of an hour.
Why is 30 minutes 0.5 and not 0.30 in decimal?
An hour is divided into 60 minutes, not 100, so the conversion is minutes ÷ 60 rather than simply moving a decimal point. Thirty out of sixty minutes is exactly half an hour, hence 0.5.
How is this different from the minutes-to-hours converter?
The minutes to hours calculator converts a whole span of minutes into hours (and hours back into minutes), such as 90 minutes into 1.5 hours. This calculator is aimed specifically at the minutes-past-the-hour portion of a clock time, such as turning "15 minutes past" into 0.25 of an hour for a timesheet.
For converting a whole span of minutes into hours rather than just the minutes-past-the-hour portion, see the minutes to hours calculator. For turning a decimal figure into an exact fraction, see the fraction to decimal calculator.