Clock, Timer and World Time Extensions for Chrome

Is there a clock extension for Chrome?

Yes, but "clock" covers several different jobs, and the right extension depends on which one you mean. Chrome itself shows no clock or timer in its toolbar, so any clock in the browser comes from an extension, a web page or your operating system.

Most people searching for a clock extension want one of five things: a Pomodoro cycle, a countdown or alarm, a stopwatch, a record of hours worked, or the time in another city. The table maps each need to a pick from our directory.

Every extension here is listed in our productivity category, where you can compare them with other focus and planning tools.

How do you add a clock or timer to the Chrome toolbar?

Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store, then pin it so its icon stays visible. Without pinning, the icon hides behind the puzzle-piece menu and you lose the at-a-glance view.

1. Open the extension's page in the Chrome Web Store and click Add to Chrome, then Add extension in the prompt.
2. Click the puzzle-piece Extensions icon to the right of the address bar.
3. Click the pin icon next to the timer's name so it moves onto the toolbar.
4. Drag the pinned icon left or right to put it where your eye lands most often.
5. Click the icon to open the popup, set your first timer and check that a notification appears when it ends.

Some timers show the remaining minutes as a small badge on the toolbar icon, which is the closest Chrome gets to a live clock in the toolbar. Badges only fit a few characters, so expect "24" rather than "24:59".

On Android and iOS, Chrome does not run extensions, so none of these picks will work on a phone. Use the phone's own clock app there; the extensions cover Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS. Google's help page on installing and managing extensions covers removal and updates.

How can you see world time zones in Chrome?

Install a world clock extension such as Time Zone Converter & World Clock, or use Google Calendar's built-in World clock, which lists several cities down the side of the calendar. Your operating system can also show extra clocks.

1. Open Google Calendar in Chrome, click the Settings menu at the top right, then Settings.
2. Find the World clock section and click Show world clock.
3. Click Add time zone, search for a city or country, and select the time zone.
4. Repeat for each city; the clocks appear in the calendar's side panel.

Windows and macOS can also show extra clocks from their own date and time settings or the Clock app, and ChromeOS shows one shelf clock, so on a Chromebook an extension or Calendar is the easier route. If the real problem is booking calls across zones, Savvy Time Zone Converter works as a meeting planner, and MeetQuick schedules Zoom meetings from your calendar.

Which Pomodoro clock extension should you use?

Pick Pomodoro Timer if you want a plain focus cycle with a to-do list that stays on your device, and Focus To-Do if you want tasks, statistics and a longer history. Timer for Chrome suits people who want Pomodoro plus other timer types in one icon.

The classic cycle is 25 minutes of work and a 5-minute break, with a longer break after four rounds. All three Pomodoro picks let you change those lengths, which matters if your work runs in longer blocks, such as writing or code review.

One practical test: start a session, switch to a full-screen video, and see whether the end-of-session alert still reaches you. If it does not, the fix is usually in your operating system's notification settings, covered below.

What is the best alarm and countdown timer for Chrome?

For several alarms with snooze, use Alarm Timer Stopwatch; for a single visible countdown, use Visual Timer. Timer for Chrome sits between the two and covers countdowns, alarms and a stopwatch.

Countdown

Counts down a fixed length, such as 10 minutes for a break. Best for cooking, short meetings and exam practice.

Alarm

Rings at a clock time, such as 14:55 before a 15:00 call. Needs Chrome open at that moment.

Stopwatch

Counts up from zero. Useful for timing a task you want to estimate better next time.

Visual timer

Shows remaining time as a shrinking shape or bar, which is easier to read at a glance than digits and helps people who lose track of time.

If you teach or present, a visual countdown shared on screen gives everyone the same sense of time left. For personal reminders, a named alarm beats a bare countdown, because the notification tells you what it was for.

Tab refresh tools such as Auto Refresh Plus also run on timers, but they reload pages rather than tell the time. They are the right choice for watching a queue or dashboard, not for reminders.

Which extension tracks how long you spend working?

Toggl Track suits people who start and stop a timer against tasks, while Clockify suits people who want to see where their time goes across sites. WebWork Time Tracker is a simpler option for logging work hours.

The difference is manual versus passive. Toggl Track puts a timer button inside web apps, so you click it when you start a ticket or document. Clockify focuses on showing how your hours split between sites. WebWork Time Tracker logs and monitors work hours from the browser, and Apploye targets desk-based, mobile and remote teams.

If you bill clients, pick the tool whose reports match your invoices, and check how it rounds partial minutes. If you only want to know where the afternoon went, a passive tracker with no account setup is less effort to keep using. Our time tracker use-case page compares more options side by side.

Trackers that watch sites need more access than a plain timer, so read the install prompt and decide whether you are comfortable with that trade before connecting a work account.

Why didn't my Chrome timer or alarm go off?

Usually because the operating system blocked Chrome's notifications, Chrome was not running, or the computer was asleep. The timer itself is rarely the problem.

• Windows: open Settings > System > Notifications and make sure Google Chrome is on. Do not disturb also hides alerts, so check the bell icon on the taskbar.
• macOS: open System Settings > Notifications > Google Chrome and turn on Allow notifications. Focus modes silence alerts too.
• Chrome closed: if Chrome is fully closed, its extensions stop. Look in chrome://settings/system for an option that keeps Chrome running in the background (wording varies by version), and on a Mac note that quitting with Cmd+Q stops extensions.
• Web page timers: a timer in an ordinary tab can drift or pause when the tab is hidden or discarded by Memory Saver. Use an extension for long timers.
• Sound: some alerts are silent notifications; check the extension's own sound setting and your system volume.

Google's help page on Chrome notifications explains the browser side of these settings.

Should you pair a timer with a site blocker?

Yes, if distraction rather than timing is your real problem. A timer tells you when to stop; a blocker stops you opening the tab in the first place.

BlockSite blocks distracting sites and can schedule focus time, so blocked periods can line up with your Pomodoro rounds. StayFocusd takes a different approach: it limits the total time you spend on chosen sites each day, then blocks them once the allowance runs out.

A simple setup is a Pomodoro extension for the rhythm and StayFocusd for a daily cap on social sites. If you prefer hard walls during work hours, BlockSite's schedule does the job instead. Running both blockers at once tends to cause confusing overlaps, so pick one.

Blockers need to see the addresses you visit to do their job, which is a bigger permission than a timer needs. That is expected here, but it is another reason to install only the one you actually use.

What permissions should a clock extension need?

A plain timer or alarm should need very little: storage for its settings and permission to show notifications. Be wary of a basic clock that asks to read and change data on all websites.

Time trackers and blockers are the exception, because inserting a timer button into web apps or blocking a site requires page or address access. Match the permission to the job: a stopwatch that wants your browsing history is a red flag, while a site blocker that wants to see addresses is doing what it says.

To review access later, open chrome://extensions, click Details on the extension and look at Site access and Permissions. Our plain-English permissions guide explains each warning, and our methodology describes how we review extensions before recommending them. For more guides like this, see the blog.