Pomodoro Timer Online — Free 25/5 Focus Timer
Run a classic 25-minute focus block followed by a 5-minute break, with a long break every fourth session. Set custom durations, switch between four presets (Classic, Short Focus, Deep Work 90/20, 52/17), and get a browser notification when each phase ends. Free and 100% in your browser.
🎯 Focus
25:00
Completed work sessions in this cycle: 0 / 4
Classic 25/5 Cycle
Default to Francesco Cirillo's original 1980s timing — 25 minutes of focus, 5 minutes of break, with a 15-minute long break every fourth completed work session.
Four Built-In Presets
Classic Pomodoro, Short Focus (15/3), Deep Work (90/20), and the 52/17 rule (from DeskTime's data study of the most-productive users). One-click switch between methods.
Browser Notifications
When a phase ends, your browser fires a system notification — even if the tab is in the background. Permission requested only when you start the timer; never automatic.
100% Client-Side
No sign-up, no analytics on your focus sessions. The timer runs entirely in your browser tab.
Pomodoro Timer: Free 25/5 Focus Timer With Custom Intervals
A Pomodoro timer breaks work into fixed focus blocks separated by breaks. This one runs the classic cycle — 25 minutes of focus, a 5-minute short break, and a longer 15-minute break after every fourth session — and fires a browser notification when each phase ends. Edit any duration, switch presets, or skip a phase. It is free and runs 100% in your browser with no upload.
How to use the Pomodoro timer
- Pick a single, specific task — "write the intro paragraph" beats "work on the article."
- Choose a preset (Classic 25/5, Short Focus 15/3, Deep Work 90/20, or 52/17), or type your own minutes into the Focus, Short Break, Long Break, and Cycles → Long fields.
- Press Start. The browser asks for notification permission once — allow it so phase-end alerts fire even when the tab is in the background.
- Work until the timer rings. The tool advances to the next phase automatically and increments the completed-session counter.
- Use Pause, Reset (restart the current phase), or Skip Phase (jump straight to the next phase) as needed.
- After your set number of focus sessions, the long break starts automatically and the counter resets to zero.
What is the Pomodoro Technique and how does it work?
The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management method that Francesco Cirillo created in 1987 while studying for a university exam. He used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer — pomodoro is Italian for tomato — and each focus interval is still called a "pomodoro." Cirillo experimented with intervals from 2 minutes up to one hour before settling on 25 minutes as the longest he could hold full attention. The full method is documented on the official Pomodoro Technique site and summarised on Wikipedia.
The structure works because of Parkinson's Law — "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion," first stated in The Economist in 1955. A hard, visible ending pressures you to focus and skip low-value refinement, which reduces procrastination. Regular breaks then slow the build-up of mental fatigue, so output stays sustainable across the day instead of degrading after one long grind.
"Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."— Parkinson's Law, The Economist (1955)
Under the hood, the timer is a one-second setInterval countdown. When a phase reaches zero, the tool computes the next phase locally: after a focus session it increments your completed-session count, and once that count reaches your Cycles → Long value it switches to the long break and resets the counter to zero. After any break it returns to focus. No timing data is stored or sent anywhere.
Worked examples: how a cycle plays out
Classic preset · one full cycle
25 focus → 5 break → 25 focus → 5 break → 25 focus → 5 break → 25 focus → 15 long break → repeat
52/17 preset · cycles = 3
52 focus → 17 break → 52 focus → 17 break → 52 focus → 30 long break (long fires after the 3rd focus session)
Custom · Cycles → Long set to 1
25 focus → 15 long break → 25 focus → 15 long break (a long break after every single focus session; no short breaks ever fire)
Edge case · background-tab drift
Switch to another tab and the on-screen digits fall behind. Browsers throttle inactive-tab timers to roughly 1 tick per second or slower to save battery, so a 25:00 countdown can read several seconds high when you return. The phase-end notification still fires close to schedule — trust the alert, not the digits, when the tab is hidden. A fully sleeping laptop pauses the timer entirely.
Preset reference: focus, breaks, and origin
These are the exact built-in presets and the named methods behind them. Apply one with a single click, then fine-tune any field.
| Method | Focus / Break | Origin | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Pomodoro | 25 / 5 (15 long) | Francesco Cirillo (1987) | General focus work, beginners |
| Short Focus | 15 / 3 (10 long) | Compressed Pomodoro | Low-energy days, quick tasks |
| Deep Work (90m) | 90 / 20 (30 long) | Ultradian rhythm, Kleitman (1953) | Deep coding, writing, research |
| 52/17 Rule | 52 / 17 (30 long) | DeskTime data study (2014) | Empirical optimum from app usage |
The two behaviours competing timers hide
First, the long break is keyed to a counter, not the clock. The tool tracks completed focus sessions and only switches to the long break when that count reaches your Cycles → Longvalue — then it resets the counter to zero. Set it to 1 and every focus session is followed by a long break, so the short break never fires at all. That is by design, and most online timers either hide the cadence or hard-code it to four.
Second, every duration field enforces a minimum of 1 minute and floors decimals (Math.max(1, Math.floor(value))), so typing 0 or 2.7 snaps to 1or 2. Changing any setting also stops a running timer and resets the current phase to the new length — a deliberate guard so you never finish a phase under the old duration after editing it. Custom values are not persisted: reload the page and it returns to the Classic 25/5/15 defaults.
Runs 100% in your browser
Your focus data never leaves your device. The countdown, phase logic, and session counter all run locally in JavaScript — no account, no analytics on your habits, no uploads. I tested every preset, custom durations down to the 1-minute floor, the Skip and Reset controls mid-phase, and the long-break trigger at Cycles values of 1, 2, and 4. The one real limitation: background tabs throttle the visible countdown, which is why the phase-end browser notification matters — it stays accurate when the digits drift.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Pomodoro timer free?
Yes — 100% free with no signup and no account. All four presets, custom durations, the cycle counter, and notifications are fully usable. No focus data is collected.
Does it run in my browser or send data to a server?
It runs entirely in your browser. The countdown is a local JavaScript interval and phase transitions are computed on your device. Nothing is logged or uploaded, so it keeps working with no network once the page loads.
Why does the countdown drift when I switch tabs?
Browsers throttle inactive-tab timers to about once per second or slower to save battery, so the on-screen digits lag real time. Grant notification permission on Start and the phase-end alert still fires close to schedule.
Why a long break every fourth session?
Because fatigue compounds — roughly 100-120 minutes of focus is where most people hit a wall. After four 25-minute sessions a 15-30 minute break away from the screen restores attention. Lower the Cycles value if your wall arrives sooner.
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Last updated: June 2, 2026 · Runs 100% in your browser — no uploads, nothing leaves your device.
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