Free exam countdown

3-Hour Mock Exam Timer

A free countdown for mock exams and past papers. Defaults to three hours; set any length, turn on strict mode and track your pace.

Free and no sign-up needed. Want task lists, ambient sounds and reports too? Use the full FocusTomato timer →

Why practise full papers against the clock?

Quizzing yourself (practice testing) is one of the best-supported study techniques; it was one of the two highest-rated techniques in a major 2013 review by John Dunlosky and colleagues. A full timed paper adds something different: practice at pacing, stamina and handling exam nerves. That part is less well studied, so treat full mock exams as a later-stage step on top of regular self-testing, not a replacement for it. See productivity for students and best study apps.

How to run a realistic mock exam

Use a genuine past paper from your exam board or test provider, not a paraphrased set of questions.
Match the official time. Check the paper's instructions, then pick the matching button above or type the exact minutes.
Recreate the conditions. Quiet room, phone out of reach, only the materials you'll be allowed in the real exam.
Start the timer and don't pause. Switch on strict mode to disable the pause button, as in a real exam.
Stop when it rings. Put your pen down even if you're mid-answer. That's the point.
Mark it properly. Use the official mark scheme, log every lost mark by topic, and schedule those topics for review over the next few days.

Pacing: the minutes-per-mark rule

Divide the total minutes by the total marks. A 180-minute paper worth 120 marks gives 1.5 minutes per mark, so a 6-mark question deserves about 9 minutes. The pacing helper above does this for you from the current duration: enter the number of questions, the total marks, or both.

Time-left alerts and strict mode

The timer sounds a short alert and shows a message with 30, 10 and 5 minutes left (alerts that wouldn't fit inside your chosen length are skipped). A good habit is to treat the 10-minute alert as your cue to finish the current question and keep time for checking. Strict mode only disables the pause button; you can still reset or close the page, so it relies on honesty, just like a mock exam at home.

Choosing the right length

Paper lengths vary by subject and exam board, so check yours rather than assuming three hours. Pick a preset button or type any length from 1 to 600 minutes. For longer revision sessions rather than exam simulations, try the 50/10 timer or the 90-minute timer. The seven exam-season guides in our exam season hub cover revision timetables for GCSE, A-level, HSC, VCE, SAT/ACT and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. It works for any timed practice paper. Set the official length for your paper, either with a preset button or by typing the exact number of minutes.

It disables the pause button while the countdown is running, which mimics a real exam. It's not a lock: you can still reset the timer or close the page, so it depends on you sticking to the rules.

Once the page has loaded, the countdown runs in your browser and keeps counting even if your connection drops. Don't refresh the page mid-exam.

With 30, 10 and 5 minutes left, the timer shows a message and plays a short beep (if sound is on). Alerts that don't fit inside your chosen length are skipped, so a 20-minute test won't announce 30 minutes left.

Use the pacing helper under the timer. Enter the number of questions to get minutes per question, or the total marks to get minutes per mark. It uses whatever duration is currently selected.

More focus timers

⏱️50/10 Pomodoro Timer 🧠90-Minute Focus Timer 🍅Full FocusTomato Timer (25/5, tasks, sounds)