A stopwatch overlay that drops straight onto your timeline
This page opens TimerOverlay as a stopwatch: it counts up from 0:00 on a transparent background, ready to export. Editors add a running stopwatch to show how long something takes: a recipe step, a workout set, a build, a cleaning or study session, a time-lapse, or a “how fast can I…” challenge. Set the length to match your clip, pick a font and colour, and download.
Transparent beats green screen for a stopwatch because the digits stay crisp. Keying out green leaves a faint halo around smooth edges and drop shadows, and it costs you a keyer and a few minutes of tweaking on every clip. A transparent WebM or PNG sequence carries real transparency, so the shadow and outline sit cleanly over any footage, even green or busy shots, with nothing to key. Drag it onto a track above your video in CapCut desktop, DaVinci Resolve or OBS and it just works.
Editing on an iPhone? Take the green-screen MP4 instead, because iPhone editing apps can’t read transparent video. Everything is made in your browser, free and without a watermark.
More timer presets
- Custom timerEvery setting, starting from the defaults
- 1-minute countdownTransparent, from 1:00 down to 0:00
- 24-hour timerCounts up in hh:mm:ss for challenge videos
- Speedrun timerMilliseconds in a monospace font
- 4K timer overlay3840×2160 with a transparent background
- 1-hour countdownFrom 01:00:00 down to 00:00:00
Which download should I use?
| Your editor | Best download | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| CapCut on iPhone / Android | Green-screen MP4 | Overlay → add the MP4 → Remove background → Chroma key, pick the green. Light text on a black MP4 also works with Blend → Screen. |
| CapCut desktop | Transparent WebM | Drag the WebM onto a track above your video. |
| DaVinci Resolve | Transparent WebM or PNG sequence | Put the clip on a track above your footage. |
| Premiere Pro / After Effects | PNG sequence (ZIP) | Unzip, import the first PNG and tick “Image Sequence”. The ZIP includes step-by-step notes. |
| Final Cut Pro / iMovie | Green-screen MP4 | Final Cut: Keyer effect. iMovie: Green/Blue Screen. |
| OBS Studio | Transparent WebM | Add a Media Source and choose the WebM. |
Which browsers work?
| Download | Works in | Doesn't work in |
|---|---|---|
| Transparent WebM | Chrome, Edge, Opera and Brave on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook. Usually Chrome on Android too. | iPhone and iPad, whose video apps don't use WebM. Other browsers vary, and the page tells you. |
| MP4 and green-screen MP4 | Safari 16.4+ on Mac, iPhone and iPad (including Chrome and Firefox on iPhone, which use Safari's engine), Chrome and Edge, Firefox 130+ on computers, Chrome on Android. | Older browsers without WebCodecs. |
| PNG and PNG sequence | Every modern browser. | — |
The page checks your browser and marks any download that won't work. Videos are made much faster than real time: a 10-minute timer usually takes a few seconds, and it keeps going if you switch to another tab on a computer. On iPhone, keep the page open until it finishes.
Questions about the stopwatch overlay
Can the stopwatch start from a time other than 0:00?
Yes. Change “Start from” in the Timer settings, for example to 1:30, and the overlay counts up from there for the length you set.
Can it run for more than an hour?
Yes. Set the length in hours, minutes and seconds. The Auto format switches to h:mm:ss after the first hour; choose hh:mm:ss to keep the same width from the start.
Will it stay in sync with my clip?
Yes. Each number changes exactly on the second, so the stopwatch keeps time on any project frame rate. Place it where the action starts and trim the end.