Online Metronome
Free, precise and instant — set your tempo and press Start.
Keyboard: Space start / stop · ↑ ↓ ±1 BPM · T tap tempo
A free online metronome that keeps time
Set a tempo between 20 and 300 BPM, choose a time signature, and press Start. The first beat of each bar is accented so you can hear where the bar begins, and the row of dots shows the current beat. Subdivisions add quieter clicks between beats, which is the fastest way to tighten up eighth and sixteenth-note passages.
If you do not know the tempo of the piece you are working on, tap it in with the tap tempo tool or let the BPM finder read it from an audio file.
Beat length at common tempos
One beat lasts 60 000 ÷ BPM milliseconds. The table below is that calculation, which is also what the click scheduler uses internally.
| BPM | Quarter note (ms) | Eighth note (ms) | Beats per 4-bar phrase (4/4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1500.0 | 750.0 | 24.0 s |
| 60 | 1000.0 | 500.0 | 16.0 s |
| 72 | 833.3 | 416.7 | 13.3 s |
| 80 | 750.0 | 375.0 | 12.0 s |
| 90 | 666.7 | 333.3 | 10.7 s |
| 100 | 600.0 | 300.0 | 9.6 s |
| 120 | 500.0 | 250.0 | 8.0 s |
| 140 | 428.6 | 214.3 | 6.9 s |
| 160 | 375.0 | 187.5 | 6.0 s |
| 180 | 333.3 | 166.7 | 5.3 s |
| 200 | 300.0 | 150.0 | 4.8 s |
Italian tempo markings such as Andante or Allegro are editorial conventions, not fixed numbers: the same marking is printed with different BPM ranges in different editions. The label next to the BPM readout follows one common set of ranges and is there as a rough guide only.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this online metronome free?
Yes. Every tool on PlayMetronome runs in your browser with no account, no download and no paid tier. You can use the metronome for as long as you like.
How accurate is an online metronome?
This one schedules each click ahead of time against the Web Audio clock (AudioContext.currentTime) instead of firing a timer at playback moment, so the beat does not drift the way setInterval-based metronomes do. Accuracy is limited by your audio output latency, not by the browser's timer resolution.
What tempo should I practise at?
Pick the fastest tempo at which you can play the passage cleanly, stay there until it is comfortable, then raise it by 4 to 8 BPM. If mistakes come back, drop below the last clean tempo rather than repeating the failed one.
Does the metronome work offline or on a phone?
It works on any current mobile or desktop browser and needs no installation. The page must be loaded once; after that the click is generated locally by your device, so it keeps running even if the connection drops.
Which metronome value should you set?
The metronome value is the number of beats per minute (BPM), always tied to a note. A marking such as quarter note = 100 means 100 quarter notes per minute. Type that number as the tempo, and each beat lasts 60 000 ÷ 100 = 600 ms.
The number alone is not enough. The same speed can be written with different note values, so check which note gets the beat before you set the tempo.
Same value, different note
| Marking or goal | Tempo to set | Subdivision | Time between clicks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter note = 100 | 100 | None (quarter notes) | 600.0 ms |
| Quarter note = 60, hear every eighth | 60 | Eighths | 500.0 ms |
| Quarter note = 60, hear every triplet note | 60 | Triplets | 333.3 ms |
| Quarter note = 60, hear every sixteenth | 60 | Sixteenths | 250.0 ms |
Each row starts from a 1000 ms beat at 60 BPM. It is then divided by 2, 3 or 4.
How to use this on the page
- Read the marking and find the note that gets the beat.
- Type or nudge the tempo with the −5, −1, +1 and +5 buttons, or use the ↑ and ↓ keys for ±1 BPM.
- Pick the time signature. The first beat of each bar is accented.
- If the piece is written in faster note values, keep the beat tempo and turn on a subdivision instead of raising the number.
This also helps at the edge of the range. An eighth-note pulse of 240 per minute is 250 ms per click. You can get the same 250 ms by setting 60 BPM with Sixteenths, which is easier to keep steady.
When the value is not written
- Use Tap tempo: tap along with a recording and read the BPM.
- Use the BPM finder if you have an audio file.
- Start from one of the quick values (60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180), then adjust by ear.
The Italian label next to the BPM readout is only a rough guide. Trust the number and the note value, not the word.
What does a symbol like ♩ = 120 mean on sheet music?
It tells you the metronome value: 120 quarter notes per minute, so each quarter note lasts 500 ms. Set 120 as the tempo and count the beat on the note shown in the symbol.