How Much Am I Earning Right Now?
You're mid-shift. You want to know exactly how much you've earned so far — not your annual salary, not your hourly rate, but the live pound figure ticking up right now as you work. Here's the answer, running in real time.
- At the 2026 UK National Minimum Wage (£12.21/hr) you earn roughly 0.34p per second — or 20p every minute on shift
- A live earnings counter works by dividing your hourly rate by 3,600 and multiplying by seconds elapsed — updating every frame
- Unlike US salary timers, this is built for UK contracted hours and works with enhanced rates — NHS, police, bank holidays
- The Overtime Live app puts this counter on your iPhone lock screen via iOS Live Activities — the only free app with this feature
- This is a live earnings counter — not an overtime rate calculator. To work out your overtime rate first, use the Overtime Pay Calculator
Try the Live Earnings Counter Now
Enter your hourly rate and the time your shift started. The counter updates every second — no refresh needed.
The Maths Behind a Live Salary Counter
The calculation is one line: hourly rate ÷ 3,600 × seconds elapsed. That's it. Your hourly rate divided by 3,600 gives your per-second earnings. Multiply by the number of seconds since you started, and you have your live total to the penny.
A good real-time earnings counter runs this on every animation frame — 60 times per second — so the display is always current. Your device's internal clock drives it, not a server. That means it works offline, stays accurate in the background, and never drifts.
This counter tracks your earnings at whatever rate you enter. If you need to work out your overtime rate first — time-and-a-half, NHS unsocial hours enhancement, police rest day rates — use the Overtime Pay Calculator, then enter the resulting figure here to watch it count up live.
What You Earn Per Second at Common UK Rates
Before you even open a calculator, here's what the live counter would show for the most common UK hourly rates — including what a full shift adds up to.
| Hourly Rate | Per Second | Per Minute | 8-hr Shift | 12-hr Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £12.21 (NMW 2026) | £0.00339 | £0.2035 | £97.68 | £146.52 |
| £13.00 | £0.00361 | £0.2167 | £104.00 | £156.00 |
| £15.00 | £0.00417 | £0.2500 | £120.00 | £180.00 |
| £17.50 | £0.00486 | £0.2917 | £140.00 | £210.00 |
| £20.00 | £0.00556 | £0.3333 | £160.00 | £240.00 |
| £25.00 | £0.00694 | £0.4167 | £200.00 | £300.00 |
| £30.00 | £0.00833 | £0.5000 | £240.00 | £360.00 |
At £17.50 an hour you earn roughly 29p every minute. A four-minute handover that runs late is worth £1.17. A 20-minute team briefing costs you £5.83. These are abstract figures until you can see the counter moving — then they're specific, real, and impossible to ignore.
Working a Sunday, bank holiday, or night shift at an enhanced rate? Enter your enhanced hourly rate — not your base rate. Use our Pay Scales tool to find the right figure for your band and shift type, then bring it here.
Why Shift Workers Need This More Than Anyone
Most live salary timers online are aimed at office workers. They take your annual salary, divide by 2,080 generic hours, and run a counter. Entertaining for someone sat at a desk. Not useful for a nurse who's been on her feet since 06:00 on a band 5 Sunday enhancement, or a police constable clocking rest day overtime at a different rate to his standard pay.
The difference with a shift-specific live earnings counter is that you enter the rate that actually applies to this shift — not an average, not an annual figure. You also set your actual shift start time. The counter then reflects exactly where you stand, right now, at this point in this particular shift.
The psychological case for watching it live
There is a well-documented motivational effect when effort maps visibly to reward in real time. Watching a counter read £106.42 and climbing after six hours on shift is a different experience to knowing your annual salary is £35,000. The former is concrete, present, and tied to the specific decision you made to turn up today. The latter is abstract and months away.
It doesn't make a difficult shift easier. But it makes the value of your time visible in a way a monthly payslip — arriving three weeks after you worked those hours — simply cannot.
Open the Full-Screen Live Counter
Bigger display, quick-select rate presets for common UK rates, sticky App Store CTA. Mobile-first.
⚡ Watch Your Earnings Live →From Browser to Lock Screen
The browser version works — but it requires your phone unlocked, the tab open, the screen on. For someone mid-shift with their phone in a locker or scrubs pocket, that's not realistic six hours in.
The Overtime Live app solves this with iOS Live Activities. Start a shift in the app, and the live earnings counter appears directly on your iPhone lock screen and in the Dynamic Island — updating in real time without you touching the phone. Glance at your lock screen mid-shift: £74.32. Back in pocket. No unlock, no app switch, no screen drain.
It's the only free shift tracker with this feature. No subscription. No ads. The counter you just tried in your browser moves to your lock screen for every shift you work.
Get the Live Counter on Your Lock Screen — Free
iOS Live Activities · Android home screen widget · No subscription · No account needed
Frequently Asked Questions
How much am I earning right now?
How do I calculate my earnings per second?
Is there a live salary counter built for UK shift workers?
What's the difference between a live earnings counter and a pay calculator?
How much do I earn per minute at UK minimum wage?
Can I see my live earnings on my iPhone lock screen?
Follow us on X @OvertimeLiveApp for shift worker pay updates and app news.