What is the best free poker timer?

For most home games, a free browser-based poker timer is the best pick: nothing to install, it runs fullscreen on a TV, and everyone can see the blinds. All In Central and Travis Poker Timer are both free and need no account. All In Central adds automatic prize-pool payouts, average-stack tracking and built-in blind-structure and chip calculators.

What is the best poker timer app for a phone?

Dedicated mobile apps work, but a phone is the weakest screen in the room — it's small, it locks, and it's usually in someone's pocket when the blinds go up. A better setup is a browser timer on a laptop or tablet propped where everyone can see it, or cast to the TV. If you do use a phone, pick an app that keeps the screen awake and shows the next level.

What is the best poker timer for running on a TV?

Use a browser-based timer with a fullscreen big-screen mode and cast or plug a laptop into the TV. The numbers should be readable from across the room and the screen must stay awake for the whole session — All In Central's clock is designed around exactly that.

Do I need to pay for a poker timer?

Not for a normal home game. Paid tools like The Tournament Director (Windows, one-time licence) or cloud platforms with subscriptions earn their money on league features: season stats, player databases, multi-table management. If you just need blinds, breaks and payouts on a big screen, a free timer does the whole job.

Can I just use a YouTube poker timer video?

You can, but timer videos are rigid: you can't change the structure mid-game, pause for a longer break without desyncing, or handle rebuys and payouts. An interactive timer costs the same (nothing) and stays correct when your game inevitably deviates from the plan.

The honest comparison

The best poker timer for your game

By The Poker Enthusiast · Updated 2 July 2026

The best poker timer depends on what you're running. For a home game or club night, a free browser timer that goes fullscreen on a TV — blinds, breaks, payouts and average stack on one screen — covers everything most games need. Paid desktop software earns its price only when you run a league and want season-long stats. Below is an honest look at the main options in 2026, including where ours is not the right pick.

The All In Central poker timer running fullscreen on a living-room TV, showing the blind level countdown, blinds and payouts — The test that matters: readable from the sofa. Our timer running on the TV at an actual game night.

What actually matters in a poker timer

Strip away the feature lists and a tournament clock has one job: keep the game honest without anyone babysitting it. In practice that comes down to seven things:

Readable across the room — the player in seat 9 should see the blinds without squinting.
The next level visible — so nobody is surprised when the blinds go up mid-hand.
A countdown that doesn't drift — a timer that loses seconds over four hours ends arguments badly.
Breaks and antes handled — built into the structure, not bolted on.
Payouts done for you — the prize pool should split itself the moment you set the buy-in.
Zero setup friction — if it needs an install or an account, half your table gave up already.
A screen that stays awake — nothing kills the vibe like a screensaver at the final table.

The main options in 2026

All In Central — free browser timer (this site)

Our own poker timer is a free, no-signup clock built for the big screen: blind levels with antes and breaks, automatic prize-pool payouts for 1–50 places, live average stack and players-left, and a fullscreen mode that keeps the screen awake all night. The blind-structure, chip-distribution and payout calculators feed straight into it. The honest limitation: it runs one tournament at a time. There are no season standings, no player database, no multi-tournament history — if you want league stats, look at the two tools below.

The Tournament Director — desktop software for stats keepers

The Tournament Director has been the gold standard of tournament software for years, and for good reason: nearly everything is configurable, and it tracks players, leagues and seasons in depth. It is Windows-only desktop software with a one-time licence (around $59 — check current pricing), and that depth comes with a learning curve. For a weekly league that cares about season points, it's worth every cent. For a birthday-party tournament, it's a lot of machine for the job.

Travis Poker Timer — free browser timer with league add-ons

Travis Poker Timer is another free, browser-based clock that has been around a long time and does the core job well, with an optional league -management system on top. If you're comparing free browser timers, try both and keep whichever feels quicker to set up — that friction is what decides whether the timer actually gets used at 19:58 with nine people at the table.

Blind Valet — cloud platform for clubs

Blind Valet is a cloud-based tournament manager: clock, structures, payouts and league standings synced across devices, with staff able to manage seating and eliminations from their phones. The free tier is limited and the useful features sit behind a subscription — sensible for a club running a season, unnecessary for a home game.

Mobile apps, YouTube videos and spreadsheets

Phone apps work in a pinch but put the clock on the smallest, most pocketed screen in the room. YouTube “poker timer” videos are genuinely free but completely rigid — pause for a pizza delivery and your structure is out of sync, and there are no payouts or rebuys. Spreadsheets plus a kitchen timer ran home games for decades, but you're the one doing the maths at midnight.

Side by side

Timer	Type	Price	Sign-up	Payouts	Big screen	Best for
All In Central	Browser (any device)	Free	None	Automatic, 1–50 places	Yes — fullscreen, stays awake	Home games & club nights
The Tournament Director	Windows desktop	One-time licence (~$59)	Purchase	Yes, deeply configurable	Yes	Serious leagues & stats keepers
Travis Poker Timer	Browser	Free	None (league features optional)	Yes	Yes	Home games & small leagues
Blind Valet	Cloud / web	Free tier, paid plans	Account for most features	Yes	Yes	Clubs managing seasons online
Mobile timer apps	iOS / Android	Free with ads / paid	Varies	Sometimes	Small screen	Quick two-table cash setups
YouTube videos / spreadsheets	Any	Free	None	No	Video only, can't adjust	One-off games with zero changes

Details as of July 2026 — pricing and features change, so check each tool's site before you commit. Bullets.poker, a long-time favourite, shut down on 30 June 2026; here's what we recommend instead.

Which one should you pick?

A home game or one-off club night: a free browser timer. No install, no account, on the TV in under a minute. That's the game we built our timer for.
A weekly league with season standings: The Tournament Director (Windows, deepest stats) or Blind Valet (cloud, easiest to share) — the paid features are the point.
No laptop in the house: a phone app on a stand beats a YouTube video — at least it pauses properly.

Judge it in thirty seconds

A timer is easier to judge running than described. This is the live clock face — set your buy-in and structure and it looks like this on the TV, with payouts and average stack updating as people bust:

Level 4 Live

18:32

Blinds 400 / 800Avg 24,500

Common questions

What is the best free poker timer?: For most home games, a free browser-based poker timer is the best pick: nothing to install, it runs fullscreen on a TV, and everyone can see the blinds. All In Central and Travis Poker Timer are both free and need no account. All In Central adds automatic prize-pool payouts, average-stack tracking and built-in blind-structure and chip calculators.
What is the best poker timer app for a phone?: Dedicated mobile apps work, but a phone is the weakest screen in the room — it's small, it locks, and it's usually in someone's pocket when the blinds go up. A better setup is a browser timer on a laptop or tablet propped where everyone can see it, or cast to the TV. If you do use a phone, pick an app that keeps the screen awake and shows the next level.
What is the best poker timer for running on a TV?: Use a browser-based timer with a fullscreen big-screen mode and cast or plug a laptop into the TV. The numbers should be readable from across the room and the screen must stay awake for the whole session — All In Central's clock is designed around exactly that.
Do I need to pay for a poker timer?: Not for a normal home game. Paid tools like The Tournament Director (Windows, one-time licence) or cloud platforms with subscriptions earn their money on league features: season stats, player databases, multi-table management. If you just need blinds, breaks and payouts on a big screen, a free timer does the whole job.
Can I just use a YouTube poker timer video?: You can, but timer videos are rigid: you can't change the structure mid-game, pause for a longer break without desyncing, or handle rebuys and payouts. An interactive timer costs the same (nothing) and stays correct when your game inevitably deviates from the plan.