Excel Convert Between Time Units: Hours, Minutes, Seconds and Days
Converting time units within Excel, such as hours to minutes or seconds to days can enhance your data management efficiency. This guide demonstrates how to easily convert time units with different methods, ensuring you're equipped to handle any time-related data efficiently.
- Convert between hour, minute, second or day with functions
- Simplify conversions between time units with Kutools for Excel
- Convert hh:mm:ss time format to minutes, seconds or hours with formulas
- Convert hh:mm:ss time format to minutes, seconds or hours with Kutools for Excel
Convert between different time units in Excel
This section outlines two methods for converting between time units in Excel.
Comparison of Methods for Converting Between Hour, Minute, Second, and Day
Excel offers several ways to convert between different time units such as hours, minutes, seconds, and days. The following table compares the methods introduced in this article.
| Feature | Conversion Factors | Excel CONVERT Function | Kutools Unit Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convert between hours, minutes, seconds, and days | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Supports reverse conversions | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Batch conversion | Requires filling formulas | Requires filling formulas | ✔ |
| Requires formulas | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
| Requires conversion factors or unit codes | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
| Preview results before applying | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Keep original values by adding results as comments | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Best for | Simple mathematical conversions | Dynamic worksheet calculations | Fast batch conversions without formulas |
| Ease of use | Easy | Moderate | Very easy |
Convert between hour, minute, second or day with functions
1. Convert time between hour, minute, second, or day with conversion factor
As we known, 1 hour = 60 minutes = 3600 seconds =1/24 day. So we can convert the time measurement with multiplying these factors.
Convert hours to seconds:
For example, to convert the hours to seconds, please enter the formula =A2*3600, and then drag the fill handle down to the cells to get the results you need, see screenshot:

If you want to convert seconds to hours, just apply this formula: =A2/3600.
Tips: Convert between hours and minutes, days:
| Convert hours to minutes: | =A2*60 |
| Convert minutes to hours: | =A2/60 |
| Convert hours to days: | =A2/24 |
| Convert days to hours: | =A2*24 |
2. Convert time between hour, minute, second, or day with Convert function
It is hard to remember the conversion factors? You can use the Convert function to convert tween hour, minutes, seconds or days too.
Convert hours to seconds:
Please type this formula =CONVERT(A2,"hr","sec") to easily convert cells from hours to seconds at once. See screenshot:

If you want to convert seconds to hours, just apply this formula: =CONVERT(A2,"sec","hr").
Tips: Just replace the unit name in the formula, you can easily convert between these time measurements.
| measurement | using in formula |
| Year | "yr" |
| Day | "day" |
| Hour | "hr" |
| Minute | "mn" |
| Second | "sec" |
Convert between hour, minute, second or day with Kutools for Excel
No need to remember conversion factors or specific functions - Kutools for Excel's Unit Conversion tool simplifies the process for you.
After installing Kutools for Excel, you can apply the Unit Conversion tool of Kutools for Excel to easily convert between different time units as follows.
1. Select the range of cells containing the data you want to convert, go to the Kutools tab and select Content > Unit Conversion.

2. Specify the Time unit in the drop-down box of Unit, select source unit in the left box, converted unit in the right box, and you will see the result in the Preview box and then click OK.

Result: The time between hours and minutes are converted as following screenshot shown:

Note: If you want to keep the source unit in the cells and show results in the comment, you can check Add results as comment. See screenshot:

Conclusion
Excel provides two built-in approaches for converting between hours, minutes, seconds, and days. Using simple conversion factors is straightforward when you know the relationships between time units, while the CONVERT function avoids manual calculations by using built-in unit codes. Both methods require formulas and copying them across the destination range.
Kutools for Excel's Unit Conversion simplifies the entire process by allowing users to choose the source and destination units from a dialog box. It supports batch conversion, previews the results before applying them, and can preserve the original values by adding the converted results as comments, making it the most convenient option for frequent time-unit conversions.
Convert hh:mm:ss time format to different time units in Excel
When working with time data in Excel, you may often find yourself needing to convert time from the hh:mm format into different units such as hours, minutes, or seconds. This is particularly useful for tasks like analyzing log times, calculating durations, or preparing data for reports where time needs to be expressed in a specific unit for clarity or consistency. In the following section, we will guide you through the process of converting time formatted as hh:mm into various other time units directly within Excel
Comparison of Methods for Converting hh:mm:ss Time to Hours, Minutes, or Seconds
When time values are stored in the standard hh:mm:ss format, they often need to be converted into decimal hours, minutes, or seconds for calculations and reporting. The following table compares the methods introduced in this article.
| Feature | Excel Formulas | Kutools Convert Time |
|---|---|---|
| Convert hh:mm:ss to hours, minutes, or seconds | ✔ | ✔ |
| Batch conversion | Requires filling formulas | ✔ |
| Requires formulas | ✔ | ✘ |
| Supports saving results to another location | ✘ | ✔ |
| One-click conversion | ✘ | ✔ |
| Best for | Dynamic calculations using formulas | Quickly converting formatted time values |
| Ease of use | Moderate | Very easy |
Convert hh:mm:ss time format to minutes, seconds or hours with formulas
Sometimes you may get a time with hour, minutes, and seconds together, and now you can use the following formulas to convert it to minutes, seconds or hours.
Convert hh:mm:ss time format to hours:
Please apply this formula to convert the hh:mm:ss time format to hours: =HOUR(A2) + MINUTE(A2)/60 + SECOND(A2)/3600,and drag the fill handle to the cells that you want to contain this formula.

Tips:
To convert hh:mm:ss time format to minutes: =((HOUR(A2)*60)+MINUTE(A2)+(SECOND(A2)/60));
To convert hh:mm:ss time format to seconds: =HOUR(A2)*3600 + MINUTE(A2)*60 + SECOND(A2).
Convert hh:mm:ss time format to minutes, seconds or hours with Kutools for Excel
Are you tired with the formulas, so ,here, I can introduce you a handy and easy tool-Kutools for Excel, with its Convert Time feature, you can quickly finish this job without any formulas.
After installing Kutools for Excel, please do as follows:
1. Select the time cells that you want to convert.
2. Click Kutools > Content > Convert Time, then choose Time to Hours / Time to Minutes / Time to Seconds as you need, see screenshot:

3. And the selected time cells have been converted into the desired hours, minutes or seconds you need, see screenshot:

Tips: If you want the converted result located in another location, you can go the Convert Time dialog by clicking Kutools > Content > Convert Time, in the Convert Time dialog box, choose the convert type you need, and then check Save to another location checkbox, and click a cell where you want to put the result, see screenshot:

Conclusion
Excel formulas based on the HOUR, MINUTE, and SECOND functions can accurately convert hh:mm:ss values into decimal hours, minutes, or seconds. They are flexible but require formulas and additional copying when processing multiple cells.
Kutools for Excel's Convert Time feature offers a much simpler workflow. Users can convert selected time values directly to hours, minutes, or seconds with a single command and optionally save the converted results to another location, making it the faster solution for batch processing formatted time values.
This guide has introduced practical methods for converting time units in Excel. Whether you're calculating the total minutes in a day and a half, converting millions of seconds into hours, or any other time-related computation, the tools and methods discussed here should equip you with the knowledge to handle time data with confidence, enhancing both your productivity and decision-making capabilities. Practice these techniques to master time manipulation in your spreadsheets. For those eager to delve deeper into Excel's capabilities, our website boasts a wealth of tutorials. Discover more Excel tips and tricks here.
Relative article:
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