Lap counter · Free · No sign-up
Online Lap Counter
An online lap counter records one tap per length or lap so you do not have to hold the number in your head while you swim or run. Tap once at each wall or each finish line, read the total off a large display, and use the distance tables below to convert laps into metres, yards or miles.
It saves after every tap, so a paused session is still there when you come back.
Auto uses your step size, stops on its own at a min or max limit, and records the whole run as a single undo.
Min / max limits
Session stats
Shortcuts: +/↑/Space increase · −/↓ decrease · R reset · N new counter · A auto count · Ctrl+Z undo · Ctrl+Y redo
Counting laps is the classic case of a number that is easy to keep and easy to lose. One tap per length, a total you can read from a metre away, and an undo for the lap you counted twice.
A lap counter is a tool that records how many laps or lengths have been completed during a swim, run or ride, so the total does not have to be remembered while the activity is in progress.
- No sign-up
- No ads
- Counts never leave your browser
- Works offline
- Unlimited counters
Key facts
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Price | Free, unlimited use |
| Best for | Pool lengths, track laps, treadmill intervals, cycling circuits |
| Display | Focus mode fills the screen so the number is readable poolside |
| One tap per lap | Or press Space, so a wet finger on any part of the screen is enough |
| Fix a miscount | Undo and redo if you tap twice at a turn |
| Set a target | Max limit stops the counter at your goal distance |
| Works offline | Yes, which matters in pool halls with no signal |
| Saves automatically | Every lap is stored instantly in your browser |
How to count laps with the online lap counter
Set a target distance and count lengths without losing your place.
Decide whether you are counting laps or lengths
In a pool, a length is one pass and a lap is usually two, there and back. Pick one and stay with it, because mixing them halves or doubles your distance.
Set your target as a maximum
Open “Min / max limits” and set the maximum to the number of lengths in your target distance. The counter stops there instead of letting you overshoot.
Turn on focus mode
Focus mode hides everything except the number and the buttons, so the display is readable from the end of the lane and the target is easy to hit with a wet hand.
Tap once at every wall
Tap the + button, or press Space if the device is on the poolside within reach. Turn on sound so you get an audible confirmation over the water.
Use undo if you tap twice
Press Undo or Ctrl+Z. Because your count is saved after every tap, stopping for a rest or locking the phone will not lose the session.
Where a lap counter earns its place
Any repeated circuit where the count matters more than the clock.
Swimming lengths in a pool
Tap at each wall. Set the max to your target so the counter tells you when the set is done rather than making you remember the number.
Running laps on a track
A 400 m track means one lap is 400 m, so a 5 km run is 12.5 laps. Count the laps and let the table below do the distance.
Treadmill and indoor intervals
Count intervals rather than distance, with a separate counter for hard and easy segments.
Cycling circuits and crits
Count circuit laps at a training session where no lap board is running, with a target set as the maximum.
Coaching a squad
Keep one counter per lane or per athlete, named accordingly, and copy the totals into the session log afterwards.
Walking laps of a park or track
Count laps during rehab or a step goal, with the count surviving a pause for a rest.
Rowing and erg pieces
Count completed pieces in a session and use the step size if each piece counts as a fixed distance.
Charity and sponsored laps
Count laps for a sponsored swim or run where each lap has a pledged value, using the step size to total money instead of laps.
Laps and lengths converted to distance
The counter gives you a number of laps. These tables turn that number into distance, so you can set a target before you start rather than doing arithmetic while out of breath.
| Distance | 25 m pool | 50 m pool | 25 yd pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 m | 16 lengths | 8 lengths | 18 lengths |
| 500 m | 20 lengths | 10 lengths | 22 lengths |
| 750 m | 30 lengths | 15 lengths | 33 lengths |
| 1,000 m | 40 lengths | 20 lengths | 44 lengths |
| 1 mile (1,609 m) | 64 lengths | 32 lengths | 70 lengths |
| 1,500 m | 60 lengths | 30 lengths | 66 lengths |
| 2,000 m | 80 lengths | 40 lengths | 88 lengths |
Figures are rounded to whole lengths. Remember that a lap is commonly two lengths, so halve these numbers if you are counting laps rather than lengths.
| Distance | Laps in lane one | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 800 m | 2 | Two laps exactly |
| 1 mile | 4.02 | Four laps plus about 9 metres |
| 3 km | 7.5 | Seven laps plus half a lap |
| 5 km | 12.5 | Start on the back straight to finish on the line |
| 10 km | 25 | Twenty-five laps exactly |
Outer lanes are longer, so a lap in lane eight is roughly 453 metres. If you are counting laps in an outer lane, set the step size to that lane's lap distance and the counter totals your metres directly.
Which lengths a swim watch does not count
A swim watch counts a length only when it recognises one, and its makers say plainly when it will not. Garmin’s manual for the Forerunner 945 says the watch “measures and records distance by completed pool lengths”, and that “for accurate results, swim the entire length, and use one stroke type for the entire length.” Drills are outside it altogether: “When doing drills, you must either pause the timer or use the drill logging feature.” That drill log is for kick sets, one-arm swimming “or any type of swimming that is not one of the four major strokes”, and at the end of each drill you choose the distance yourself, in steps of the pool length. A watch cannot fill that number in. Someone has to have counted the lengths.
| Part of the session | Garmin (Forerunner 945 manual) | Apple Watch (watchOS user guide) | Count it yourself? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole lengths of one stroke | Counted, by completed length | Counted; the summary shows the strokes used | Not needed, though a tally is a check |
| A length that changes stroke, or stops part-way | Not reliable: the manual asks for the entire length in one stroke | Not addressed | Yes |
| Kick sets | Drill log: you enter the distance | Kickboard detected as a stroke type since watchOS 9 | Yes on Garmin; check the summary on Apple |
| One-arm, sculling and other drills | Drill log: you enter the distance | Not addressed | Yes |
| Rest at the wall | Pause the timer or press Lap | Detected automatically, with sets | No |
| Pool length | Set it per session: “The pool size must be correct to display accurate distance” | Set it before Start | Only the setting |
The wrong pool setting costs about 9%
Because a watch multiplies lengths by the pool size it was given, a wrong setting is wrong on every length. A yard is 0.9144 m, so a 25-yard pool is 22.86 m. Set to 25 m in a 25-yard pool, a watch shows 1,600 m after 64 lengths that were really 1,463 m, an overstatement of 9.4%. Set to 25 yards in a 25 m pool, 70 lengths show as 1,750 yards, which is 1,600 m, and were really 1,750 m. The length count itself is still right, which is why counting lengths rather than metres is the safer habit.
Using a lap counter alongside a watch
Tap at every wall for the whole session, drills and kick sets included, and the counter holds the number the drill log asks for: lengths times the pool length. Set the step size to the pool length, 25 for a 25 m pool, and the display reads metres directly. Simple Online Counter does not detect anything: it counts taps, stores them in this browser and works offline once the page has loaded, so the total is only as good as the taps, and it disagrees with a watch only where one of them missed a length.
Keeping a lap count that survives the whole session
The count is easy for ten lengths and hard for sixty. These are the habits that scale.
Fix the vocabulary before you get in
Lengths or laps, chosen once, for the entire session. Mixing them mid-set is a 100% error, not a rounding error.
Count at the wall, every time
Tie the number to the touch. A count updated at an inconsistent moment is a count you will lose.
Set the target as a maximum
Then you are tracking one number instead of two. The counter tells you when the set is finished.
Group into blocks of five
Holding “block seven, third length” is far easier than holding “thirty-eight”, because both numbers stay small.
Put the phone where you can reach it wet
Focus mode gives a target you can hit without aiming. A phone you have to pick up and unlock will not get used past length ten.
Online counter vs a clicker, an app, paper and a spreadsheet
Every counting method trades something away. This is what each one actually costs you.
| Feature | This online counter | Handheld clicker | Counter phone app | Pen and paper | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $5–$15 | Free with ads, or paid | Cost of paper | Subscription |
| Anything to install | No | Buy the device | App store download | No | Yes, or a web login |
| Several counts at once | Unlimited | One per device | Usually limited | Yes, messy | Yes |
| Fix a miscount | Undo and redo | Start over | Sometimes | Cross it out | Edit the cell |
| Counts by more than one | Any step size | One at a time | Sometimes | Manual maths | Yes |
| Below zero | Yes | No | Rarely | Yes | Yes |
| Keeps the count if you close it | Saves automatically | Until you reset the dial | Yes | If you keep the paper | Yes |
| Works with no signal | Yes, after first load | Yes | Yes | Yes | Often not |
| Keyboard and shortcuts | Full | None | None | None | Partial |
| Sends your data anywhere | Never | Never | Often, for accounts and ads | Never | Yes, to the cloud |
Other counter types
The same counter, set up and explained for a specific job. Your counters are shared across all of them.
Everyday7
The general-purpose counters: one number, many numbers, or counting on a timer.
Online counter
The all-purpose counter. Any step size, any number of counters, negative values allowed.
Open online counter →Tally counter
Tally marks in groups of five for surveys, stock takes and wildlife counts.
Open tally counter →Click counter
A browser clicker that replaces the handheld thumb counter for door headcounts.
Open click counter →Multi counter
Run as many counters as you like at once, side by side in a grid.
Open multi counter →Auto counter
Counts on its own from every 0.1 seconds to once an hour, and stops at your limit.
Open auto counter →Yes/No counter
Two options, a live percentage, and the sample size and caveats the percentage needs.
Open yes/no counter →Sticker album counter
Stickers you have and spares to swap, missing lists to copy, and the packs still to go from your count.
Open sticker album counter →
Sport & scores44
Scoreboards that know the rules of their game, not just two numbers that go up.
Score counter
A scoreboard for cards, darts and board games. One counter per player, negatives allowed.
Open score counter →Pitch counter
Count pitches, then get the rest days owed and the next eligible date.
Open pitch counter →Golf scorecard
Strokes per hole with the course handicap allocated by stroke index, net and Stableford.
Open golf scorecard →Badminton score counter
Rally scoring with the service court and doubles positions, for 3x21 and the 2027 3x15 system.
Open badminton score counter →Pickleball score counter
The 0-0-2 call with the right server and side, in side-out or 2026 rally scoring.
Open pickleball score counter →Squash score counter
Point-a-rally to 11 with the server, the service box, hand out and lets.
Open squash score counter →Penalty shootout counter
Five kicks each that stop the moment a team cannot catch up, then sudden death.
Open penalty shootout counter →Basketball score counter
Points by period with team fouls and the bonus as FIBA, NBA, NCAA or high school count them.
Open basketball score counter →Baseball score counter
Balls, strikes, outs and the line score, with foul bunts, dropped third strikes and walk-offs.
Open baseball score counter →Cricket score counter
Runs, wickets and overs by legal balls, with wides, no-balls, free hits and the chase.
Open cricket score counter →American football score counter
Touchdowns and the try at each level, with NFL, college and high school overtime rules.
Open american football score counter →Boxing score counter
Three judges' 10-point must cards and the verdict they give, split and majority draws included.
Open boxing score counter →Hockey score counter
Ice hockey goals and shots by period, with each league's overtime, shootout and standings points.
Open hockey score counter →Pool score counter
Straight pool with the breaking foul and three-foul penalties, and 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball races.
Open pool score counter →Rugby score counter
Union, sevens and league points, conversions tied to tries, golden point and bonus points.
Open rugby score counter →Soccer score counter
Goals by minute, five subs in three windows, second yellows, extra time and aggregate.
Open soccer score counter →Table tennis score counter
Games to 11 with the server named, doubles order, the swap at 5 and the expedite system.
Open table tennis score counter →Tennis score counter
Love to game with the server's court, every change of ends, tie-breaks and doubles order.
Open tennis score counter →Padel score counter
The 2026 Star Point, golden point or advantage, who serves and receives, and every change of sides.
Open padel score counter →Volleyball score counter
Rally scoring with the six-position rotation, the next server, time-outs, subs and beach mode.
Open volleyball score counter →Americano padel score counter
Rotating partners for 4 to 16 players, matches to a points total, and every player's running total.
Open americano padel score counter →Field hockey score counter
Goals by minute, a clock that stops, card timers in playing time, the 2026 card rules and shoot-outs.
Open field hockey score counter →Free throw counter
Make or miss, the percentage with its likely range, runs of makes, sets and make-50 goals.
Open free throw counter →Futsal score counter
Accumulated fouls per half with the 10 m kick, timeouts, a stopped clock and the red card timer.
Open futsal score counter →Handball score counter
2-minute suspensions a goal does not end, the third a red card, three warnings and team time-outs.
Open handball score counter →Judo score counter
The 2026 IJF rules: yuko back, a hold timer that scores itself, shido that never decide, golden score.
Open judo score counter →Kabaddi score counter
Players on court kept for you: revival in order, all outs, the bonus line, super tackle, do-or-die.
Open kabaddi score counter →Karate score counter
WKF kumite 2026: senshu kept for you and lost in the last 15 s, the 8-point lead, chui to hansoku.
Open karate score counter →Lacrosse score counter
Penalty timers that know which one a goal releases, by code: high school, NCAA, PLL, box and sixes.
Open lacrosse score counter →Netball score counter
Whose centre pass is next, kept through every break, plus the Super Shot and extra time.
Open netball score counter →Roundnet score counter
Who serves to whom under the 2026 IRF equal serving or the classic rules, with every rotation.
Open roundnet score counter →Cornhole score counter
Cancellation scoring bag by bag, who pitches first next round, ACO Skins and house-rule busts.
Open cornhole score counter →Water polo score counter
Exclusions a goal or the ball won ends early, personal fouls by cap, the possession clock, shootout.
Open water polo score counter →Wrestling score counter
Folkstyle, freestyle or Greco: 3-point takedowns, riding time, the technical fall, overtime, criteria.
Open wrestling score counter →Curling score counter
Points by end, the hammer next end, the mixed doubles decision, and the club scoreboard drawn for you.
Open curling score counter →Fencing score counter
Hits on a bout clock in fencing time, the priority minute, cards by group and the 2026-27 P-cards.
Open fencing score counter →Gaelic football score counter
Goals, two-pointers and points by the 2026 rules, a 45 valued by code, extra time, and the scorers line.
Open gaelic football score counter →Spades score counter
Bids and tricks per player, bags to the bag-out, nil and blind nil, and the disputed house rules as settings.
Open spades score counter →Taekwondo score counter
WT kyorugi 2026: 6 for a turning head kick, best of three rounds, the 15-point gap and the round tiebreak.
Open taekwondo score counter →Cribbage board counter
A peg board for 2, 3 or 4: the play, then each hand in counting order to 121 or 61, with skunks and muggins.
Open cribbage board counter →Euchre score counter
Who called, alone or not, and the tricks: loners, euchres and the disputed house rules, plus a progressive tally.
Open euchre score counter →500 score counter
The bid and the tricks, scored by the Avondale table: misère, slams and how a game is won as settings.
Open 500 score counter →Gin rummy score counter
Who went down and both deadwood counts: undercuts, gin, boxes and shutouts, plus Hollywood and Oklahoma.
Open gin rummy score counter →Hearts score counter
Hearts and the queen per hand, refused until it adds to 26: five moon rules, the jack of diamonds, Black Maria.
Open hearts score counter →
Fitness & health6
Reps, laps, breaths and daily habits, where the count is part of the activity.
Rep counter
Track reps and sets during a lifting session, with a step size for supersets.
Open rep counter →Click speed test
Measure your clicks per second over 1 to 60 seconds, with your personal best kept on-device.
Open click speed test →Habit counter
Count toward a daily target and keep the streak, with a day boundary you choose.
Open habit counter →Breath counter
Count breaths one to ten for meditation, with lost count recorded, or time breaths per minute.
Open breath counter →Craving tracker
Time each urge, rate it 1 to 10, and log whether you rode it out or acted on it.
Open craving tracker →Water intake counter
Drinks logged in ml or oz by the cup you used, against a goal or a fluid limit, paced over your day.
Open water intake counter →
Work & field5
Counting that produces a record someone else relies on: stock, occupancy, lab work.
Differential counter
Six keys for a manual white cell differential, with an auto-stop and live percentages.
Open differential counter →People counter
In and out at a door, with live occupancy against a capacity and a fix for drift.
Open people counter →Bird counter
A row per species recording the high count, so a circling flock is not counted twice.
Open bird counter →Inventory counter
A count sheet holding the book quantity beside the counted one, with the variance per line.
Open inventory counter →Knitting counter
Rows, pattern repeats and a shaping schedule that names the increase rows and then ends.
Open knitting counter →
Faith9
Counts with their own rules about when a day turns over and what completes a set.
Tasbeeh counter
A digital dhikr counter that stops at 33, 99 or 100 and keeps each dhikr separate.
Open tasbeeh counter →Omer counter
The 49 days of Sefirat HaOmer, in days and weeks, with the blessing state tracked.
Open omer counter →Mala counter
108 beads to a round, credited as 100 or 108, with dorje and bell counter strings and a bell.
Open mala counter →Rosary counter
Prayer by prayer through the decades, with the day's mysteries by the 2002 or the older schedule.
Open rosary counter →Divine Mercy chaplet counter
The chaplet in Diary 476's order, a tap a prayer, with the novena from Good Friday kept day by day.
Open divine mercy chaplet counter →St Michael chaplet counter
The nine salutations in the Raccolta's order, a tap a prayer, with the Michaelmas novena kept.
Open st michael chaplet counter →Prayer rope counter
A knot a tap on any chotki, services in Jesus Prayers, and the Optina 500 with its prostrations.
Open prayer rope counter →Seven Sorrows rosary counter
Seven sorrows of seven Hail Marys, a tap a prayer, the three for Mary's tears where your card puts them.
Open seven sorrows rosary counter →Franciscan Crown counter
Seven joys of ten Hail Marys and two to make 72, a tap a prayer, with the Pope's prayers and Lent's sorrows.
Open franciscan crown counter →
Frequently asked questions
Is a lap the same as a length in swimming?
Usually not. A length is one pass of the pool, and a lap is normally there and back, so two lengths. Competitive swimming counts lengths. Decide which you are counting before you start, and keep it consistent.
How many lengths is a mile in a 25 metre pool?
A mile is 1,609 metres, which is 64.4 lengths of a 25 metre pool, normally rounded to 64 lengths. The commonly swum “swimmer's mile” of 1,650 yards is 66 lengths of a 25 yard pool.
How many laps of a running track is 5 km?
On a standard 400 metre outdoor track, 5 km is 12.5 laps in lane one. 10 km is 25 laps, and a mile is just over 4 laps, at 4.02.
Can I set the counter to stop at my target?
Yes. Open “Min / max limits”, tick Enable limits and set the maximum to your target number of laps. The counter refuses to go past it and shows an “At maximum” message.
Will I lose my count if I pause mid-session?
No. Every tap is written to your browser's storage immediately, so locking your phone, taking a rest or closing the tab does not lose the count. Reopen the page and carry on.
Can I count for two swimmers at once?
Yes. Create one counter per swimmer or per lane and name them, then switch between them from the list. There is no limit on how many you run at the same time.
Does it work with wet hands or in a pool hall with no signal?
Yes. Focus mode gives a large target that is easy to hit with a wet finger, and the counter works entirely offline after the page has loaded once, so poor signal in a pool building does not matter.
Can I count laps by more than one at a time?
Yes. Set the step size to the value each lap is worth, for example 25 to count metres directly in a 25 metre pool, or 400 to count metres on a running track.
Does a swim watch count laps accurately?
For whole lengths of one stroke, mostly. Garmin’s manual asks for the entire length in one stroke type for accurate results, and says drills such as kick sets and one-arm swimming must be paused or entered in its drill log, where you type the distance yourself. Apple Watch has detected kickboard lengths since watchOS 9. A wrong pool-length setting makes every length wrong, by about 9% between 25 m and 25 yards.
Can I use it on a smartwatch?
Not usefully. It is a web page, so it needs a browser and a screen you can tap. A dedicated waterproof lap watch is the better tool in the water; this is for the poolside, the treadmill and the trackside.
Is my phone safe at the poolside?
Keep it away from the splash zone and out of the wet changing area. Focus mode means you can read and hit it from a metre away, so it does not need to be at the edge of the pool.
How do I count laps in an outdoor lane other than lane one?
Outer lanes are longer, so set the step size to that lane's lap distance and the counter totals metres directly. Lane one is 400 m, and lane eight is roughly 453 m per lap.
Can I count both laps and time?
The counter does laps only. Use the pool's pace clock or your watch for time, and this for the count, which is the part that is actually hard to hold in your head while swimming.
How do swimmers count laps without losing track?
The reliable methods are counting in blocks of five, tying the number to the moment your hand touches the wall, moving a physical marker at the lane end, or tapping a counter at each turn so the number lives outside your head entirely.
What is the difference between a lap and a length?
A length is one pass of the pool, wall to wall. A lap is conventionally there and back, so two lengths. Training sets and race distances are written in lengths, while gym signage often says laps, so confirm which before you start.
Counting guides
Longer answers to the questions behind the counting.
- Swimming
How to count laps while swimming
Why swimmers lose count at length 14, and five methods that actually hold up.
- Tallying
Tally marks explained
Groups of five, the five-bar gate, and why the convention has survived for centuries.
- Events
How to do an accurate headcount
Counting people is easy. Counting them accurately, twice, is not.
- Habits
Track a daily habit streak
Why streak apps fail, and what a plain daily counter does better.
- Click speed
How to click faster
Hardware and grip account for most of the gap. Practice accounts for less than people think.
- Inventory
How to do a stock take
Counting is the easy part. Preparing, and knowing your count is right, is the job.
- Reference
Types of counters explained
Synchronous vs asynchronous, mod-N, ring and Johnson, industrial and PLC counters, plus mechanical and software counters.
- Build it
How to make a counter
Twenty lines gets you counting. Here is what to add after that, and why.
- Baseball
How to keep an official pitch count
Little League requires an official recorder at every game. Almost nobody explains the job.
- Dhikr
One tasbeeh is equal to how many?
The same phrase means a count of a hundred, a bead loop, a single dhikr, or the set after salah. Which one is meant, and when.
- Haematology
How to do a manual differential count
Why the pattern matters, how many cells is enough, and the imprecision built into the method itself.
- Birding
How to count a flock of birds
Blocks, tens, and why the number to report is the most seen at one time.
- Knitting
How to read knitting shaping instructions
Every 4th row, alt rows, at each end, AT THE SAME TIME — translated, with the rows they land on.
- Golf
Stableford points and net scores
Stroke index, strokes received, net score, points — in the order you actually need them.
- Surveys
How many people do you need to survey?
Why 385 answers a city and 45 answers a club, and the margin each sample size buys.
- Rules
How to read fencing pool results
V and V3, the indicator, why the ranking is V/M and not wins, ties at the cut and the seeded table.
- Rules
How to fill in a FIBA basketball scoresheet
The running score, team fouls, time-outs and the new 2026 foul marks, DI, FL and the circled T.
- Rules
Futsal rule changes 2025-26
Penalty-kick fouls stop counting, the dropped ball follows possession, and the 8-second rule is not futsal's.
- Rules
Futsal timekeeper and third referee
The stopped clock, the fifth-foul sign, the time-out slip, the two-minute entry slip and the eight signals from the table.
- Scorekeeping
How to write a GAA match report
The result line, the scorers line with 2pt, f and 45, what the brackets mean, team lists and subs, and how to check the sums.
- Rules
Handball timekeeper and scorekeeper
The clock, the suspension cards, the green card, the whistle that stops play, and the three attacks after an injury.
- Rules
Hockey rule changes from 1 November 2026
No second green or yellow, coaches' cards that cost a player, and what is not new since March.
- Rules
Netball scorer and timekeeper
The quarter and interval timetable, goals and missed shots, the centre pass column, holding time and the suspension clock.
- Training
Reps and sets explained
What 10 reps and 3x10 mean, where 3 sets of 10 came from, and what the 2026 ACSM review changed.
- Rules
Roundnet rule changes 2025-26
Equal serving, the bigger ball, a boundary at last and three touches on the serve, edition by edition.
- Rules
How to fill out a volleyball score sheet
The X in box 1, checkmarks and exit scores, time-outs, subs, the libero triangle, penalty points and the T-bar.
- Rules
Water polo table officials
Who runs which clock, the 18-second exclusions, the four flags, the third personal foul and the 45-second whistle.
- Rules
How to keep score in wrestling
T3 not T2, near falls by the second, riding time, the circled first points and how a result is written.