Mala counter · Free · No sign-up

Online Mala Counter

Short answer

A mala counter keeps count of mantra repetitions the way a 108-bead mala does: one tap per bead, a round completed at 108, and the rounds tallied like a mala’s dorje and bell counters. This one also lets you credit a round as 100 or 108, which decides whether 100,000 takes 1,000 rounds or 926.

Free, no sign-up, works offline, and nothing leaves this browser.

0of 108 · round 1Credited 100 a round, 8 beads spare

No goal set. Choose one under Rounds, credit and goal

Rounds done
0
Rounds today
0
Credited
0
Recited
0
Last round
—
Average round
—
Dorje0 × 100
Bell0 × 1,000

Hundreds of rounds (the bhum counter): none yet

Rounds, credit and goal

Space, Enter or + counts a bead, so you can count with your eyes closed; Ctrl+Z undoes. Keys do nothing while you are typing in a field, and a held key counts once. Round times leave out any pause longer than five minutes.

Tap once per bead, or press Space with your eyes closed. At 108 the round is tallied, the bell rings if you want it, and the next round starts, while a goal line counts down to a daily number of rounds or a total such as 100,000.

A mala or japa mala is a string of prayer beads, usually 108 plus an uncounted guru bead, used in Hindu and Buddhist practice to count the repetitions of a mantra, which is called japa. One circuit of the beads is a round, also called a mala.

  • No sign-up
  • No ads
  • Counts never leave your browser
  • Works offline
  • Unlimited counters

Key facts

Online mala counter at a glance
DetailAnswer
PriceFree, no sign-up, no ads
Beads to a round108, and the round turns over by itself at the 108th
What a round counts as100 (eight beads spare) or 108 (every bead), your setting
TotalsRounds done, rounds today, recited and credited
Counter stringsDorje (rounds), bell (tens of rounds) and the hundreds, drawn as on a mala
Smaller malas54 or 27 beads, with each lap marked
GoalsRounds a day, such as 16, or a total count, such as 100,000
Round timeLast and average, chanting time only, and time left to a goal
FeedbackOptional bell at each round and optional vibration; both off by default
KeyboardSpace, Enter or + counts a bead; Ctrl+Z undoes
Where the count is keptThis browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere

How to use the online mala counter

Set how your rounds are counted once, then tap a bead at a time.

  1. Set what a round counts as

    Open Rounds, credit and goal and choose 100 or 108, whichever your teacher or tradition uses. The setting can be changed later without losing anything.

  2. Match the beads on your mala

    Leave it at 108, or choose 54 or 27 for a wrist mala; the counter then marks each lap on the way to a round of 108.

  3. Set a goal if you have one

    Rounds a day for a daily commitment such as 16, or a total count for an accumulation such as 100,000.

  4. Count a bead at a time

    Tap Count bead, or press Space, Enter or + on a keyboard, once per repetition. The count is saved with every tap.

  5. Turn the mala at 108

    At the 108th bead the round is tallied and the bell rings if you turned it on. Turn the mala at the guru bead and carry on; the next round starts at zero.

  6. Fix a slip

    Undo or Ctrl+Z takes back the last bead, or the last round, as many times as needed. It also brings back a reset made by mistake.

Who uses a mala counter

Anyone counting a mantra who wants the number kept for them, with or without real beads.

  • Daily japa

    A fixed number of rounds a day, such as sixteen, with the day’s tally starting again at midnight.

  • Mantra accumulations

    100,000 recitations for a ngöndro practice, or a lakh or sava lakh of a Hindu mantra, counted at your teacher’s convention.

  • Chanting on real beads

    Keep using your mala and press +1 round on beads at the guru bead, so only the rounds are kept here.

  • Travelling without a mala

    A phone in the hand does the bead count, with nothing to install and nothing to lose.

  • Wrist malas

    A 27- or 54-bead mala with each lap marked, so four laps of 27 still make one round of 108.

  • Group and retreat chanting

    A visible round count and an optional bell at each round, kept on one device.

  • Meditation with eyes closed

    Space or Enter counts a bead from anywhere on the page, and vibration confirms it without a sound.

  • Learning the practice

    What a round is, how many make a commitment, and how the counter beads on a mala work, on one page.

Is a round 100 or 108? What the sources say, and what it changes

The counter can count a round either way, but it cannot tell you which way is yours. Which convention applies, which mantra, and how many make up a commitment are for the teacher or the tradition that gave you the practice. This section sets out what the sources say, so the number on the screen means what you intend it to.

Every online mala counter in the search results counts 108 beads and starts the next round. None of them says what a round is worth, and that is the one thing practitioners genuinely count differently. A Tibetan guide to the mala says that going round 108 beads, “you are considered to have completed 100 mantra recitations”, the extra eight being spare “to make up for any miscounts or mistakes”. The Himalayan Institute, in the Hindu yoga tradition, says the same: “only one hundred repetitions are credited for a trip around”. Other accounts count every bead.

What one round of a 108-bead mala counts as, by source
SourceTraditionOne round counts asWhat it says
Yowangdu, “Malas: How to use Tibetan Prayer Beads”Tibetan Buddhist100The 8 extra beads are spare, for miscounts; the dorje and bell counters record up to 10,000
Himalayan Institute, “String of Pearls: How to Use a Mala”Hindu yoga100“Only one hundred repetitions are credited for a trip around”
Wikipedia, “Japamala”Tibetan counter strings108Each dorje-string bead records 108 (or 111) recitations, each bell-string bead 1,080 (or 1,110)
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, The Nectar of Instruction, text 5Gaudiya Vaishnava (ISKCON)108Rounds counted whole: sixty-four rounds are “one hundred thousand names”, and ISKCON prescribes sixteen rounds daily

The ISKCON figure checks out as arithmetic on whole rounds. The Hare Krishna maha-mantra has sixteen names, so one round of 108 is 1,728 names, sixteen rounds are 27,648, and sixty-four rounds are 110,592, just over the hundred thousand the purport names.

Why it matters: the same count, a different number of rounds

For a short daily practice the difference is invisible. For an accumulation, a count set in the thousands or the hundred-thousands, it is not. The Tibetan preliminary practices (ngöndro) ask for 100,000 of each, including 100,000 recitations of Vajrasattva’s hundred-syllable mantra, and a lakh (100,000) or a sava lakh (125,000) is a common target for a Hindu mantra:

Rounds of a 108-bead mala needed to reach a count, crediting each round as 100 or as 108
CountRounds at 100Rounds at 108DifferenceChanting time the difference is worth
1,00010100None
10,000100937About 50 minutes
100,000 (one lakh)1,00092674About 8 to 9 hours
125,000 (sava lakh)1,2501,15892About 10 to 11½ hours
1,000,000 (ten lakh)10,0009,260740About 83 to 92 hours

Rounds at 108 are rounded up, because a count is not reached until the round that reaches it is finished: 100,000 ÷ 108 is 925.9, so it takes 926. The time column uses 6¾ to 7½ minutes a round, the range two Vaishnava sources give (below). Set A round counts as to the convention you were given and the counter shows both figures side by side: Recited is every bead you counted, Credited is what those rounds are worth. Changing the setting re-prices the rounds already done rather than rewriting them, so nothing is lost by switching.

Under the 100 setting, beads 101 to 108 of a round in progress credit nothing, because they are the spare ones; they are still counted in Recited, and the round still turns at 108.

How the dorje and bell counter beads on a mala work

A Tibetan mala often carries two short strings of ten small beads, one ending in a miniature dorje (vajra) and the other in a bell, so the rounds themselves can be counted without a pencil. Yowangdu’s guide describes the method: after each round, pull one bead forward on the dorje string; after ten rounds, put the dorje beads back and move one bead on the bell string. With both strings, it says, “you can count up to 10,000 mantra recitations”. For more than that Wikipedia describes a third marker, the bhum counter, a small charm clipped to the main string and moved one bead along after every hundred rounds; bhum is Tibetan for one hundred thousand.

What each counter bead records, at 100 and at 108 a round
MarkerOne step meansAt 100 a roundAt 108 a round
A bead on the main stringOne recitation11
One dorje-string beadOne round100108
All ten dorje beadsTen rounds, then reset1,0001,080
One bell-string beadTen rounds1,0001,080
All ten bell beadsA hundred rounds10,00010,800
One step of the bhum counterA hundred rounds10,00010,800

The counter draws the same two strings under the totals. The dorje row fills one bead a round and empties at ten; the bell row fills one bead every ten rounds; the line below counts hundreds of rounds, which is the bhum counter’s job. The figure beside each row is what it currently holds at your credit setting, so a glance at the strings gives the same answer a glance at a physical mala would.

The counter strings are where the two conventions meet in practice. Yowangdu reads a full set as 10,000; Wikipedia reads each dorje bead as 108 or 111 recitations, which makes the same full set 10,800 or 11,100. The beads do not know which: the person moving them does.

The guru bead, turning the mala, and smaller malas

A mala usually has one larger bead where the two ends of the string meet, called the guru bead, sumeru, or mother bead. Wikipedia notes that it is not counted, and that using it to count a repetition is a common taboo. Counting starts at the bead beside it and ends at the bead on its other side.

At the end of a round, Wikipedia says practitioners in the Hindu tradition and some Buddhist traditions do not cross the guru bead but turn the mala around, so the last bead of one round becomes the first of the next. Yowangdu gives the reason Tibetans give: crossing it “is like stepping over your teacher”. Some teachers ask only for a pause there. The counter cannot see your beads, so it marks the moment instead: at the 108th bead it completes the round, tells you to turn the mala, rings the bell if it is on, and starts the next round at zero.

Small malas: 54, 27 and others

Malas also come in sizes that divide 108. Wikipedia lists 54, 27, 21 and smaller; Yowangdu describes a 27-bead wrist mala, often used during prostrations, that is “repeated 4 times” to make a round. Set Beads on your mala to match and the counter marks each lap, while a round stays 108:

Laps of a smaller mala that make up one round of 108
Beads on the malaLaps a roundWhere the counter marks a lap
1081At 108, the round itself
542At 54 and 108
274At 27, 54, 81 and 108
21Not a whole numberNot offered: 108 ÷ 21 is 5.14, so ask how your teacher counts it

If you chant on real beads and only want the rounds kept, ignore the bead count and press +1 round on beads each time you reach the guru bead. The rounds, today’s tally, the credited total and the counter strings all move exactly as they do for a tapped round.

How long a round takes, and planning 16 rounds or 100,000

How long a round takes depends on the mantra and the pace. Two Gaudiya Vaishnava sources put a round of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra at about 6¾ to 7½ minutes. “High Speed Japa: the Math” on Gaudiya Discussions (2004) takes a comfortable fast pace of about 3 seconds a mantra with a short breath after every two and arrives at 6 minutes 45 seconds; an ISKCON Desire Tree counsellor (2016) says four rounds take about 30 minutes. A short mantra goes faster, a long one slower. The counter measures yours: Last round and Average round (over the last ten) are chanting time, leaving out any gap of more than five minutes between beads, and once you set a goal it turns the rounds left into time at your own pace.

Days to reach 100,000 at a steady number of rounds a day
Rounds a dayAbout this long a day, at 7½ min a roundDays at 100 a roundDays at 108 a round
18 minutes1,000926
430 minutes250232
101 hour 15 minutes10093
162 hours6358
202½ hours5047
648 hours1615

Sixteen rounds is ISKCON’s fixed minimum; a purport to the Chaitanya Charitamrita (Antya 11.23) says it was set at sixteen “so that the Westerners will not feel burdened”. Sixty-four is the older standard of a hundred thousand names. For a sense of the whole, Wikipedia’s article on ngöndro estimates that the four Tibetan preliminaries, each done 100,000 times, can take about 1,500 hours.

Use Rounds a day for a daily commitment such as sixteen: the tally starts again at midnight on this device, and the goal line counts down to it. Use A total count for an accumulation such as 100,000: the goal line gives the rounds left at your credit setting and, after a round or two, the time they will take.

Sources: Yowangdu, Malas: How to use Tibetan Prayer Beads; Himalayan Institute, String of Pearls: How to Use a Mala; Wikipedia, Japamala; Wikipedia, Ngöndro; The Nectar of Instruction, text 5, purport; Chaitanya Charitamrita, Antya 11.23, purport; Gaudiya Discussions, High Speed Japa: the Math; ISKCON Desire Tree, how to chant. All read 2026-10-10.

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.

Online mala counter compared with the alternatives
FeatureThis online counterHandheld clickerCounter phone appPen and paperSpreadsheet
CostFree$5–$15Free with ads, or paidCost of paperSubscription
Anything to installNoBuy the deviceApp store downloadNoYes, or a web login
Several counts at onceUnlimitedOne per deviceUsually limitedYes, messyYes
Fix a miscountUndo and redoStart overSometimesCross it outEdit the cell
Counts by more than oneAny step sizeOne at a timeSometimesManual mathsYes
Below zeroYesNoRarelyYesYes
Keeps the count if you close itSaves automaticallyUntil you reset the dialYesIf you keep the paperYes
Works with no signalYes, after first loadYesYesYesOften not
Keyboard and shortcutsFullNoneNoneNonePartial
Sends your data anywhereNeverNeverOften, for accounts and adsNeverYes, 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.

Everyday6

The general-purpose counters: one number, many numbers, or counting on a timer.

Sport & scores29

Scoreboards that know the rules of their game, not just two numbers that go up.

Fitness & health6

Reps, laps, breaths and daily habits, where the count is part of the activity.

Work & field5

Counting that produces a record someone else relies on: stock, occupancy, lab work.

Faith2

Counts with their own rules about when a day turns over and what completes a set.

Frequently asked questions

Does one mala count as 100 or 108?

It depends on the tradition. A Tibetan guide on Yowangdu and the Himalayan Institute both credit a round of 108 beads as 100 repetitions, keeping eight spare for slips. Wikipedia’s account of the counter strings and ISKCON’s rounds count all 108. Ask the teacher who gave you the practice, then set A round counts as to match; the counter shows recited and credited totals.

How many malas is 100,000 mantras?

1,000 rounds if each round of 108 beads is credited as 100, or 926 if it is counted as all 108, since 100,000 divided by 108 is 925.9 and the last round has to be finished. At 6¾ to 7½ minutes a round that is roughly 105 to 125 hours of chanting, and the convention alone is worth 74 rounds, about eight to nine hours.

How many malas is 125,000 japa (sava lakh)?

1,250 rounds at 100 a round, or 1,158 rounds at 108 a round, because 125,000 divided by 108 is 1,157.4 and the final round must be finished. At ten rounds a day that is 125 days or 116 days. Choose A total count as the goal, enter 125000, and the counter shows the rounds left at your setting and, after a round or two, the time.

Why does a mala have 108 beads?

Explanations differ by tradition, and no single one is authoritative. A practical one from Tibetan practice is that 100 beads carry the count and the other eight are spare, to make up for miscounts. Vaishnava sources link 108 to the 108 Upanishads, and Buddhist sources to 108 afflictions. Smaller malas use factors of 108, such as 54 and 27, so a whole number of laps still makes a round.

Do you count the guru bead on a mala?

No. The guru bead, also called the sumeru or mother bead, is not counted: counting starts at the bead beside it and ends at the bead on its other side. In the Hindu tradition and some Buddhist ones you do not cross it either, but turn the mala around and go back the other way. This counter completes the round at the 108th bead, which is the moment to turn.

How long does it take to chant one mala?

Usually about five to eight minutes for 108 repetitions, depending on the mantra and the pace. One Gaudiya Vaishnava estimate gives 6 minutes 45 seconds for the Hare Krishna maha-mantra at a comfortable fast pace, and an ISKCON counsellor says four rounds take about 30 minutes. The counter times your own rounds, leaving out pauses over five minutes, and shows the average.

Why 16 rounds of japa?

Sixteen rounds a day is the minimum ISKCON fixed for its members. Prabhupada’s purports say the older standard was sixty-four rounds, one hundred thousand names, and that sixteen were prescribed because people in the West could not concentrate that long. Sixteen rounds are 1,728 repetitions of the maha-mantra. Set Rounds a day to 16 and the counter counts down to it.

How do the counter beads on a Tibetan mala work?

Two short strings of ten beads, one ending in a dorje and one in a bell, count rounds. After each round you move one dorje bead; after ten, you reset them and move one bell bead. Full strings record a hundred rounds, which is 10,000 at 100 a round or 10,800 at 108. The counter draws the same two strings beneath its totals.

Can I use it with a 27- or 54-bead wrist mala?

Yes. Set Beads on your mala to 27 or 54 and the counter marks each lap, at 27, 54, 81 and 108 for a 27-bead mala, while a round stays 108 repetitions. Four laps of a 27-bead mala or two of a 54 make one round. A 21-bead mala does not divide 108 evenly, so it is not offered.

Is my count private, and does it survive closing the page?

Yes to both. There is no account and no server: every bead is saved in this browser’s own storage the moment you tap, so locking the phone, closing the tab or losing signal costs nothing. Clearing site data or switching devices loses the count, so note large totals elsewhere too.

Counting guides

Longer answers to the questions behind the counting.

People also search for

Open the online mala counter

Free, no sign-up, and your counts stay in your own browser.