A study timer that pays you to focus.
StudySalary is a free online study timer where every completed session earns virtual salary. Customize your timer, invest your earnings in a simulated stock portfolio, and watch your net worth grow a whole Study City — making your study habit feel rewarding from day one.
Free · No sign-up required · Guest mode available
▲ Market
How the study timer works
Set your session
Choose your focus duration, break length, and hourly rate. Start the timer when you're ready — it runs in the background so you can switch tabs freely.
Earn when you finish
Complete the full session to collect your virtual salary. Resets and skips pay nothing. Showing up is what counts — just like a real job.
Invest your earnings
Put your salary to work in a simulated portfolio of real stock tickers with delayed market data and historical charts. Watch it grow across sessions.
Most timers just count down.
This one pays you.
The only difference between this and a bare countdown is what happens at the end. When the session finishes, a payday stamp lands, your Salary Cat celebrates, and your earnings hit the bank. That moment — small as it is — is what makes studying feel worth it today, not just at graduation.
Customizable Pomodoro sessions, ambient sounds, automatic break management, daily shift goals, streaks, and a full activity dashboard — all free, all in your browser.
The bigger picture
Your study economy.
Your focus becomes income.
Your income becomes investments.
Your investments become a city.
Your city becomes a reason to come back.
Study with your cat
Earn salary
Invest earnings
Grow your city
Decorate & repeat
Who it's for
Any session that deserves to feel rewarded.
From 25-minute Pomodoro sprints to 3-hour deep-work blocks — if it takes sustained focus, the timer has your back.
Questions about the study timer
- What makes this study timer different from a plain countdown?
- When the timer ends, most apps play a ding. StudySalary pays you. Every completed session earns virtual salary at your chosen rate, which you can invest in a simulated portfolio of real stock tickers. The payday is the thing that makes you actually want to come back tomorrow.
- How long should a study timer session be?
- Research on the Pomodoro Technique suggests 25-minute sessions with 5-minute breaks for most people. For deep work or exam prep, 45–90 minutes works better. StudySalary lets you set any session length in Settings — the default is 25 minutes but there's no single right answer.
- Does the timer keep running if I switch browser tabs?
- Yes. The timer records your expected end-time rather than counting ticks, so switching tabs, minimising the window, or even sleeping your screen doesn't affect accuracy. The browser tab title shows a live countdown so you can glance at it without switching back.
- What happens when the session finishes?
- A payday stamp lands, your Salary Cat celebrates, and you see the breakdown: base salary, any streak bonus, auto-invest results, and new badges. Then it automatically transitions to a break timer (or the next session, if autostart is on).
- Can I set custom session and break lengths?
- Yes. Settings lets you change focus duration, short break, long break, long-break interval, hourly rate, daily shift goal, and whether breaks and next sessions auto-start. Every preference saves locally and syncs to cloud if you sign in.
- Can I track how many hours I've studied overall?
- Yes. The Dashboard shows today's salary, total shifts, lifetime earnings, streak, and a full activity feed with every session logged. Portfolio and city screens show how your study hours have compounded into net worth over time.
- Do I need to pay or create an account?
- No to both. Guest mode is the default — start studying with one click, no email, no card. Sign in optionally (Google or magic link) to sync across devices. Nothing about the core timer is ever locked behind a paywall.
- Can I use this study timer on my phone?
- Yes. StudySalary is a responsive Progressive Web App. It works in any browser, and you can install it to your phone home screen for a full-screen, app-like experience that launches instantly.
Your Salary Cat is waiting to clock in.
No sign-up. No credit card. Start studying — and earning — in under a minute.
Simulated salary & investments — no real cash value. Market data delayed. Not financial advice.