How to calculate minutes between two dates in JavaScript?

In this article, you will understand how to calculate minutes between two dates in JavaScript.

The Date object works with dates and times. Date objects are created with new Date(). To calculate minutes between dates, we convert the time difference from milliseconds to minutes using mathematical operations.

Method 1: Using a Function

In this example, we create a reusable function to find the time difference in minutes.

function minutesDiff(dateTimeValue2, dateTimeValue1) {
   var differenceValue = (dateTimeValue2.getTime() - dateTimeValue1.getTime()) / 1000;
   differenceValue /= 60;
   return Math.abs(Math.round(differenceValue));
}

dateTimeValue1 = new Date(2020, 11, 12);
console.log("The first date time value is defined as: ", dateTimeValue1);

dateTimeValue2 = new Date(2020, 11, 13);
console.log("The second date time value is defined as: ", dateTimeValue2);

console.log("\nThe difference in the two date time values in minutes is: ");
console.log(minutesDiff(dateTimeValue1, dateTimeValue2));

The first date time value is defined as:  2020-12-12T00:00:00.000Z
The second date time value is defined as:  2020-12-13T00:00:00.000Z

The difference in the two date time values in minutes is: 
1440

How It Works

• Step 1 ? Define two date time values dateTimeValue1 and dateTimeValue2.

• Step 2 ? Define a function minutesDiff that takes two date values as parameters.

• Step 3 ? In the function, calculate the time difference by subtracting the date values and dividing it by 1000 (converts milliseconds to seconds). Divide the result again by 60 to get the minutes.

• Step 4 ? Use Math.abs() to get absolute value and Math.round() to round to nearest integer.

Method 2: Direct Calculation

In this example, we compute the time difference without functions for simpler cases.

dateTimeValue1 = new Date(2020, 11, 12);
console.log("The first date time value is defined as: ", dateTimeValue1);

dateTimeValue2 = new Date(2020, 11, 13);
console.log("The second date time value is defined as: ", dateTimeValue2);

console.log("\nThe difference in the two date time values in minutes is: ");
var differenceValue = (dateTimeValue2.getTime() - dateTimeValue1.getTime()) / 1000;
differenceValue /= 60;
let result = Math.abs(Math.round(differenceValue));
console.log(result);

The first date time value is defined as:  2020-12-12T00:00:00.000Z
The second date time value is defined as:  2020-12-13T00:00:00.000Z

The difference in the two date time values in minutes is: 
1440

Working with Time Components

Here's an example calculating minutes between specific times on the same day:

// Same day, different times
let startTime = new Date(2024, 0, 15, 10, 30, 0); // 10:30 AM
let endTime = new Date(2024, 0, 15, 14, 45, 0);   // 2:45 PM

let minutesDifference = (endTime.getTime() - startTime.getTime()) / (1000 * 60);

console.log("Start time:", startTime.toLocaleTimeString());
console.log("End time:", endTime.toLocaleTimeString());
console.log("Minutes difference:", minutesDifference);

Start time: 10:30:00 AM
End time: 2:45:00 PM
Minutes difference: 255

Key Points

• getTime() returns milliseconds since January 1, 1970 UTC

• Divide by 1000 to convert milliseconds to seconds

• Divide by 60 to convert seconds to minutes

• Use Math.abs() to ensure positive result regardless of date order

• Use Math.round() to get whole minutes

Conclusion

Calculating minutes between dates involves getting the time difference in milliseconds using getTime() and converting to minutes by dividing by 60,000. Use functions for reusable code or direct calculation for simple cases.