Free egg boiling time calculator. Pick egg size, doneness and altitude for perfect soft, jammy or hard-boiled eggs.
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Enter your values and press Calculate.
This calculator starts from tested base times for a large egg lowered into already-boiling water at sea level: 6.5 minutes for soft, 7.5 for jammy, 9 for medium and 11.5 for hard. It then adjusts for egg size, adds 1.5 minutes for fridge-cold eggs, and adds one minute per 1,000 feet of altitude because water boils cooler higher up. Start the timer when the water returns to a full boil after the eggs go in, and move the eggs to an ice bath the moment it ends.
The calculator uses a boiling-water start: eggs lowered gently into a rolling boil, then timed from the moment the water returns to a boil. The base times assume a large egg at room temperature at sea level, matching widely tested timing charts: soft 6.5 minutes (runny yolk), jammy 7.5 minutes (custardy yolk), medium 9 minutes (mostly set yolk) and hard 11.5 minutes (fully set yolk). Size adjustments are simple: subtract 1 minute for small eggs or 30 seconds for medium, add 30 seconds for extra large and 1 minute for jumbo. Fridge-cold eggs get an extra 1.5 minutes. Altitude adds one minute per 1,000 feet, so at 5,000 feet a hard-boiled large egg takes about 16.5 minutes instead of 11.5. These timings target common preferences; your stove, pot size and batch size can shift results by up to a minute, so adjust in 30-second steps once you find your kitchen's sweet spot. Put together, these base times form a simple boiling time chart you can keep on the fridge: soft 6.5, jammy 7.5, medium 9 and hard 11.5 minutes for a large egg at room temperature and sea level, before size, fridge and altitude adjustments.
Pick your yolk doneness first: soft for a runny yolk, jammy for a custardy center, medium for a mostly set yolk, or hard for a fully set yolk. Select the egg size printed on your carton, from small through jumbo. Choose whether the eggs start at room temperature or straight from the fridge. Enter your altitude in feet; if you are unsure, most online maps show elevation, and sea level is 0. Read the total boiling time in minutes and seconds, lower the eggs into boiling water, start the timer when the water returns to a full boil, and plunge the eggs into an ice bath when it ends.
A hot start means lowering eggs into already-boiling water. It gives the most repeatable doneness because the timer runs from a fixed water temperature, and this calculator's base times assume it. A cold start means placing eggs in cold water and bringing the pot to a boil together. It is gentler on the shells and can make peeling easier, but timing is less precise because the water heats over several minutes and the egg cooks at an unknown rate during the ramp-up. As a starting point, add about 1 minute to the hot-start times if you use a cold start, then tune by 30 seconds for your next batch. Steaming over boiling water is a third option with times about 30 seconds longer than a hot start.
Water boils at a lower temperature the higher you go, roughly 1 degree Fahrenheit less per 500 feet of elevation. At 5,000 feet water boils around 202 degrees instead of 212, so eggs cook more slowly and sea-level charts undercook them. Common adjustment bands used by extension services: sea level to 2,000 feet needs no change; 2,000 to 5,000 feet needs about 1 extra minute; 5,000 to 8,000 feet needs 2 to 3 extra minutes; above 8,000 feet add up to 4 minutes and keep the pot covered. This calculator applies the adjustment smoothly at one minute per 1,000 feet of altitude, which lands inside every published band for both soft and hard eggs. If you live above 7,500 feet and eggs still come out underdone, test one egg and add 30 seconds at a time.
The ice bath is non-negotiable: as soon as the timer ends, move the eggs into ice water for at least 5 minutes. It stops carryover cooking that would turn a jammy yolk hard, and it prevents the green-gray iron sulfide ring that forms between yolk and white when eggs are overcooked or cooled slowly. Slightly older eggs, 7 to 10 days in the fridge, peel far more cleanly than very fresh ones because their albumen pH rises with age. Never crowd the pot; dropping many cold eggs into a small pot of boiling water can stall the boil and add 30 to 60 seconds of uneven cooking. Keep the water at a gentle simmer rather than a violent rolling boil to avoid cracking. Food safety note: eggs served runny or jammy are undercooked; this calculator is for general guidance, and if you cook for young children, pregnant people or anyone with a weakened immune system, choose hard-boiled.
For a large egg lowered into boiling water at sea level, about 6.5 minutes for soft, 7.5 for jammy, 9 for medium and 11.5 for hard. Egg size, fridge-cold eggs and altitude shift these times, so use the calculator for your exact settings.
About 6.5 minutes for a large egg in boiling water, which sets the white and keeps the yolk runny. Use room-temperature eggs or add 1.5 minutes for fridge-cold eggs, and start the timer when the water returns to a full boil.
About 11.5 minutes for a large egg in boiling water, then straight into an ice bath. Cooking much longer dries the yolk and can form the green-gray ring around it.
Start the timer when the water returns to a full boil after the eggs go in, using the hot-start method. If you use a cold start (eggs in cold water brought to a boil), timing begins from the boil, and you should add about 1 extra minute.
Both work. Boiling-water start gives more repeatable doneness and is what this calculator assumes. Cold-water start produces easier-to-peel eggs but needs about 1 extra minute and is less precise.
Water boils at a lower temperature at higher elevations, so eggs cook more slowly. Above about 2,000 feet, add time: roughly one extra minute per 1,000 feet of altitude, which this calculator applies automatically.
Very fresh eggs cling to the shell because their albumen pH is low. Use eggs that are 7 to 10 days old, start them in already-boiling water, and ice-bath them immediately for the cleanest peels.
The green-gray ring is iron sulfide, formed when iron in the yolk reacts with sulfur in the white during overcooking or slow cooling. Prevent it by timing the eggs correctly and moving them into an ice bath the moment the timer ends.
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