Tap along to read a beat's BPM, or drop in a song and have its tempo detected, with a click track to check it by ear. Everything is worked out in your browser and no audio is uploaded.
BPM Counter – Tap Tempo Online
Tap along to read a beat's BPM, or drop in a song and have its tempo detected, with a click track to check it by ear. Everything is worked out in your browser and no audio is uploaded.
Taps and songs are processed on your device. An analysed file is read in your browser tab and dropped when you close or reload the page, and only your averaging, reset and click-volume choices are remembered in this browser.
The BPM Counter finds a tempo in two ways. In Tap mode you press the pad, the space bar, Enter or any letter key in time with the music. Each tap is stamped with the exact moment of the press, and the BPM is the average gap over your last 4, 8, 16 or all taps, with a missed or doubled tap ignored. You also get the tempo marking, milliseconds per beat, half and double time, a stability meter and a table of delay times for common note lengths. In Analyze mode you drop in a song; the loudest minute after its intro is searched for a repeating pulse, and you see a BPM, a confidence rating, other tempos to try and the first beat. Check by ear plays the song with a click on every beat. Songs are decoded and analysed on your device; nothing is uploaded.
Features
A tap pad that reads the exact time of each press, so fast tapping is never lost
Space, Enter or any letter key except R also taps, and R or Esc starts a new count
Tempo from the last 4, 8, 16 or all taps, ignoring a missed tap, with a stability meter
BPM to one decimal and rounded, the classical tempo marking, milliseconds per beat, half time and double time
A delay table in milliseconds and hertz for 1/4, dotted, triplet, 1/16 and 1/32 notes, one click to copy
Song analysis for MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG and FLAC files, using the loudest minute after the intro
A confidence rating, half-time and double-time alternatives you can pick, and the time of the first beat
Check by ear plays the song with a click on every beat so you can hear whether the tempo fits
How to use the BPM Counter
On the Tap tab, tap the pad or press Space, Enter or any letter key except R in time with the music
Read the BPM from your second tap on, keep going for a few seconds, and press R or Esc to start a new count
Or open Analyze a song and drop in an audio file to detect its tempo
If the number feels half or double, pick that tempo and press Check by ear to hear the clicks against the song
Copy the BPM, or copy a delay time in milliseconds for your effects
Example
Input
Tap mode, average of the last 8 taps
8 taps on the beat of a track, about 470 ms apart
Output
127.6 BPM (Allegro) · 470 ms per beat · half time 63.8 · double time 255.2
Stability: Rock steady
1/8 note 235 ms · 1/8 dotted 353 ms · 1/16 note 118 ms
The tempo is the average gap between the latest taps; the delay times follow from it, so a 1/8 note is half a beat.
Common errors & troubleshooting
The BPM looks far too slow or too fast for the song. — Most songs fit a beat counted at half or double speed. Use the half time and double time values, or in Analyze mode pick another tempo and press Check by ear to hear which one lines up.
The number keeps moving while I tap. — It averages your latest taps, so a late tap shifts it a little. Choose Last 16 or All taps for a steadier figure, and watch the stability meter to see how even your taps are.
Nothing shows after my first tap. — A tempo is the gap between two taps, so it appears from the second one. If you pause longer than the reset time, the next tap starts a new count instead of adding to the old one.
A song gets low confidence or a surprising number. — Detection needs a steady pulse. Songs without drums, with tempo changes or with a loose feel are hard, so tap along to the part you care about or try another file.
Frequently asked questions
How many taps does the BPM Counter need for an accurate BPM?
Two taps give a first figure, but around eight make it dependable. The BPM Counter averages the gaps between your latest taps and ignores one that is far off the rest, such as a missed tap. Over 8 to 16 steady taps the result usually agrees to within a BPM or two, and the stability meter shows how even your taps were.
How does the BPM Counter find the tempo of a song, and when is it wrong?
It decodes the file on your device, takes the loudest minute after the intro, measures how strongly the pulse repeats and refines the tempo to a fraction of a BPM. It can land on half or double the tempo you would tap, because both fit the same rhythm, so those alternatives are listed. Songs that change tempo, or have no steady drums or bass, are harder and get a lower confidence.
What is the difference between the BPM Counter and the Online Metronome?
The BPM Counter measures a tempo from your taps or from a song, while the Online Metronome plays a steady click at a tempo you choose. Find the BPM here, then open the metronome to practise or to keep time with a recording.
Which BPM ranges are typical for each genre when I use the BPM Counter?
As broad guides: ballads sit around 60 to 80 BPM, hip-hop 70 to 100, pop 100 to 130, house 120 to 130, techno 125 to 150, rock 100 to 140 and drum and bass 160 to 180. Dubstep is often 140 but felt at 70. Individual songs vary, so treat these as ranges, not rules.
How do I turn a BPM into delay times with the BPM Counter?
The table under the pad does it for you at the tapped tempo. A quarter note lasts 60,000 divided by the BPM in milliseconds, a dotted note is one and a half times its plain length and a triplet eighth is two thirds of an eighth. At 120 BPM a quarter is 500 ms and a dotted eighth is 375 ms.
Does the BPM Counter upload the song I analyse?
No. The file is read and decoded inside your browser tab and the tempo is calculated on your device, so the audio is never sent anywhere. Reloading or closing the page discards it. Tap mode uses only the time of each press.
Related tools
Metronome — A steady click from 20 to 300 BPM with time signatures, subdivisions, accents and tap tempo.
Guitar Tuner — Tune a guitar, bass, ukulele or violin with your microphone or by ear, with chromatic mode and presets.
Virtual Piano — Play a piano keyboard with mouse, touch or computer keys, with sustain, several sounds, recording and MIDI export.
Tone Generator — Generate sine, square, sawtooth and triangle tones from 1 Hz to 20 kHz, with sweeps and left or right channel control.
Audio Converter — Convert audio between MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A and OGG with bitrate control.
Audio Trimmer — Cut a clip from an audio file with optional fades, losslessly where possible.
Countdown Timer — Set hours, minutes and seconds and get an alarm when time is up — presets, full screen and a share link.
Stopwatch — A stopwatch with laps, splits and CSV export that keeps true time in a background tab.
More Music tools
Tone Generator — Generate sine, square, sawtooth and triangle tones from 1 Hz to 20 kHz, with sweeps and left or right channel control.
Metronome — A steady click from 20 to 300 BPM with time signatures, subdivisions, accents and tap tempo.
Guitar Tuner — Tune a guitar, bass, ukulele or violin with your microphone or by ear, with chromatic mode and presets.
Virtual Piano — Play a piano keyboard with mouse, touch or computer keys, with sustain, several sounds, recording and MIDI export.