Zoom timer overlay: 4 ways to show a countdown everyone in the meeting can see

Published October 16, 2026

Zoom's built-in meeting timer is only visible to you, so it doesn't help a speaker who is running over. This guide compares four ways to show a countdown that everyone in a Zoom meeting can see, and explains how to keep the timer on screen with spotlight and pin.

First: Zoom’s built-in meeting timer is only for you

Zoom has a setting called Show meeting timer (in the desktop app: your profile picture → Settings → Meetings & webinars). It shows how long you’ve been in the meeting, and for scheduled meetings, the time remaining. Zoom’s help says these timers are only visible to you, so they won’t keep a speaker on time.

To show the time left to everyone, you need one of the methods below.

Four ways compared

Method	Who sees it	Slides at the same time?	Watch out for
Zoom’s Timer app	Everyone (when you turn on Show timer to all)	Yes	The shared countdown is small, in a corner of the meeting window. One timer at a time
Share a timer window	Everyone	No, it takes the screen share	The speaker can’t share slides while the timer is shared
OBS virtual camera	Everyone, as a video tile	Yes	Takes time to set up, and it usually replaces your own camera
negotimer for Windows	Everyone, as its own participant tile	Yes	Windows 11 only. The host has to admit the timer like a guest

1. Zoom’s Timer app

Zoom makes a Timer app that you add from the Zoom App Marketplace. According to Zoom’s help:

It needs a Zoom account and the Zoom desktop app for Windows or macOS (version 5.14.10 or later). Your administrator may also need to allow the app’s address on your network
In a meeting, open Apps, open Timer, set the time, turn on Show timer to all, and click Start
The person who set the timer sees a large countdown in the corner of their video tile. Everyone else sees a smaller countdown in the top right corner of the meeting window
When time is up, it shows a visual alert, with an optional sound

If all you need is one countdown in a Zoom meeting, try this first. It is less suited to events where everyone has to notice the time at a glance, or where each talk has several stages (pitch, Q&A, changeover).

Open a timer in your browser and share that window. Our giant countdown timer fills the window with large digits, so it stays readable even in a small Zoom window.

The catch is that the share is taken by the timer. Zoom does have a host setting, Multiple participants can share simultaneously (the arrow next to Share → Host tools for share), but Zoom’s help says that viewers with one monitor see only the first shared screen and have to switch between shares with View Options. That’s fine for rounds without slides, such as self-introductions, but awkward for pitches with slides.

3. OBS virtual camera

OBS Studio is free software that can turn anything on your screen into a “camera”. Add a timer window as a source, click Start Virtual Camera in the Controls dock, and choose OBS’s virtual camera as your camera in Zoom.

It’s flexible, but it takes some setting up, and if you pick it as your own camera, your face is replaced by the timer. To keep your face on screen too, you need a second Zoom participant, such as another device, to show the OBS camera.

4. negotimer for Windows: a timer that joins as a participant

The Windows version of negotimer registers itself with Windows as a camera and sends the timer into your meeting as a separate guest. You stay in the meeting with your own camera, and the timer gets a tile of its own.

Start negotimer on your Windows PC and choose a run sheet (pitch time, Q&A, changeover)
Join the Zoom meeting yourself as usual, from the Zoom desktop app
In negotimer, enter the Zoom meeting ID (and passcode) and press Send the timer in. A dedicated browser window opens and the timer joins as a guest
The first time, the browser asks for camera access. Allow the camera only and pick negotimer
Admit the timer from the waiting room if your meeting uses one, and press Start in negotimer when you’re ready

Because the timer joins from a browser, the meeting host’s Zoom account needs Show a “Join from your browser” link turned on. Zoom’s help says this setting is on by default, and that the link isn’t shown when the host has end-to-end encryption turned on. If the timer can’t join, check those two settings.

Your slides stay on the screen share, and the timer is never hidden behind them
The tile turns green at ten seconds left, yellow at three, and red with “Time is up” at zero, so the time left gets across even with everyone muted
Start, pause, skip to the next stage, or add and remove 30 seconds from your own screen
Recording (Pro, a one-time purchase) saves your voice and the meeting audio together in one file

We checked version 1.2.8 in real Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet meetings on October 14, 2026.

Get negotimer for Windows (free)

Requires Windows 11 or later. Free to install. The installer isn't code-signed, so Windows shows a "Windows protected your PC" screen during installation. The Windows page walks you through it.

Keep the timer tile on screen: spotlight and pin

Once the timer is in the meeting as a video tile (method 3 or 4), Zoom’s own layout tools keep it in view.

Spotlight for everyone: the host or a co-host hovers over the timer’s video, clicks the three-dot menu, and selects Spotlight for everyone. The timer then stays on screen for all participants. Zoom’s help says you need at least three participants with video on, and you can spotlight up to nine videos. To spotlight the speaker as well, use Add spotlight on the speaker’s video
Pin: you can hover over the timer’s video, click the three-dot menu, and select Pin. Pinning changes only your own view, so ask speakers to pin the timer themselves. They need the time left more than anyone

On a Mac or iPhone?

Tile-in-the-meeting (method 4) is a Windows-only feature of negotimer. It isn’t available in the Mac, iPhone or Android versions.

On a Mac, Zoom’s Timer app (method 1) works in the Zoom desktop app for macOS
For rounds without slides, share our browser-based giant countdown timer (method 2). It runs in any browser, with nothing to install
negotimer for iPhone and Android is built for in-person events: put the phone where the speaker can see it

Summary

Zoom’s built-in meeting timer is only visible to you
For one simple countdown, Zoom’s Timer app is the easiest place to start
When slides need the screen share, show the timer as a video tile instead, and spotlight it
Online, colour gets through better than sound

Zoom is a trademark of Zoom Communications, Inc. Microsoft Teams is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. Google Meet is a trademark of Google LLC. negotimer is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them. Menu names follow Zoom's help center as of October 2026 and may differ slightly between versions of the Zoom app.

Put the timer in the meeting.

The Windows version of negotimer joins Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams as a participant tile (Windows 11 or later, free to install). The phone version runs on iPhone and Android.

See the Windows version ・ See the negotimer page ・ More guides