BPM to Milliseconds
Works both ways. Enter a tempo to get milliseconds, or a millisecond value to get the tempo back.
Beats per minute, 20 to 400.
Type here to convert back to BPM.
Four beats of 4/4, pulsing at the tempo shown.
- Per beat
- ms
- Per bar (4/4)
- ms
- Frequency
- Hz
- 1/8 delay
- ms
To convert BPM to milliseconds, divide 60,000 by the tempo. At 120 BPM that gives 500 ms per beat; at 128 BPM it gives 468.75 ms. To go the other way, divide 60,000 by the millisecond value. The converter below works in both directions and covers every note division.
Every division at 120 BPM
Straight, dotted and triplet values for each division. Dotted is one and a half times the straight value; triplet is two thirds of it.
| Note | Straight | Dotted | Triplet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note 1/1 | |||
| Half note 1/2 | |||
| Quarter note 1/4 | |||
| Eighth note 1/8 | |||
| Sixteenth 1/16 | |||
| Thirty-second 1/32 | |||
| Sixty-fourth 1/64 |
All values in milliseconds.
The formula
milliseconds per beat = 60000 ÷ BPM
A minute contains 60,000 milliseconds. BPM tells you how many beats share that minute, so dividing gives the length of one beat. At 120 BPM that is 500 ms.
This is a definition, not an approximation. At 120 BPM a beat is exactly 500 ms; at 128 BPM exactly 468.75 ms. Any rounding you see is display formatting.
Going the other way
BPM = 60000 ÷ milliseconds per beat
A 400 ms beat is 150 BPM. Useful when you have a delay time you like on a piece of hardware and want to know what tempo it corresponds to.
Bars, not just beats. Multiply by the beats in a bar. In 4/4 at 120 BPM that is 2000 ms per bar — the number the song length calculator builds on.
Need every value at once?
The main BPM calculator shows milliseconds, delay times, reverb ranges, hertz and bar length together, updating from a single tempo.
Understand the maths
Milliseconds per beat equals 60,000 divided by BPM, because there are 60,000 milliseconds in a minute and BPM counts beats in that minute. Every other note value scales from there: halve it for an eighth note, multiply by 1.5 for dotted, by two thirds for triplet.
Common questions
What is the formula to convert BPM to milliseconds?
Milliseconds per beat equals 60,000 divided by BPM. There are 60,000 milliseconds in a minute, and BPM tells you how many beats share that minute.
How many milliseconds is a beat at 120 BPM?
Exactly 500 ms. A bar of 4/4 at that tempo lasts 2,000 ms, an eighth note 250 ms, and a sixteenth 125 ms.
How do I convert milliseconds back to BPM?
Divide 60,000 by the millisecond value. A 400 ms beat is 150 BPM. The converter above accepts input in either direction.
Related tools and guides
- Delay Time Calculator Tempo-synced delay times in milliseconds for every note division, including dotted and triplet values, with notes on what each one does. Tool
- BPM to Hertz Converter Convert tempo to frequency in hertz for LFOs, tremolo and any modulation rate set in Hz rather than note values. Covers every note division. Converter
- BPM Calculator Tap a tempo and get every value it drives: milliseconds per beat, delay and reverb times, hertz, frames and bar length. Free, instant, no sign-up.
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