Minecraft – How Long Is the Day Cycle?

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So you spend your whole night mining and go explore during the day. But eventually, you will need to come home soon because dangerous hostile mobs can spawn and eliminate you at night.

Have you ever asked yourself: “How long is a Minecraft day?” Or how long can you play above the ground in Minecraft before it’s night?

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A Minecraft day will be exactly equal to 10 minutes in real life. The same for the night. So a Minecraft day or the day cycle is 20 minutes long.

Let’s dig deeper!


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How Long Is the Day Cycle in Minecraft?

There is a time difference between real life and Minecraft’s time. That’s why you only play for a while in the morning time and the night has already come. Indeed, time in Minecraft is 72 times faster than real-life time.

Minecraft Day Screenshot

A Minecraft’s basic time unit is Tick. And Minecraft can perform 20 ticks per second. Multiply this up, and a day cycle in Minecraft will have 20x20x60 equal to 24000 ticks. That’s why you see many people use the set time command with the tick number after it.

For example, /time set 18000 will make the time change to midnight. When the tick is between 0 and 12000, it will be daytime. And if the tick is between 12000 and 24000, surely the night is taking over!

Minecraft Night Screenshot

With that math above, we can also calculate the relevance between the real-time and Minecraft time. For example, 1 second in real life is equal to 1 minute and 12 seconds in Minecraft. You play Minecraft for an hour, and it’s actually 3 days in the game. What about 1 whole day? It’s already 72 days in the game!


Frequently Asked Questions

How long is a 1.18 Minecraft day?

In the previous version of Minecraft, the day cycle only last for 15 minutes. From the 1.8 updates and beyond, the day cycle in Minecraft is always at 20 minutes. It’s 10 minutes each for day and night in Minecraft.

How long is a Minecraft hour?

A Minecraft hour is only 50 seconds in real life. So save your time and go explore the world quickly!

How many Minecraft days are 100 hours?

If you play Minecraft for 100 hours like many YouTubers, it will be 7200 hours or 300 days in Minecraft.


And that’s how long the day cycle is in Minecraft! Take a drink and enjoy your 20 minutes of mining!

Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.

Binh Tran

As a game writer, my goal is to craft engaging, informative, and concise articles. Whether it's diving into the latest gaming trends or writing game guides, I'm always excited to share my insights with others.

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