Time Complexity Estimator Calculator

Work out time complexity estimator instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Time Complexity Estimator Calculator

Multiplying the asymptotic operation count by the time per operation gives a rough run-time estimate. The doubling factor shows how badly the algorithm degrades: quadratic work quadruples, cubic work grows eightfold.

Formula

Run time estimate

time ≈ operation count ÷ operations per second

Worked example

With the default values below, Time Complexity Estimator Calculator returns Estimated run time of 0.016610. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Input size nminimum 1: 100,000
Complexity classone of O(log n), O(n), O(n log n), O(n²), O(n³): O(n log n)
Operations per secondminimum 1: 100,000,000

Results

Estimated run time: 0.016610 s
Estimated operations: 1,660,964
In minutes: 0.000277
Work multiplier if n doubles: 2.1204

Step by step

1Values used
2Run time estimate
3Estimated run time= 0.016610 s
4Estimated operations= 1,660,964
5In minutes= 0.000277
6Work multiplier if n doubles= 2.1204

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 6 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sorting 100000 items at 10⁸ operations per second?

n log n ≈ 1.66 million operations, about 0.0166 seconds.

How accurate is this?

Only to an order of magnitude. Cache behaviour, branch prediction and constant factors easily shift the real time by 10× or more.