Rounds per Minute Calculator (fire rate, shot interval & DPS for games)

Understanding the rounds per minute calculator — concept and principle

Games often list a weapon's fire rate in rounds per minute (RPM). This calculator turns that into the time between shots, rounds per second and the time to empty a magazine, then adds the reload to find the sustained fire rate and, if you enter damage per hit, the damage per second with and without reloads.

30 rounds take 3 s, plus a 2.5 s reload: 327 rounds per minute over time.

How it is calculated

Interval = 60 ÷ RPM seconds

Rounds per second = RPM ÷ 60

Time to empty a magazine of n rounds = (n − 1) × interval

Full cycle = n × interval + reload time

Sustained rate = n ÷ cycle × 60 rounds per minute

DPS while firing = damage × RPM ÷ 60; DPS incl. reloads = damage × sustained rate ÷ 60

Damage per hit is optional; enter 0 to skip DPS.

The principle

A fire rate is a frequency, and the time between events is its inverse: 600 per minute means one every tenth of a second. The first round leaves at time zero, so a magazine of n rounds is emptied after n − 1 intervals. In practice a weapon cannot fire continuously because it must reload, so the useful rate over a long fight is the number of rounds per full cycle of firing plus reloading. Damage per second scales directly with how many hits land per second, which is why reload time can cut long-fight DPS sharply.

Worked example

Default inputs: 600 RPM, 30-round magazine, 2.5 s reload, 25 damage per hit.

Interval = 60 ÷ 600 = 0.1 s = 100 ms; 10 rounds per second.
Time to empty = (30 − 1) × 0.1 = 2.9 s.
Full cycle = 30 × 0.1 + 2.5 = 5.5 s.
Sustained rate = 30 ÷ 5.5 × 60 = 327.3 rounds/min.
DPS while firing = 25 × 10 = 250; DPS including reloads = 25 × 327.3 ÷ 60 = 136.4.

Each point is the calculator re-run with only “Fire rate (rounds per minute)” changed; the gold point is the default example. Change the inputs above and this chart follows your numbers.

Fire rate (rounds per minute)	Time between shots (ms)
150	400
300	200
450	133.3
600	100
750	80
900	66.7
1,200	50

How to read the result

Burst DPS (while firing) matters most in short engagements where you rarely empty the magazine. Sustained DPS including reloads matters in long fights or against high-health targets. Comparing both shows whether a larger magazine or a faster reload helps more. In this example, reloading takes almost half of each cycle.

Common mistakes

Assuming every shot hits; real accuracy lowers effective DPS.
Ignoring headshot multipliers, damage fall-off with range and armour.
Using n × interval instead of (n − 1) × interval for the time to empty a magazine.
Forgetting that some games add a delay before the first shot or after a reload.

Keep in mind: Results depend on game data that may change with patches. The calculation is for games and uses no real-world firearm data.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert RPM to time between shots?

Divide 60 by the RPM; 600 RPM is 0.1 s or 100 ms between shots.

Why does reload time matter so much?

During a reload no damage is dealt, so it lowers the average over a long fight.

Which is better, higher fire rate or higher damage?

For the same DPS, higher damage per hit is often more forgiving of misses; it depends on the game.

What is time to kill?

The time needed to deal enough damage to defeat a target, which follows from damage per hit, fire rate and accuracy.

Sources: BIPM, The International System of Units (SI Brochure), 9th edition (2019), Table 8 (1 min = 60 s); game values come from the game you play

Checked 9 Nov 2026. Unit arithmetic: 1 min = 60 s (BIPM, The International System of Units, 9th ed. 2019, Table 8). Fire rates, magazine sizes, reload times and damage values come from the game you play.

Your numbers