my $date1 = "2014/01/25 23:11:14"; my $date2 = "2014/01/26 00:30:37"; use Date::Manip::Date 6.23; my $do1 = Date::Manip::Date->new($date1); my $do2 = $do1->new($date2); my $delta = $do1->calc($do2); # If you want a human-readable string: print $delta->printf("The difference is %mym minutes, %sss seconds.\n"); # If you want the number of minutes and seconds as separate numbers: my($delta_min, $delta_sec) = $delta->printf("%mym", "%sss");