diff --git a/include/villas/timing.h b/include/villas/timing.h
index c005fee19..1dcbc0b51 100644
--- a/include/villas/timing.h
+++ b/include/villas/timing.h
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@
 extern "C" {
 #endif
 
+/** Compare two timestamps. Return zero if they are equal */
+ssize_t time_cmp(const struct timespec *a, const struct timespec *b);
+
 /** Get delta between two timespec structs */
 struct timespec time_diff(const struct timespec *start, const struct timespec *end);
 
diff --git a/lib/timing.c b/lib/timing.c
index 4ac408a25..915f94265 100644
--- a/lib/timing.c
+++ b/lib/timing.c
@@ -48,6 +48,14 @@ struct timespec time_add(const struct timespec *start, const struct timespec *en
 	return sum;
 }
 
+ssize_t time_cmp(const struct timespec *a, const struct timespec *b)
+{
+	ssize_t sd = a->tv_sec - b->tv_sec;
+	ssize_t nsd = a->tv_nsec - b->tv_nsec;
+
+	return sd != 0 ? sd : nsd;
+}
+
 struct timespec time_diff(const struct timespec *start, const struct timespec *end)
 {
 	struct timespec diff = {