Convert time between any two time zones instantly. Schedule across the globe with ease.
Select your source time zone from the "From" dropdown, enter the time and date you want to convert, then select the destination time zone. The result shows instantly in the display panel below the inputs.
Use the swap button (⇄) to quickly reverse the conversion. The world clocks section at the bottom shows the current local time in major cities around the globe, updating every second.
There are 38 standard time zones in the world (and several more if you count partial-hour offsets), ranging from UTC−12 to UTC+14. For anyone working internationally, scheduling meetings across continents, or traveling, understanding how to convert between time zones accurately — including the effects of Daylight Saving Time — is an essential practical skill.
UTC and offset-based time zones: Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the global time standard against which all other time zones are measured. Time zones are expressed as offsets: Eastern Standard Time is UTC−5, meaning it is 5 hours behind UTC. Central European Time is UTC+1. When DST is in effect, these offsets shift by one hour — Eastern Daylight Time becomes UTC−4. This is why the "time difference" between New York and London changes from 5 hours in winter to 4 hours in summer.
Daylight Saving Time complications: Not all countries observe DST, and those that do don't necessarily change clocks on the same date. The US and Canada switch in early March and early November; most of Europe switches in late March and late October. This means there is a period of 2–3 weeks each spring and autumn when the time difference between these regions shifts by an extra hour compared to the rest of the year. Our converter uses IANA timezone data to handle DST transitions automatically.
The international date line: The 180th meridian roughly marks the International Date Line, where the calendar date changes. Crossing from west to east subtracts one day; crossing east to west adds one day. This is why a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney departing on Monday can arrive on Wednesday, even though the journey takes ~15 hours — you cross the date line and "lose" a day. Some time zones (like UTC+14 in Kiribati) actually sit a full day ahead of UTC−12, meaning they share the same time but are two calendar days apart.
Best practices for scheduling international meetings: When arranging calls across time zones, always specify the timezone explicitly — saying "2pm" without a timezone is ambiguous. Use a reference timezone that all parties know (UTC is universal; EST is useful for US-heavy teams). Tools like our time zone converter let you check what 2pm UTC corresponds to for each participant. Early morning in the US (8–10am EST) overlaps with afternoon in Europe (2–4pm CET) and is a commonly used meeting window for transatlantic teams.
Time zone abbreviations to know: EST (UTC−5) and EDT (UTC−4) are Eastern Standard/Daylight Time in the US. PST/PDT (UTC−8/−7) is the US West Coast. GMT (UTC+0) is Greenwich Mean Time in the UK in winter. BST (UTC+1) is British Summer Time. CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) is Central European Standard/Summer Time. IST (UTC+5:30) is India Standard Time. JST (UTC+9) is Japan Standard Time, which never observes DST.