Time Zone Converter

What is a timezone converter?

A timezone converter translates time from one timezone to another, helping you coordinate across different regions of the world. With 24 standard time zones (plus many half-hour and quarter-hour offsets), scheduling meetings, flights, or international calls requires knowing the time difference between locations.

Timezones are based on offsets from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). New York is UTC-5 (EST) or UTC-4 (EDT during daylight saving time). London is UTC+0 (GMT) or UTC+1 (BST). Tokyo is UTC+9 (JST, no daylight saving). This tool accounts for daylight saving time changes, which different countries implement on different dates — or not at all.

How to use this tool

Select the source and target timezones, enter a time, and see the converted result instantly. The tool shows the UTC offset for each timezone and indicates whether daylight saving time is currently active. You can compare multiple timezones simultaneously to find the best meeting time.

Daylight saving time

Daylight saving time (DST) shifts clocks forward by one hour in spring and back in fall in many countries. Not all countries observe DST — most of Africa, Asia, and South America do not. Countries that do observe it change on different dates. This creates periods where the time difference between two cities changes. For example, London and New York are normally 5 hours apart, but briefly 4 hours during the spring transition.

Tips for international scheduling

• Always specify the timezone when sharing times internationally (e.g., '3 PM EST' or '15:00 UTC').
• Use UTC as a neutral reference point that avoids timezone confusion.
• Check whether DST changes are upcoming — they shift timezone offsets temporarily.
• Consider using scheduling tools that show availability across timezones for group meetings.

Frequently asked questions

What is UTC and how does it differ from GMT?

UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) and GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) are often used interchangeably and share the same time. The difference is technical: GMT is a timezone (used in the UK during winter), while UTC is a time standard used globally as the reference point for all timezones. UTC is based on atomic clocks and does not observe daylight saving time.

Why do some timezones have 30 or 45-minute offsets?

India uses UTC+5:30, Nepal uses UTC+5:45, and several other regions use non-whole-hour offsets. These exist because countries chose timezone offsets that best matched their geographic position or historical conventions rather than rounding to the nearest hour. India's offset was chosen to split the difference between Kolkata and Mumbai time.