Time zone converter
Pick a time in one place and see it anywhere else, with daylight saving handled for you. The hour-by-hour table below shows the best time to call or meet.
Best time to meet
Hour by hour for the chosen day. Green rows are between 08:00 and 18:00 in both places.
World clock
The current time in major cities (updates every minute):
Common time zones and their UTC offsets today
| Place | Shown as | Offset now |
|---|---|---|
| UTC | UTC | UTC+00:00 |
| Johannesburg / Cape Town (SAST) | SAST | UTC+02:00 |
| London (GMT/BST) | BST | UTC+01:00 |
| Paris / Berlin / Amsterdam (CET) | CEST | UTC+02:00 |
| New York (Eastern) | EDT | UTC-04:00 |
| Chicago (Central) | CDT | UTC-05:00 |
| Los Angeles (Pacific) | PDT | UTC-07:00 |
| Dubai (GST) | GST | UTC+04:00 |
| India (IST) | IST | UTC+05:30 |
| Singapore / Kuala Lumpur | SGT | UTC+08:00 |
| Tokyo (JST) | JST | UTC+09:00 |
| Sydney / Melbourne (AEST) | AEDT | UTC+11:00 |
How time zone conversion works
Every time zone is described by its offset from UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). South Africa is UTC+2, so when it is 12:00 UTC it is 14:00 in Johannesburg. To convert between two places, take the difference between their offsets: New York in winter is UTC−5, which puts it 7 hours behind South Africa.
The tricky part is daylight saving time. Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand move their clocks by an hour twice a year, on different dates, while South Africa, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Japan and most of Asia and Africa never change. That is why the gap between two cities isn’t fixed. This converter uses the official time zone database built into your browser, so every rule and change date is applied for the exact date you pick.
Tips for scheduling across time zones
- Name the time zone in invites. “15:00 SAST / 09:00 EDT” avoids most mistakes.
- Watch the date. A Monday-evening call from Johannesburg can be Tuesday morning in Sydney; the converter shows “next day” when that happens.
- Check again around the clock changes. In late March and late October to early November, gaps between continents shift by an hour for a week or two.
For developers and AI agents: GET /api/timezone?time=2026-10-19 15:00&from=Africa/Johannesburg&to=America/New_York,Europe/London returns JSON, and the MCP server has a convert_timezone tool. Working with raw timestamps? Use the Unix timestamp converter.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is South Africa in?
South Africa uses South African Standard Time (SAST), which is UTC+2 all year round. South Africa does not use daylight saving time, so the gap to Europe and the US changes when their clocks change, not ours.
What is the time difference between South Africa and New York?
South Africa is 6 hours ahead of New York while the US is on summer time (EDT, roughly mid-March to early November) and 7 hours ahead in the US winter (EST). 9:00 in New York is 15:00 or 16:00 in Johannesburg.
What is the difference between GMT and UTC?
For everyday use they are the same time. UTC is the modern atomic-clock standard; GMT is the old name, and also the winter time zone of the UK. In summer the UK switches to BST, which is UTC+1.
Why do abbreviations like CST and IST cause confusion?
Several are shared. CST can mean US Central or China Standard Time, and IST can mean India, Ireland or Israel. This converter reads CST as US Central and IST as India; pick a city instead to be sure.
When do the clocks change?
In 2026 most of Europe falls back on Sunday 25 October and the US and Canada on Sunday 1 November, so for that week the gap between Europe and North America is one hour smaller than usual. Southern-hemisphere places such as Sydney and Auckland move their clocks the opposite way. The converter applies each rule automatically.