Time Standards
What is UTC vs GMT?
Think they're the same thing? Join the club! Here's why these time twins are actually more like cousins with some important family differences.
Stop Doing Timezone Math in Your Head
Optional - defaults to today's date
Look, I get it. You're sitting there at 2 AM trying to figure out if your colleague in Sydney is eating lunch or... sleeping? (Spoiler: they're probably drinking coffee and wondering why you're messaging them at weird hours.) This thing handles all the daylight saving chaos automatically—because honestly, who has the mental bandwidth for that?
Calculate Time Difference
Ever have that moment where you realize your "morning standup" invitation just arrived in someone's inbox at 11 PM their time? Yeah... awkward. Let's figure out time differences without having to do the whole "carry the one, add seven, wait—is it daylight saving?" dance.
VS
Why This Actually Matters
Ever scheduled a "quick sync" only to realize your colleague is eating dinner? Understanding time differences saves you from the awkward "oops, wrong time" moments.
DST: The Annual Time Shuffle
Twice a year, time differences go completely wonky when countries change their clocks on different dates. It's like global timezone whack-a-mole.
The 30-Minute Rebels
Some places said "whole hours are boring" and use 30 or 45-minute offsets from UTC. Looking at you, India and Nepal.
Here's how to avoid the "what time works for everyone?" email chain: Add your participants' locations, then drag the slider to see where business hours overlap. We'll show you the sweet spot where nobody has to wake up at 5 AM.
Tips for Using the Meeting Planner
Green dots indicate business hours
(varies by region)
Red dots indicate sleeping hours (11
PM
- 7 AM local time)
Add all participant locations for the most accurate
planning
The slider reflects UTC time - a universal standard
that
doesn't change with seasons
Use the copy function to share the schedule with all
participants
Schedule directly to Google Calendar, Microsoft
Teams/Outlook or Apple Calendar with a few clicks
Time Zone Wisdom (That Actually Helps)
Real-world guides for people who deal with timezone chaos daily
Remote Work
Tips for Remote Teams in Multiple Time Zones
Ever scheduled a "quick sync" only to realize half your team is asleep? Here's how to not be that person who ruins everyone's day with meeting times.
Scheduling
How to Schedule Across Time Zones
Stop playing timezone roulette with your meetings. Simple strategies to find times that don't make anyone cry (or wake up at 5 AM).
What Time Is It Really?
Because someone, somewhere, is always having their morning coffee while you're thinking about dinner
New York
--:--:--
Loading...
UTC-5
London
--:--:--
Loading...
UTC+0
Tokyo
--:--:--
Loading...
UTC+9
Paris
--:--:--
Loading...
UTC+1
Sydney
--:--:--
Loading...
UTC+11
Toronto
--:--:--
Loading...
UTC-5
Why This Tool Actually Makes Sense (Finally)
Unlike those other timezone apps that seem designed by people who've never left their basement
It Just... Works? (Revolutionary, I Know)
Remember that time you showed up to a meeting at 3 AM because you counted wrong? Yeah, me too. This thing actually does the math right—even when your brain is running on two hours of sleep and questionable coffee.
Try Converter
Fast & Simple (Like, Actually Simple)
No weird drop-down menus buried three layers deep. No "premium features" locked behind paywalls. Just type the time, pick the places, boom—done. Even my technologically-challenged uncle figured it out in under 30 seconds.
Start Converting
Every Ridiculous Time Zone Humans Invented
From Nepal's bizarre +5:45 offset (seriously, who thought that was a good idea?) to Lord Howe Island's half-hour daylight saving shifts... Yeah, we support even the weirdest ones. Because apparently, humans couldn't just stick with nice, round numbers.
View World Clocks
Works on Whatever Device You're Clinging To
Got an iPhone 15? Great. Still rocking that cracked Android from 2019 because "it still works fine"? Also great. I tested this on my friend's ancient tablet that takes 30 seconds to load Instagram, and it ran perfectly. No excuses!
Test Responsiveness
Share Times Without Sounding Like an Idiot
No more of that "I think it's 3 PM your time? Or maybe 4 PM? Actually, let me double-check..." nonsense. Just click share, and everyone gets the exact time in their timezone. Because confidence is key (even when you're secretly panicking inside).
Try Sharing
Dark Mode (Because Your Eyes Deserve Better)
Ever tried converting timezones at 2 AM with a blazing white screen burning holes in your retinas? Yeah, that's a special kind of torture. Dark mode saves your eyeballs—and your sanity—during those late-night coordination sessions with your insomniac colleagues in different hemispheres.
Toggle Theme
Meeting Planner (Finally, One That Gets It)
Tired of accidentally scheduling 6 AM "optional" meetings for your European teammates? This planner finds times that don't require anyone to hate you. Syncs with Google Calendar, Microsoft Teams, and whatever other calendar app you're using to organize your chaotic life.
Plan Meeting
Time Difference Math (So You Don't Have To)
Stop pretending you remember whether Singapore is 12 or 13 hours ahead—we all know you're gonna Google it anyway. This calculator does the heavy lifting AND shows you when their business hours actually overlap with yours. Life-saver for anyone working across continents.
Calculate Difference
Chrome Extension (For Peak Efficiency)
Because opening a new tab is SO much work, right? Click the little icon in your toolbar and boom—instant time conversion without interrupting your very important Wikipedia rabbit hole about 90s boy bands. It's like having a timezone-savvy friend who's always available and never judges your browsing habits.
Add to Chrome
Time Zone 101: The Stuff Nobody Taught You
Everything you never knew you wanted to know about why the world can't agree on what time it is
Time zones are basically humanity's beautiful disaster. Like... we could have just made one global time and called it a day, but nooo—we had to get complicated. Now we live in a world where your "morning coffee chat" lands in someone's 2 AM insomnia scrolling session. (Speaking of which, why are you reading about timezones at this hour?) Understanding this madness might just save your professional relationships.
How We Ended Up With This Mess
Once upon a time, every town just looked at the sun and called it good. "High noon" literally meant when the sun was highest in the sky. This worked great until trains came along and nobody could figure out the schedule because every station had its own "local time."
Enter Sir Sandford Fleming in 1879, who basically said "this is ridiculous" and proposed standardized time zones. The railroad companies loved it, governments eventually got on board, and by the 1970s, most of the world had agreed to this system (with plenty of arguing along the way, of course).
Want the full story of how we went from sundials to standardized chaos? Check out: The History of Time Zones.
Mind-Blowing Fact: Before time zones, the United States had over 300
different local time standards. Imagine trying to catch a connecting train in that chaos!
The Science Behind the Madness
Here's the deal: Earth spins 360 degrees in 24 hours, which means it rotates 15 degrees every hour. Time zones are supposed to follow this neat mathematical principle, with each zone covering 15 degrees of longitude.
But then politics, geography, and "because we said so" got involved. Now we have time zone lines that zigzag around countries, states, and sometimes even individual cities because nobody wanted to split their territory across different times.
Countries That Said "Screw the Rules":
- China: Uses only one time zone despite being wide enough for five. Everyone just pretends it makes sense.
- India: Uses UTC+5:30 because apparently whole hours are for amateurs.
- Nepal: Uses UTC+5:45, which is so specific it's almost artistic.
Daylight Saving Time: The Annual Confusion
Twice a year, most of the world participates in the collective ritual of changing clocks and pretending this makes sense. Daylight Saving Time was supposed to save energy during World War I, and somehow we're still doing it over a century later.
The best part? Not everyone changes their clocks on the same day, so for a few weeks every year, the time differences between countries are completely different. It's like a global game of temporal whack-a-mole.
For the full story of this twice-yearly chaos, read: Daylight Saving Time: The Twice-Yearly Time Chaos.
The Annual DST Shuffle:
- March: Most countries "spring forward" (goodbye, sleep)
- April: Some countries finally join the party
- October: Some countries "fall back" early
- November: Everyone else gets their hour back
Why Your Business Meetings Are a Disaster
Global businesses lose millions every year to timezone confusion. "Let's meet at 3 PM" becomes a guessing game when half your team is in different countries. Studies show that poor timezone management leads to missed meetings, delayed communications, and the occasional 4 AM wake-up call.
The secret sauce? Always specify the timezone, use UTC for internal coordination, and maybe invest in a tool that doesn't make you do mental math. Radical concept, we know.
Learn how to not be that person who schedules meetings during everyone's dinner time: Remote Team Time Zone Survival Guide.
How to Not Ruin Everyone's Day:
- Always include timezone in meeting invites (yes, always)
- Use UTC for internal team coordination
- Plan for DST transitions like you're planning for natural disasters
- Use tools that do the math for you (hint: you're already here)
- Consider "follow the sun" support models if you're feeling fancy
Travel and the Jet Lag Blues
Jet lag is basically your body's way of saying "excuse me, but we didn't evolve to teleport across the planet in a metal tube." Your internal clock gets confused, your sleep schedule becomes a suggestion, and you end up eating breakfast at 3 PM.
The good news? You can minimize the misery with some preparation. The bad news? You'll probably ignore most of the advice until you're lying awake at 2 AM wondering why you thought that red-eye flight was a good idea.
Get the full survival guide: Jet Lag Recovery: From Zombie to Human Again.
Jet Lag Survival Kit:
- Start adjusting your sleep schedule before you travel (if you're disciplined enough)
- Hydrate like your life depends on it during flights
- Chase natural light at your destination like a vampire in reverse
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol during travel (we know, we know)
- Consider melatonin supplements (ask your doctor, not Google)
The Tech That Keeps It All Together
Behind the scenes, the modern world runs on incredibly precise atomic clocks that are accurate to within one second every 100 million years. These clocks help maintain UTC and ensure that GPS satellites, computer networks, and your smartphone all agree on what time it is.
Without this level of precision, GPS would be off by miles, financial transactions would be chaos, and your Uber driver would never find you. So next time you complain about timezone confusion, remember that at least the satellites know what time it is.
Nerdy Fact: GPS satellites have to account for Einstein's relativity
effects, adjusting their clocks by about 38 microseconds per day. Even space-time can't
escape timezone complications!
Want to Become a Time Zone Expert?
Dive deeper into our blog section for more stories about the wonderful world of global timekeeping, travel tips, and the latest updates in the ongoing battle against temporal confusion.
Questions People Actually Ask
The real stuff you want to know (without the corporate fluff)
Think of time zones as the world's way of agreeing on what time it is without everyone having to check the sun's position. Basically, we divided the globe into 24 main time zones (roughly one for each hour), each about 15 degrees of longitude wide.
Before time zones existed, every town just looked at the sun and said "yep, it's noon." This worked fine until trains came along and nobody could figure out the schedule because every station had its own "local time." The 19th century railroad folks basically said "enough of this chaos" and created standardized time zones.
Today, most time zones are based on UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), though some places decided to be different and added daylight saving time to the mix, because apparently keeping track of time wasn't complicated enough already.
Magic! Just kidding – it's actually pretty straightforward. We take your time, do some timezone math behind the scenes, and spit out what time it is somewhere else. We use the official IANA Time Zone Database, which is basically the gold standard for "what time is it really?"
Here's what happens when you hit convert:
- We translate to UTC first: Think of UTC as the universal language of time – we convert your time to this neutral zone first.
- Then we apply the target timezone: We add or subtract hours to get the local time in your destination.
- DST handling: This is where it gets tricky. We automatically figure out if daylight saving time is in effect, so you don't have to remember if it's "spring forward" or "fall back" season.
- Instant updates: Change anything and boom – new result. No waiting, no page refreshes.
We stay synced with official time zone data because governments love changing the rules (looking at you, countries that randomly decide to stop doing daylight saving time).
Ah, you've discovered the wonderful world of fractional time zones! While most places stick to nice, neat hour differences, some countries decided to be special and use 30 or 45-minute offsets. Because apparently whole hours are for amateurs.
The usual suspects:
- India (UTC+5:30): 30 minutes ahead of standard UTC+5 because they wanted their own thing
- Nepal (UTC+5:45): 45 minutes ahead of UTC+5, which is so specific it's almost artistic
- Iran (UTC+3:30): 30 minutes ahead of UTC+3, keeping things interesting
- Afghanistan (UTC+4:30): 30 minutes ahead of UTC+4, because why not?
- Myanmar (UTC+6:30): 30 minutes ahead of UTC+6, adding to the chaos
These fractional offsets were chosen for political, geographical, or historical reasons rather than strict adherence to the "15 degrees per hour" rule. Basically, countries said "we'll do what we want" and here we are.
Daylight Saving Time is humanity's twice-yearly ritual of collective clock confusion. We "spring forward" in spring (lose an hour of sleep) and "fall back" in fall (gain an hour). It started during World War I to save energy, and somehow we're still doing it over a century later.
The fun facts nobody asked for:
- Not universal: Only about 70 countries participate in this madness
- Different dates: Countries change their clocks on different dates, because coordination is overrated
- Energy debate: Modern studies question whether it actually saves energy (spoiler: it doesn't really)
- Health impact: Clock changes mess with your sleep and make you grumpy for a week
Some places like Arizona (except the Navajo Nation), Hawaii, and most of Asia looked at this whole DST thing and said "nah, we're good." Smart move, honestly.
Ah, you've stumbled into the "time twins" debate! GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) are like identical twins who dress slightly differently – they look the same most of the time, but there are some family differences.
The nerdy differences:
- GMT: The old-school grandfather clock, based on Earth's rotation relative to the sun (can vary slightly)
- UTC: The high-tech younger sibling, based on atomic clocks that are stupidly precise
- Usage: UTC is what scientists and computers use; GMT is more of a "time zone" thing
- Leap seconds: UTC occasionally adds leap seconds to stay synchronized with Earth's rotation
In everyday use, the difference is negligible (less than 0.9 seconds), so they're often used interchangeably. Unless you're launching rockets or doing atomic physics, either one will get you to your meeting on time.
Want the full technical breakdown? Check out our guide: UTC vs GMT: The Time Standard Showdown.
Don't panic! If your conversion seems off, you're probably hitting one of the classic timezone gotchas. Here's how to troubleshoot like a pro:
The usual suspects:
- Check the date: DST transitions can make the time difference wonky for a few weeks
- Verify locations: Make sure you picked the right cities (there are multiple Portlands, trust me)
- Recent rule changes: Some countries love changing their timezone rules randomly
- Your device's timezone: If your phone thinks you're in a different timezone, everything gets weird
If you're still seeing something fishy, drop us a line! We're always happy to investigate timezone mysteries.
We're as accurate as it gets! TimeZonder uses the official IANA Time Zone Database (the same data that powers your iPhone, Android, and pretty much every computer on the planet). If we're wrong, then everyone's wrong, and that would be a much bigger problem.
Our accuracy credentials:
- Real-time updates: We regularly sync with the latest timezone data
- Historical accuracy: Correct conversions for past and future dates
- DST handling: Automatic daylight saving time calculations (no mental math required)
- Government changes: We update when countries decide to mess with their timezone rules
Our conversions are accurate to the second and account for all official timezone changes. Basically, we're as precise as atomic clocks allow us to be.
Great question! While those sites are solid (been around forever), TimeZonder is built for people who want fast, clean timezone conversion without the information overload.
Why we built something different:
- Speed first: Our interface loads instantly and gives you results as you type – no waiting around
- Modern design: Clean, mobile-first interface that actually works well on your phone
- No distractions: Focused on timezone conversion without overwhelming ads or complex menus
- Meeting-focused: Built specifically for remote workers who need to coordinate across timezones
- Fewer clicks: Get your answer in seconds, not minutes of navigation
The honest comparison:
- TimeAndDate: Comprehensive but can feel overwhelming – like using a Swiss Army knife when you just need a bottle opener
- Time.is: Simple and clean, but lacks the meeting planning tools remote teams need
- TimeZonder: Fast, focused, and built for modern work – does timezone conversion really well without the bloat
Try both and see which workflow feels more natural. We're confident you'll appreciate the difference!
Absolutely! TimeZonder was built with remote teams in mind. Our Meeting Planner tool helps you find that sweet spot where nobody has to wake up at 5 AM for your "quick sync."
Business features that actually help:
- Meeting Planner: Find optimal times for multiple participants without the guesswork
- Business hours visualization: See when your colleagues are likely to be awake and caffeinated
- Calendar integration: Export to Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendar with one click
- Sharing tools: Send meeting times to colleagues without the "I think that's 3 PM your time?" uncertainty
- Unlimited timezones: Add as many participant locations as you need
Many remote teams and international businesses use TimeZonder daily for scheduling coordination. It beats the "let me check what time that is for everyone" dance.
No catch! TimeZonder is completely free to use. We believe accurate timezone conversion should be accessible to everyone, not locked behind a paywall.
What you get for free (everything):
- Unlimited conversions: Convert between any timezones as many times as you need
- All tools: Access to converter, world clocks, meeting planner, and time difference calculator
- No registration required: Use all features without creating an account
- Mobile friendly: Full functionality on all devices
- No ads interruption: Clean, focused experience
We keep the lights on through optional Ko-fi support from users who find TimeZonder helpful. If you end up using it regularly, consider buying us a coffee – it helps us keep improving the tool!
Sort of! TimeZonder has limited offline powers. Basic conversions will work once the page is loaded, but some features need an internet connection to stay fresh.
What works offline:
- Basic conversions: Convert between timezones you've already loaded
- World clocks: Display current time for cached locations
- Cached data: Recently used cities and timezones stick around
What needs internet:
- New city searches: Adding cities not previously loaded
- Timezone updates: Latest DST and timezone rule changes
- Calendar integration: Exporting meetings to calendar apps
For best results (and to avoid any "wait, why isn't this working?" moments), use TimeZonder with an internet connection when possible.
Contact Us
If you have questions, feedback, or suggestions for new features, we'd love to hear from you!
We actually read these messages (shocking, I know). Usually respond within 24 hours, unless I'm somewhere with terrible WiFi trying to figure out what time it is myself.