Convert CET to PST Central European Time ↔ Pacific Standard Time Free Online Secure
Type a time in CET and read it in PST straight away. The offset is −9 h, the arithmetic wraps at midnight, and the answer says which day it lands on.
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Through the day — Convert CET to PST (Central European Time ↔ Pacific Standard Time)
| CET | PST |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | 15:00 |
| 03:00 | 18:00 |
| 06:00 | 21:00 |
| 09:00 | 00:00 |
| 12:00 | 03:00 |
| 15:00 | 06:00 |
| 18:00 | 09:00 |
| 21:00 | 12:00 |
Where these units come from
Until the middle of the nineteenth century every town kept its own noon, set by the sun overhead, and nobody minded that the next town was four minutes behind. Railways ended that: a timetable cannot be written for a hundred local noons. Britain put its railways on Greenwich time in 1847, and in 1884 the International Meridian Conference in Washington chose Greenwich as the prime meridian and sketched the twenty-four-hour scheme we still use. Greenwich Mean Time was the world's reference until 1972, when Coordinated Universal Time replaced it: UTC is kept by atomic clocks and tied back to the turning Earth by leap seconds. The abbreviations on this page name standard time — the winter setting — which is why each one is a fixed number of hours rather than something that drifts through the year.
Where you meet them
A time zone becomes real the moment two people in different places have to agree on one moment: a call between offices, a flight that lands before it took off, a market that opens while you are asleep, a deadline written in somebody else's afternoon. Server logs, train and flight schedules and anything stamped with a time are kept in UTC precisely so that the question can always be settled, no matter whose clock was on the wall.
Questions people ask
What about summer time?
The offsets here are standard-time offsets, the ones a zone keeps in winter. Where summer time is observed, the same places move one hour further on for part of the year and take a different name: Central European Time becomes Central European Summer Time, Eastern Standard Time becomes Eastern Daylight Time. The switching dates are not the same in every country, and the two hemispheres change in opposite months, so for a date inside a summer-time period add an hour to whichever side observes it.
Why isn't every difference a whole number of hours?
Because offsets are decided by governments, not by geometry. India is half an hour off the hour, at UTC+05:30; Nepal is three quarters, at UTC+05:45; the Chatham Islands are at UTC+12:45. Any of these can be changed by law, and several countries have moved their offset within living memory.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
European time, read in California
The European Central Bank announces its decision at 14:15 CET. The grand final of a song contest starts at 21:00. A match in the German league kicks off at 15:30. Anyone reading those hours in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle will convert CET to PST. The rule is one line: subtract nine hours. 14:15 CET becomes 05:15 PST, 21:00 CET becomes 12:00 PST, and 15:30 CET becomes 06:30 PST. Any European time before 09:00 belongs to the previous day in California. The nine-hour figure holds in winter and in summer alike, except for two short stretches in which it drops to eight: 8 to 28 March and 25 to 31 October.
The page begins with the European events Californians follow, then gives the rule, the tables and the two zones. The arithmetic is done in the browser; no figure leaves it.
The economic forum at Davos
Morning sessions
The plenary sessions in January begin at 09:00 CET, which is 00:00 PST. Californians who want to watch live stay up at midnight or watch the recording.
Evening events
Receptions and discussions at 18:00 CET are at 9:00 a.m. PST. A “convert CET to PST” calculation made beforehand shows that they fall in the very first working hour in California.
The Berlin film festival
Gala screenings
Evening screenings begin at 19:00 CET, which is 10:00 a.m. PST. Film fans in California follow them in the second part of the morning.
The awards ceremony
The closing ceremony usually starts at 19:00 CET, so at 10:00 a.m. PST. Whoever does a “convert CET to PST” calculation for each event knows which fall during working hours.
The Salzburg festival
The evening opera
Opera performances often begin at 19:30 CEST, which is 10:30 a.m. PDT. American audiences watch the live broadcasts in mid-morning.
Afternoon concerts
A concert at 15:00 CEST starts at 6:00 a.m. PDT. A “convert CET to PST” calculation tells you at once whether it is worth getting up for.
The Frankfurt book fair
Opening the gates
The fair opens in the morning, at 09:00 CEST, which is 00:00 PDT. Californians visiting virtually come in at dead of night or, more realistically, in the European afternoon.
Author presentations
A presentation scheduled for 17:00 CEST is at 8:00 a.m. PDT. For a reader in the west it is the moment to start the day with a European author.
The Nobel prizes
The morning announcement
The laureates are generally announced in the first week of October, at 11:30 CEST or slightly later, which is 2:30 a.m. PDT. Californians learn the result only in the morning, from the press.
The Stockholm ceremony
The award ceremony in December begins in the afternoon, at 16:30 CET, which is 7:30 a.m. PST. A “convert CET to PST” calculation tells you at once whether you can watch live before work.
The laboratories of Geneva
Press conferences
A conference announced for 10:00 CEST is held at 1:00 a.m. PDT. Californian researchers who want to watch it live must stay up all night.
Seminars
An online seminar at 16:00 CEST starts at 7:00 a.m. PDT, just as Californians begin their day.
The trade fair in Hanover
Morning demonstrations
Robot demonstrations begin at 10:00 CEST, which is 1:00 a.m. PDT. Engineers in California watch the recording.
The opening speeches
The opening speech, at 11:00 CEST, is at 2:00 a.m. PDT. A “convert CET to PST” calculation made beforehand shows why Californians usually watch it the next day.
How to convert CET to PST, step by step
Subtract nine hours
CET is UTC+1 and PST is UTC−8, so the Pacific clock is nine hours behind the Central European one. Subtract 9 from the European time on a 24-hour clock. If the result is negative, add 24 and go to the previous date.
Eight pairs
02:00 CET is 17:00 PST the day before. 08:30 CET is 23:30 PST the day before. 09:00 CET is 00:00 PST. 11:15 CET is 02:15 PST. 14:15 CET is 05:15 PST. 17:30 CET is 08:30 PST. 21:00 CET is 12:00 PST. 23:45 CET is 14:45 PST. The first two cross into the previous date.
In the summer months
In summer, CEST against PDT is also nine hours. 20:00 CEST is 11:00 PDT. The figure does not change; only the names of the clocks do.
The Pacific zone
Who keeps it
In winter UTC−8 is the time in California, Oregon, Washington state, nearly all of Nevada and British Columbia. When summer time arrives the clock moves to UTC−7 under the name PDT.
Why it concerns you
If you live in the west and want to follow a European event live, the time on the poster is not yours. That is why Californians so often have to convert CET to PST.
The Central European zone
Countries and clocks
CET, UTC+1, is the winter time of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Austria and Switzerland. In summer they use CEST, UTC+2, from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October.
Romania
A reader in Bucharest runs an hour ahead of Central Europe, so they subtract ten hours, not nine, to reach Pacific time.
Nine hours between clocks
The working day
A European office day from 09:00 to 17:00 reads 00:00 to 08:00 on the Pacific clock. A Californian office day from 09:00 to 17:00 reads 18:00 to 02:00 in Europe. The standard schedules do not overlap, so mixed teams work in shifts.
Who rings first
A call from Berlin at 17:00 CET reaches 8:00 a.m. PST, at the start of the Californian day. A call at 10:00 CET reaches 1:00 a.m. PST, in the middle of the night.
Across the continent
A flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco that leaves at 13:00 CET and takes nearly eleven hours lands at 15:00 PST. The ticket shows 13:00 and 15:00, so it looks like a trip of two hours.
The Alpine Ski World Cup
The second run
The second run of a slalom often starts at 13:00 CET, which is 4:00 a.m. PST. Californians who watch live get up before sunrise.
Morning races
The first run at 10:00 CET is at 1:00 a.m. PST. Anyone who does a “convert CET to PST” calculation knows that the first run falls in the Californian night.
Easter Mass at the Vatican
The time of the ceremony
The Easter Sunday Mass starts at about 10:00 CEST, which is 1:00 a.m. PDT. Believers in California watch it in the night or in a repeat in the morning.
The blessing
The blessing at midday, 12:00 CEST, is at 3:00 a.m. PDT. A “convert CET to PST” calculation shows at once that on the Californian clock the broadcast falls in the night between Saturday and Sunday.
The same European hour, four moments of the year
Winter
On Thursday 29 January, an event announced for 15:00 CET takes place at 06:00 PST. Nobody has moved a clock, so the usual nine hours apply.
Spring
On Thursday 19 March, the same European hour means 07:00 on the Californian clock, not 06:00. The reason: the Americans advanced their clocks on 8 March and the Europeans only on the 29th, so for three weeks the distance shrinks to eight hours.
Summer
On Thursday 30 July, an announcement at 15:00 CEST reads 06:00 PDT. Both continents are on summer time, and the nine-hour figure is back.
Autumn
On Thursday 29 October, 15:00 CET means 07:00 PDT, because Europe set its clocks back a week earlier. On Thursday 3 December, 15:00 CET is again 06:00 PST.
The four weeks when the clocks do not match
The three in spring
Between 8 and 28 March, America is already on summer time while Europe is still on winter time. The real distance between CET and Pacific time is then eight hours.
The one in autumn
Between 25 and 31 October, Europe has returned to standard time and America has not. For one week a “convert CET to PST” calculation on the nine-hour figure gives a result an hour too early.
New Year’s Eve at the Brandenburg Gate
Berlin’s midnight
The fireworks at midnight on 31 December are, in California, at 3:00 p.m. PST. Californians can watch the European New Year before their own evening begins.
The evening programme
The concert at the gate starts at 20:00 CET, which is 11:00 a.m. PST. A “convert CET to PST” calculation made in advance shows whether the broadcast catches your lunch hour.
Collaboration between the offices in Berlin and Los Angeles
The European evening meeting
A team with members in Berlin and Los Angeles sets its meeting for 17:00 CET, which is 8:00 a.m. PST. For the Berliners it is the end of the day, for the Californians the beginning.
Who carries on the work
Work that finishes at 17:30 CET reaches Los Angeles at 8:30 a.m. PST, just as the American colleagues walk into the office. A written handover keeps the thread.
Other clocks, counted from Central Europe
How many hours to subtract
Starting from Central European time, subtract one hour for London, six for New York, seven for Chicago, eight for Denver and nine for Los Angeles.
A sample invitation
When it is 18:00 in Berlin, it is 17:00 in London, 12:00 in New York, 11:00 in Chicago and 9:00 in Los Angeles. Whoever writes an invitation with all the hours beside it spares the guests a “convert CET to PST” calculation.
The weeks and months that need care
Period by period
CET and PST are not always the same distance apart. In 2026: 1 January to 7 March, 29 March to 24 October and 1 November to 31 December: PST stands 9 hours behind CET; 8 to 28 March and 25 to 31 October: PST stands 8 hours behind CET.
In practice
Summer labels are CEST and PDT. The form above applies the winter gap of 9 hours, so for other periods correct the answer by the difference from the figure listed. Whenever you convert CET to PST, check which period the date falls in first.
All twenty-four hours side by side
CET against PST
00:00 CET corresponds to 15:00 PST (previous day). 01:00 CET corresponds to 16:00 PST (previous day). 02:00 CET corresponds to 17:00 PST (previous day). 03:00 CET corresponds to 18:00 PST (previous day). 04:00 CET corresponds to 19:00 PST (previous day). 05:00 CET corresponds to 20:00 PST (previous day). 06:00 CET corresponds to 21:00 PST (previous day). 07:00 CET corresponds to 22:00 PST (previous day). 08:00 CET corresponds to 23:00 PST (previous day). 09:00 CET corresponds to 00:00 PST. 10:00 CET corresponds to 01:00 PST. 11:00 CET corresponds to 02:00 PST. 12:00 CET corresponds to 03:00 PST. 13:00 CET corresponds to 04:00 PST. 14:00 CET corresponds to 05:00 PST. 15:00 CET corresponds to 06:00 PST. 16:00 CET corresponds to 07:00 PST. 17:00 CET corresponds to 08:00 PST. 18:00 CET corresponds to 09:00 PST. 19:00 CET corresponds to 10:00 PST. 20:00 CET corresponds to 11:00 PST. 21:00 CET corresponds to 12:00 PST. 22:00 CET corresponds to 13:00 PST. 23:00 CET corresponds to 14:00 PST.
Notes on the table
The table lists the full day. Where the PST date differs from the CET date, the entry says so. Use it as a reference whenever you convert CET to PST. Only the hour moves. Minutes pass through unchanged, which makes this pair easy to check by eye. These rows use the standard (winter) gap; on the dates listed in the period section the gap is different.
The :30 rows
CET to PST, thirty minutes past
00:30 CET corresponds to 15:30 PST (previous day). 01:30 CET corresponds to 16:30 PST (previous day). 02:30 CET corresponds to 17:30 PST (previous day). 03:30 CET corresponds to 18:30 PST (previous day). 04:30 CET corresponds to 19:30 PST (previous day). 05:30 CET corresponds to 20:30 PST (previous day). 06:30 CET corresponds to 21:30 PST (previous day). 07:30 CET corresponds to 22:30 PST (previous day). 08:30 CET corresponds to 23:30 PST (previous day). 09:30 CET corresponds to 00:30 PST. 10:30 CET corresponds to 01:30 PST. 11:30 CET corresponds to 02:30 PST. 12:30 CET corresponds to 03:30 PST. 13:30 CET corresponds to 04:30 PST. 14:30 CET corresponds to 05:30 PST. 15:30 CET corresponds to 06:30 PST. 16:30 CET corresponds to 07:30 PST. 17:30 CET corresponds to 08:30 PST. 18:30 CET corresponds to 09:30 PST. 19:30 CET corresponds to 10:30 PST. 20:30 CET corresponds to 11:30 PST. 21:30 CET corresponds to 12:30 PST. 22:30 CET corresponds to 13:30 PST. 23:30 CET corresponds to 14:30 PST.
Purpose of the list
These are the readings people forget to check: events at :30. Look up the CET time and read the PST time beside it instead of repeating the calculation. The gap used here is the standard winter one; the period section lists the dates on which it differs.
Ten readings with minutes
Examples from CET to PST
01:05 CET corresponds to 16:05 PST (previous day). 03:20 CET corresponds to 18:20 PST (previous day). 05:50 CET corresponds to 20:50 PST (previous day). 07:35 CET corresponds to 22:35 PST (previous day). 10:10 CET corresponds to 01:10 PST. 13:25 CET corresponds to 04:25 PST. 16:40 CET corresponds to 07:40 PST. 19:55 CET corresponds to 10:55 PST. 22:15 CET corresponds to 13:15 PST. 23:05 CET corresponds to 14:05 PST.
What to notice
These are less round examples, with minutes. Because the difference is a whole number of hours, the minutes in the answer are the same as in the question. These rows use the standard (winter) gap; on the dates listed in the period section the gap is different.
Morning, afternoon or night?
From CET to PST, with the time of day
06:00 CET corresponds to 21:00 PST (evening). 08:00 CET corresponds to 23:00 PST (night). 10:00 CET corresponds to 01:00 PST (night). 12:00 CET corresponds to 03:00 PST (night). 14:00 CET corresponds to 05:00 PST (early morning). 16:00 CET corresponds to 07:00 PST (early morning). 18:00 CET corresponds to 09:00 PST (morning). 20:00 CET corresponds to 11:00 PST (morning). 22:00 CET corresponds to 13:00 PST (around midday).
Why it matters
A conversion is only half the answer: the other half is whether the result is a sensible hour. After you convert CET to PST, check the bracketed word. Winter-time arithmetic applies to these rows; for the dates in the period section, correct the result accordingly.
A quick routine to convert CET to PST
Before the sum
Confirm the zones
Do not apply CET to Bucharest, Athens or Helsinki: they run an hour ahead, on EET. Do not confuse PST with Philippine or Pakistan time; this converter means the Pacific coast of North America.
Use a 24-hour clock
The 24-hour clock avoids a.m. and p.m. slips, so rewrite 4:30 p.m. as 16:30 before anything else. For example, 09:15 CET becomes 00:15 PST.
Finishing
The operation
Subtract 9 hours. If the result passes midnight, correct the date: readings before 09:00 fall on the previous date.
A second example
An evening check: 22:40 CET gives 13:40 PST.
Mistakes when you convert CET to PST
Adding instead of subtracting
PST is behind CET, so the answer should be smaller than the starting hour. A larger number means an addition slipped in.
Losing the date
Anything on the CET clock before 09:00 lands on the previous date. If the date stays put, the answer is a full day out.
The standard figure in the wrong weeks
On some dates in 2026 the distance between CET and PST differs from the usual one, so read the period list before you apply it.
Confusing the abbreviation
Romania is not on CET: it uses Eastern European Time, one hour ahead. Make sure a PST in a schedule is Californian: the Philippines (UTC+8) and Pakistan (UTC+5) use the same letters.
Questions and answers
How far apart are CET and PST?
9 hours, and PST is behind CET. That is the standard figure; on some dates in 2026 it differs, as the period list shows.
What do I do to convert CET to PST?
Subtract 9 hours from the CET time, then fix the date if the result passes midnight.
How much is 09:00 CET in PST?
00:00 PST in the standard period.
Does the answer change during the year?
Yes, on some dates; the period list above shows which.
Does the page keep what I type?
No. The calculation runs in your browser.
More time zone converters
You may also want Convert CET to EST, Convert CET to WET, Convert EST to PST, Convert UTC to PST, Convert PST to EET, Convert WET to CET, Convert WET to UTC, Convert CST to WET, Convert CST to EST. To go the other way, use Convert PST to CET.
In brief, to convert CET to PST you subtract 9 hours, mind the date change and watch the weeks when the gap differs.