Convert EST to PST Eastern Standard Time ↔ Pacific Standard Time Free Online Secure
Type a time in EST and read it in PST straight away. The offset is −3 h, the arithmetic wraps at midnight, and the answer says which day it lands on.
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Through the day — Convert EST to PST (Eastern Standard Time ↔ Pacific Standard Time)
| EST | PST |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | 21:00 |
| 03:00 | 00:00 |
| 06:00 | 03:00 |
| 09:00 | 06:00 |
| 12:00 | 09:00 |
| 15:00 | 12:00 |
| 18:00 | 15:00 |
| 21:00 | 18:00 |
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.
Across the continent in a single subtraction
A New York bank announces a call for 2:00 p.m. A network says a series finale airs at 9:00 p.m. A conference in Boston starts its keynote at 10:00 a.m. In each case the time is Eastern, and a reader in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle wants to know what it is on a Pacific clock. The answer is to convert EST to PST, and the rule is plain: subtract three hours. 2:00 p.m. EST is 11:00 a.m. PST, 9:00 p.m. EST is 6:00 p.m. PST, and 10:00 a.m. EST is 7:00 a.m. PST. For Eastern times before 3:00 a.m. the result falls on the previous date.
The page below sets out the rule, offers lookup tables, introduces the two zones and explains why the difference stays at three hours all year, unlike the gap between North America and Europe. It also works through examples from broadcasting, sport, finance, travel and news. The arithmetic happens in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to a server.
How to convert EST to PST
Subtract three hours
EST is UTC−5 and PST is UTC−8, so the Pacific clock is three hours behind the Eastern one. Subtract three from the Eastern time on a 24-hour clock. If the result is negative, add 24 and go back one date: 01:30 EST gives −1:30, which is 22:30 PST the previous day.
Eight readings
00:30 EST is 21:30 PST the day before. 06:15 EST is 03:15 PST. 09:00 EST is 06:00 PST. 12:00 EST is 09:00 PST. 15:45 EST is 12:45 PST. 18:00 EST is 15:00 PST. 21:30 EST is 18:30 PST. 23:45 EST is 20:45 PST. Only the first falls on the earlier date.
The same in summer
In summer, EDT against PDT is still three hours, because both regions move on the same days. 10:00 a.m. EDT is 7:00 a.m. PDT. The figure does not change; only the labels do.
Eastern time
Cities and habits
Eastern Standard Time, UTC−5, is the winter clock of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto and Montreal. In summer these places use EDT, UTC−4. Many American announcements say simply “ET”.
The default for national news
Stock exchanges, big banks, newsrooms and national networks are based in the Eastern zone, so ET is the default in national announcements. That is why people elsewhere in the country so often have to convert.
Pacific time
Places and industries
Pacific Standard Time, UTC−8 in winter, is the clock of California, Oregon, Washington, most of Nevada, British Columbia and Baja California. In summer it is PDT, UTC−7. The zone is home to Hollywood, Silicon Valley, the Pacific ports and the big companies of Seattle.
Exceptions
Arizona does not change its clocks and stays on UTC−7 all year. In winter it is an hour ahead of California and in summer level with it. Hawaii is on UTC−10, also without summer time.
Three hours between the coasts
The working day
An Eastern working day of 09:00 to 17:00 occupies 06:00 to 14:00 on the Pacific clock. A Californian day of 09:00 to 17:00 occupies 12:00 to 20:00 on the Eastern one. The overlap is five hours, from 12:00 to 17:00 EST, or 09:00 to 14:00 PST.
Who gets up early
A New Yorker who calls Silicon Valley at 12:00 EST rings at 09:00 PST, the first hour of the Californian day. A Californian who calls at 17:00 PST rings at 20:00 EST, late in the evening for New York. The most comfortable window for both is 12:00 to 15:00 EST, which is 09:00 to 12:00 PST.
Flying across
A flight from New York to Los Angeles that leaves at 08:00 EST and lasts about six hours lands at 14:00 EST, which is 11:00 PST. The ticket shows 08:00 and 11:00, so the flight looks like three hours long.
Prime time and the West Coast delay
Evening schedules on two coasts
National networks air prime time from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern. For a live broadcast, the Pacific viewer sees it between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Many networks tape-delay the show for the West Coast so it airs from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Pacific as well. That is why guides often say “8/7 central” or “8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT”.
Live programmes
A late-night comedy show that begins at 11:30 p.m. ET on Saturday begins live at 8:30 p.m. PT. If you convert EST to PST for each broadcast in a listing, you get the right hour for each coast.
Football and basketball
Sunday at one
Sunday football games that start at 1:00 p.m. Eastern start at 10:00 a.m. Pacific. The late games at 4:25 p.m. ET are at 1:25 p.m. PT. Thursday night games at 8:15 p.m. ET are at 5:15 p.m. PT, when many Californians are still at work.
The finals
A basketball final that starts at 9:00 p.m. ET starts at 6:00 p.m. PT. Californians see it in the early evening, New Yorkers late at night and Europeans in the middle of the night.
Markets, jobs data and earnings
The session seen from the Pacific
The main New York session runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, which is 6:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. PT. An investor in San Francisco starts before sunrise and finishes at lunchtime.
Announcements
Californian companies announce results after the close, for instance at 1:15 p.m. PT, which is 4:15 p.m. ET. New York analysts stay late. The monthly jobs report, published at 8:30 a.m. ET, appears at 5:30 a.m. PT. A trader who has to convert EST to PST for each release can read the Pacific time straight off the table.
The Rose Parade on New Year’s Day
A morning on both coasts
The Pasadena parade begins at 8:00 a.m. Pacific, which is 11:00 a.m. Eastern. New Yorkers see it in the middle of the morning, while the sun is only just up in Pasadena.
For broadcasts
Networks begin coverage an hour earlier: 7:00 a.m. PT, or 10:00 a.m. ET. For a viewer in Bucharest, who sees it at 18:00, it is evening. An error in a “convert EST to PST” calculation would put the parade on the wrong day.
Newspapers and puzzles
Release at fixed hours
Major American newspapers release their daily puzzles at 10:00 p.m. ET on weekdays, which is 7:00 p.m. PT, and at 6:00 p.m. ET at weekends, which is 3:00 p.m. PT. Californian readers get them three hours earlier on their own clocks.
Embargoes
Stories under embargo lift at set times in ET. An embargo until 6:00 a.m. ET is until 3:00 a.m. PT. Reporters in Los Angeles have to be online in the middle of the night.
Online classes across the continent
Lecture times
An online lecture at 11:00 a.m. EST starts at 8:00 a.m. PST. Students in California sign on early in the morning, those in New York at lunchtime. A university teaching on both coasts usually schedules after 12:00 EST.
Deadlines
A deadline of 11:59 p.m. EST is 8:59 p.m. PST. A Californian student who treats the deadline as their own midnight is in fact three hours late. The inverse error, a New Yorker assuming the Californian deadline is later, has the same effect.
Hollywood and Broadway
Premieres on two coasts
A Hollywood premiere that begins at 7:00 p.m. PT is reported in East Coast media at 10:00 p.m. ET. A Broadway performance that begins at 8:00 p.m. ET is at 5:00 p.m. PT on a live stream for Californians.
Joint productions
Los Angeles studios and New York offices talk every day. A meeting at 10:00 a.m. PT is at 1:00 p.m. ET, in the middle of the New York lunch hour. Producers often settle on 9:00 a.m. PT, which is noon ET, as the meeting point.
Arizona, Indiana and other exceptions
Places without summer time
Most of Arizona does not change its clocks. In summer, Phoenix keeps the same time as Los Angeles; in winter it is an hour ahead. Compared with New York, the difference is three hours in summer (EDT against MST) and two in winter.
How to avoid slips
When someone says “Pacific time”, do not assume Arizona. Ask for the city. A “convert EST to PST” calculation based on PST does not apply to Phoenix in January.
The four continental zones
The ladder from the East
From Eastern time subtract one hour for Central, two for Mountain and three for Pacific. Alaska is four hours behind and Hawaii five in winter.
The same instant in four cities
At noon in New York it is 11:00 a.m. in Chicago, 10:00 a.m. in Denver and 9:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. Writing these in an invitation makes a separate convert EST to PST unnecessary for the reader.
Dated examples
January
On Thursday 15 January, 20:00 EST is 17:00 PST. Both regions are on standard time.
March
On Thursday 19 March, 20:00 EDT is 17:00 PDT. Both changed on 8 March, so the gap is still three hours.
August
On Thursday 13 August, 20:00 EDT is 17:00 PDT. The labels are summer labels; the figure is the same.
November
On Thursday 5 November, 20:00 EST is 17:00 PST. Both returned to standard time on 1 November.
Thanksgiving across two coasts
Dinner and games
On Thanksgiving, families split between the East Coast and California call each other during the day. Dinner starts at about 4:00 p.m. ET in many East Coast homes, which is 1:00 p.m. PT in California. Football games that day begin at noon and at 4:30 p.m. ET, which is 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. PT.
The New York parade
The New York department-store parade starts at 9:00 a.m. ET, which is 6:00 a.m. PT. Californians see it before dawn or watch later. A “convert EST to PST” calculation for the broadcast time shows when to set the alarm.
Summer time and this pair
Period by period
EST and PST move their clocks on the same dates, so the difference stays at 3 hours all year. In summer the labels become EDT and PDT, but the sum is unchanged.
How to apply it
The 2026 changes: Europe on 29 March and 25 October, North America on 8 March and 1 November. Nothing about the sum changes with the season when you convert EST to PST.
A 24-hour lookup table
From EST to PST
00:00 EST is 21:00 PST (previous day). 01:00 EST is 22:00 PST (previous day). 02:00 EST is 23:00 PST (previous day). 03:00 EST is 00:00 PST. 04:00 EST is 01:00 PST. 05:00 EST is 02:00 PST. 06:00 EST is 03:00 PST. 07:00 EST is 04:00 PST. 08:00 EST is 05:00 PST. 09:00 EST is 06:00 PST. 10:00 EST is 07:00 PST. 11:00 EST is 08:00 PST. 12:00 EST is 09:00 PST. 13:00 EST is 10:00 PST. 14:00 EST is 11:00 PST. 15:00 EST is 12:00 PST. 16:00 EST is 13:00 PST. 17:00 EST is 14:00 PST. 18:00 EST is 15:00 PST. 19:00 EST is 16:00 PST. 20:00 EST is 17:00 PST. 21:00 EST is 18:00 PST. 22:00 EST is 19:00 PST. 23:00 EST is 20:00 PST.
What the table shows
On the left of each pair is a EST reading; on the right, the PST reading for the same moment, with the date change marked. The sums are the ones the calculator performs when you convert EST to PST. Because the difference is a whole number of hours, the minutes in the answer are the same as in the question.
Half-hour conversions
EST half-hours in PST
00:30 EST is 21:30 PST (previous day). 01:30 EST is 22:30 PST (previous day). 02:30 EST is 23:30 PST (previous day). 03:30 EST is 00:30 PST. 04:30 EST is 01:30 PST. 05:30 EST is 02:30 PST. 06:30 EST is 03:30 PST. 07:30 EST is 04:30 PST. 08:30 EST is 05:30 PST. 09:30 EST is 06:30 PST. 10:30 EST is 07:30 PST. 11:30 EST is 08:30 PST. 12:30 EST is 09:30 PST. 13:30 EST is 10:30 PST. 14:30 EST is 11:30 PST. 15:30 EST is 12:30 PST. 16:30 EST is 13:30 PST. 17:30 EST is 14:30 PST. 18:30 EST is 15:30 PST. 19:30 EST is 16:30 PST. 20:30 EST is 17:30 PST. 21:30 EST is 18:30 PST. 22:30 EST is 19:30 PST. 23:30 EST is 20:30 PST.
What to remember
Half-hour starts are as easy to convert as whole hours. The rows below are the result of the same rule you use when you convert EST to PST.
Ten readings with minutes
Examples from EST to PST
01:05 EST is 22:05 PST (previous day). 03:20 EST is 00:20 PST. 05:50 EST is 02:50 PST. 07:35 EST is 04:35 PST. 10:10 EST is 07:10 PST. 13:25 EST is 10:25 PST. 16:40 EST is 13:40 PST. 19:55 EST is 16:55 PST. 22:15 EST is 19:15 PST. 23:05 EST is 20:05 PST.
What to notice
These are less round examples, with minutes. With a whole-hour offset the minutes are untouched; if they differ in your result, the input was misread.
What part of the day is it?
PST equivalents for each EST hour
06:00 EST is 03:00 PST (night). 08:00 EST is 05:00 PST (early morning). 10:00 EST is 07:00 PST (early morning). 12:00 EST is 09:00 PST (morning). 14:00 EST is 11:00 PST (morning). 16:00 EST is 13:00 PST (around midday). 18:00 EST is 15:00 PST (afternoon). 20:00 EST is 17:00 PST (afternoon). 22:00 EST is 19:00 PST (evening).
How to use the list
The words in brackets describe the part of the day in PST. They help you avoid planning a call or a task for the middle of the night after you convert EST to PST.
Before you convert EST to PST: a short checklist
Before the sum
Check the zone names
Eastern Standard Time is UTC−5; Australia uses the letters EST too, at UTC+10, which this page does not cover. Pacific Standard Time is UTC−8; the letters PST are also used for the Philippines and for Pakistan, which are not covered here.
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 EST becomes 06:15 PST.
After the sum
The operation
Subtract 3 hours. If the result passes midnight, correct the date: readings before 03:00 fall on the previous date.
A second example
An evening check: 22:40 EST gives 19:40 PST.
Common slips when you convert EST to PST
Adding instead of subtracting
PST trails EST: expect a smaller number, not a bigger one.
Losing the date
EST readings before 03:00 fall on the previous date. Keeping the original date produces a one-day error.
Mixing up labels in summer
Summer renames the zones EDT and PDT without moving them apart. The new names do not change the gap, so leave the sum alone.
Confusing the abbreviation
Eastern Standard Time is UTC−5; Australia uses the letters EST too, at UTC+10, which this page does not cover. Pacific Standard Time is UTC−8; the letters PST are also used for the Philippines and for Pakistan, which are not covered here.
Frequently asked questions
By how much do EST and PST differ?
3 hours, and PST is behind EST.
What do I do to convert EST to PST?
Subtract 3 hours from the EST time, then fix the date if the result passes midnight.
What does 21:45 EST become in PST?
18:45 PST.
Does the answer change during the year?
No. The relationship is the same all year.
Is the time I enter sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser.
Where to go next
See also Convert EST to GMT, Convert EST to WET, Convert IST to PST, Convert GMT to PST, Convert PST to WET, Convert CET to EST, Convert EET to EST, Convert EST to EET, Convert PST to CET. The opposite direction is Convert PST to EST.
That is all there is to it. To convert EST to PST, subtract 3 hours; nothing leaves your browser.