How It Works

Converting between Eastern and Pacific time zones is straightforward once you understand the offset. The Pacific coast is always 3 hours behind the East Coast, whether we’re in standard time (EST/PST) or daylight saving time (EDT/PDT).

When you input a time in one zone, the converter calculates the equivalent time in the other zone by applying the 3-hour offset. It also checks the date to determine if Daylight Saving Time is in effect (second Sunday in March through first Sunday in November), which affects the abbreviation shown but not the actual offset.

When Do I Need This Converter?

You need this tool whenever you’re coordinating across the US coasts. Common situations include:

Business meetings: Scheduling calls between New York and Los Angeles offices. If your LA team says “let’s meet at 2pm our time,” you instantly know that’s 5pm Eastern.

Live events: Catching a product launch, sports game, or TV show that airs at a specific Eastern time. Awards shows that start at 8pm EST actually start at 5pm PST.

Trading and markets: The stock market opens at 9:30am EST, which is 6:30am PST. Missing this conversion can mean missing your trading window.

Family and friends: Calling relatives without waking them up. Your 8am breakfast call on the West Coast hits them at 11am when they’re actually awake.

What About Daylight Saving Time?

This is where people get confused. During Daylight Saving Time, both zones shift forward by one hour, so the offset stays the same at 3 hours.

From mid-March to early November, the zones are technically EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) and PDT (Pacific Daylight Time). From November to March, they’re EST and PST. But here’s the thing: the 3-hour gap never changes.

Our converter handles this automatically. You don’t need to remember when DST starts or ends. Just input your date and time, and it figures out whether to show EST/PST or EDT/PDT.

Where Is EST Used?

Eastern Time covers the East Coast and parts of the Midwest. Major cities include New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, and Boston. About 47% of the US population lives in this time zone.

It’s also used in parts of Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal) and several Caribbean countries. When someone says “Eastern Time” without specifying a country, they usually mean US Eastern Time.

Where Is PST Used?

Pacific Time covers the West Coast. The major cities are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, and Portland. It’s also used in parts of Nevada and a sliver of Idaho.

In Canada, Pacific Time includes Vancouver and Victoria. About 18% of the US population lives in this zone, but it punches above its weight in terms of business influence (tech industry, entertainment).

Why Is the Time Difference Always 3 Hours?

The US is divided into time zones that are roughly 15 degrees of longitude apart (matching Earth’s rotation). Between Eastern and Pacific, there are three zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Each zone is 1 hour apart.

Eastern and Pacific are separated by two intermediate zones, creating the 3-hour gap. This offset is permanent and consistent because both zones observe Daylight Saving Time on the same schedule. They both spring forward together in March and fall back together in November.

How Do I Avoid Common Mistakes?

The biggest mistake is forgetting which direction the conversion goes. Remember: PST is behind EST. When it’s noon in New York, it’s 9am in Los Angeles. The West Coast wakes up after the East Coast.

Another common error is manually adjusting for Daylight Saving Time when you don’t need to. If you’re converting between US time zones, both zones shift together, so the offset never changes. Don’t overthink it.

Calendar apps can also cause confusion. If you create a meeting in Outlook or Google Calendar and set it to EST, it will automatically show the correct local time for anyone in PST. But if you just write “3pm EST” in an email, your West Coast colleagues need to manually convert it to 12pm their time.

What If I’m Scheduling Across Multiple Time Zones?

If your meeting includes people in Central or Mountain time (the zones between EST and PST), you’ll need to account for those too. Central is 1 hour behind Eastern, Mountain is 2 hours behind Eastern.

For a meeting that works across all four mainland US time zones, the “sweet spot” is usually 1pm EST / 10am PST. This avoids early morning for the West Coast and late afternoon for the East Coast.

Quick Reference Table

Eastern Time (EST/EDT)	Pacific Time (PST/PDT)	Common Use Case
9:00 AM	6:00 AM	Early morning meetings
12:00 PM	9:00 AM	Business hours start overlap
3:00 PM	12:00 PM	Lunch meeting (PST)
5:00 PM	2:00 PM	End of business (EST)
8:00 PM	5:00 PM	Primetime TV, evening events
11:00 PM	8:00 PM	Late night shows

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EST always 3 hours ahead of PST?

Yes. The 3-hour difference is constant throughout the year because both zones observe Daylight Saving Time on the same dates. When EST becomes EDT in March, PST becomes PDT at the same time.

What happens at midnight?

When it’s midnight (12:00 AM) in New York, it’s 9:00 PM the previous day in Los Angeles. This can be confusing for events that span midnight. A concert ending at 1am EST actually ends at 10pm PST the same calendar day (the previous day for EST).

Do I need to convert times for conference calls?

It depends on how the meeting was scheduled. If you use calendar software like Google Calendar or Outlook, it handles the conversion automatically. Everyone sees the meeting in their local time. But if someone just emails “let’s meet at 2pm,” you need to clarify which time zone they mean.

Which cities are in which time zone?

EST/EDT includes New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, and most of Florida. PST/PDT includes Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Portland, and Las Vegas (Las Vegas is actually in Mountain Time, but close enough that people often group it with Pacific).

What if I’m traveling between time zones?

Your phone should automatically update to the local time zone. But double-check your alarm settings. Some phones keep alarms in your home time zone, which can cause problems. If you set an alarm for 6am EST and fly to California, it might go off at 3am PST.

How do I remember which direction to convert?

Think about the sun. The sun rises in the East first, so Eastern Time is ahead. When New Yorkers are having lunch, Los Angeles is still in the morning. West Coast time is behind East Coast time.