EST to CST Converter
Central Time is on daylight saving time: CDT (UTC−5) until Sun, Nov 1.
Mexico City and Saskatchewan stay on CST (UTC−6).
Start by searching for a time zone, city, or town.
Add one or more places to compare local times, adjust the date, and share the result.
Quick answers
Selected conversion
8:00 am08:00 EDT (UTC-4), Oct 17, 2026 = 7:00 am07:00 CDT (UTC-5), Oct 17, 2026
EDT is 1 hour ahead of CDT.
EST (US winter time, UTC-5) and CST (US winter time, UTC-6) examples
These examples always use EST (UTC-5) and CST (UTC-6). They stay the same when you change the date or time above. The selected conversion may differ when daylight saving time applies.
EST is 1 hour ahead of CST.
EST is US Eastern winter time (early November to mid-March). The rest of the year New York uses EDT (UTC-4), one hour later. In July, 9:00 am EDT = 8:00 am CDT09:00 EDT = 08:00 CDT. For Eastern Time that follows daylight saving time, use ET to CT. For daylight-time examples, use EDT to CDT.
Popular EST to CST conversions
| EST (US winter time, UTC-5) | EST (US winter time, UTC-5) 24-hour | CST (US winter time, UTC-6) | CST (US winter time, UTC-6) 24-hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 am | 09:00 | 8:00 am | 08:00 |
How the time difference changes
For most of the year, EDT is 1 hour ahead of CDT. From Nov 1, 2026 to Mar 14, 2027, EST is 1 hour ahead of CST. Briefly around clock changes, EDT is 2 hours ahead of CST or EST and CDT have the same time.
For most of the year, working hours of 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in EDT correspond to 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in CDT. At other times of the year, working hours of 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in EST correspond to 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in CST.For most of the year, working hours of 09:00 to 18:00 in EDT correspond to 08:00 to 17:00 in CDT. At other times of the year, working hours of 09:00 to 18:00 in EST correspond to 08:00 to 17:00 in CST.
Compare EST time with CST time, including current local time, UTC offsets, time difference, daylight saving changes, working hours, and shareable meeting times.
Time Difference
Eastern Daylight Time is 1 hour ahead of Central Daylight Time.
8:00 am08:00 in EDT is 7:00 am07:00 in CDT
EDT to CDT call time
Best time for a conference call or a meeting is between 10am-6pm10:00-18:00 in EDT which corresponds to 9am-5pm09:00-17:00 in CDT
8:00 am08:00 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Offset UTC -4:00 hours
7:00 am07:00 Central Daylight Time (CDT). Offset UTC -5:00 hours
8:00 am08:00 EDT / 7:00 am07:00 CDT
Choose an hour to update the converter. Day labels such as “next day” or “+1” are relative to the selected date in the first column. Use Up and Down arrow keys, Home or End to move between hours, then Enter or Space to select.
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Eastern Standard Time
Offset: EST is 5 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Countries using this time zone: Bahamas, Canada, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States
Principal Cities: The largest city in the EST time zone is New York City in the United States, with about 8.804 million people. Other major cities in this time zone include Toronto, Montréal, Philadelphia, Port-au-Prince.
French: HNE - Heure Normale de l'Est
Spanish: ET - Tiempo del Este, ET - Zona Sureste
Today the lighter areas are on UTC−4 (EDT).
Daylight Saving: This is a standard time zone. During summer, some places set clocks forward one hour for daylight saving time and observe Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
End: Eastern Standard Time (EST) ended on Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 2:00 am02:00 local time and clocks were set one hour forward to Sunday, March 8, 2026, 3:00 am03:00 local daylight time instead. Standard time ends annually on the second Sunday of March.
Start: Eastern Standard Time (EST) starts on Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 am02:00 local time and clocks are set one hour back to Sunday, November 1, 2026, 1:00 am01:00. Standard time starts annually on the first Sunday of November.
See USA daylight saving time and upcoming clock changes worldwide.
EST representations, usage and related time zones
- -05 - basic short
- -0500 - basic
- -05:00 - extended
- -0500 - sign character (-) followed by a four digit time providing hours (05) and minutes (00) of the offset. Indicates an offset of five hours to the west of the zero meridian.
- Romeo - Military abbreviation for EST
- R - short form of 'Romeo'
- America/Atikokan
- America/Cancun
- America/Cayman
- America/Coral_Harbour
- America/Detroit
- America/Fort_Wayne
- America/Grand_Turk
- America/Indiana/Indianapolis
- America/Indiana/Marengo
- America/Indiana/Petersburg
- America/Indiana/Vevay
- America/Indiana/Vincennes
- America/Indiana/Winamac
- America/Indianapolis
- America/Iqaluit
- America/Jamaica
- America/Kentucky/Louisville
- America/Kentucky/Monticello
- America/Louisville
- America/Montreal
- America/Nassau
- America/New_York
- America/Nipigon
- America/Panama
- America/Pangnirtung
- America/Port-au-Prince
- America/Thunder_Bay
- America/Toronto
- Canada/Eastern
- EST
- EST5EDT
- Jamaica
- US/East-Indiana
- US/Eastern
- US/Michigan
- CDT - Central Daylight Time
- EST - Eastern Standard Time
- ET - Eastern Time
- COT - Colombia Time
- CST - Cuba Standard Time
- EASST - Easter Island Summer Time
- ECT - Ecuador Time
- PET - Peru Time
- R - Romeo Time Zone
Central Standard Time
Offset: CST is 6 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Countries using this time zone: Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, United States
Principal Cities: The largest city in the CST time zone is Mexico City in Mexico, with about 12.294 million people. Other major cities in this time zone include Chicago, Houston, Puebla, Santiago de Querétaro.
French: HNC - Heure Normale du Centre
Spanish: CT - Tiempo Central Estándar, CT - Zona Centro
Today the lighter areas are on UTC−5 (Central Daylight Time).
Daylight Saving: This is a standard time zone. During summer, some places set clocks forward one hour for daylight saving time and observe Central Daylight Time (CDT).
End: Central Standard Time (CST) ended on Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 2:00 am02:00 local time and clocks were set one hour forward to Sunday, March 8, 2026, 3:00 am03:00 local daylight time instead. Standard time ends annually on the second Sunday of March.
Start: Central Standard Time (CST) starts on Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 am02:00 local time and clocks are set one hour back to Sunday, November 1, 2026, 1:00 am01:00. Standard time starts annually on the first Sunday of November.
See USA daylight saving time and upcoming clock changes worldwide.
CST representations, usage and related time zones
- -06 - basic short
- -0600 - basic
- -06:00 - extended
- -0600 - sign character (-) followed by a four digit time providing hours (06) and minutes (00) of the offset. Indicates an offset of six hours to the west of the zero meridian.
- Sierra - Military abbreviation for CST
- S - short form of 'Sierra'
- America/Bahia_Banderas
- America/Belize
- America/Chicago
- America/Chihuahua
- America/Costa_Rica
- America/El_Salvador
- America/Guatemala
- America/Indiana/Knox
- America/Indiana/Tell_City
- America/Knox_IN
- America/Managua
- America/Matamoros
- America/Menominee
- America/Merida
- America/Mexico_City
- America/Monterrey
- America/North_Dakota/Beulah
- America/North_Dakota/Center
- America/North_Dakota/New_Salem
- America/Ojinaga
- America/Rainy_River
- America/Rankin_Inlet
- America/Regina
- America/Resolute
- America/Swift_Current
- America/Tegucigalpa
- America/Winnipeg
- CST6CDT
- Canada/Central
- Canada/Saskatchewan
- Mexico/General
- US/Central
- US/Indiana-Starke
- Central Standard Time - UTC -6
- China Standard Time - UTC +8
- Cuba Standard Time - UTC -5
- CST - Central Standard Time
- CT - Central Time
- MDT - Mountain Daylight Time
- EAST - Easter Island Standard Time
- GALT - Galapagos Time
- S - Sierra Time Zone