BST to EST Converter (UK Time to Eastern Time)

Eastern Time is 5 hours behind UK time for most of 2026. From March 8, 2026 to March 29, 2026: Eastern Time is 4 hours behind UK time. From October 25, 2026 to November 1, 2026: Eastern Time is 4 hours behind UK time.

The UK keeps Greenwich Mean Time in winter and British Summer Time (UTC+01:00) from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October. New York keeps Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00) and changes to EDT (UTC−04:00) between the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November. Most of the year both sides have moved by the same hour and the gap stays at five hours.

In 2026 the US changed on March 8, three weeks ahead of the UK on March 29, and returns to standard time on November 1, a week after the UK on October 25. In those two stretches the gap is four hours.

How to use this tool

1. Pick a date and time in BST. The date matters when daylight saving time is in force.
2. Read the matching time in EST, with both UTC offsets.
3. Use "Use current time" for now, or the tables below for a quick look.

Formula

EST time = BST time − (BST UTC offset) + (EST UTC offset)

The converter looks up both UTC offsets for the actual instant in the saved IANA time zone rules, so daylight saving changes are included automatically.

Example

Worked with the saved rules:

9:00 AM GMT on March 2, 2026 = 4:00 AM EST

6:30 PM BST on August 3, 2026 = 1:30 PM EDT

Time difference through the year

The difference depends on the date when either place moves its clocks. These are the offsets on two reference days, from the saved IANA rules:

Clock changes in 2026

Between these dates the difference shifts by the size of the change.

BST to EST time table

Each hour in UK time with the matching Eastern Time time.

EST to BST time table

Each hour in Eastern Time with the matching UK time time.

Hours that work in both places

Hours (on the January reference day) that fall between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM in both BST and EST:

London's working day on a New York clock

The London Stock Exchange's regular trading runs from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. UK time. In New York that is 3:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the usual five-hour period. The New York Stock Exchange opens at 9:30 a.m., so there are two hours when both are trading.

Because Eastern Time lags behind, a London office that closes at 5:30 p.m. is at the New York lunch hour, 12:30 p.m., and London staff often take American calls just before leaving or from home in the evening.

Booking a flight or a stay across the Atlantic

Flights from London to New York leave at around midday and arrive in the afternoon of the same day by the local clock, because the eight-hour trip is partly offset by five hours of clock time. The return, by contrast, usually leaves in the evening and lands the next morning.

Times at Heathrow and the airports of the New York area are always local. Irish readers can use the same page: Ireland keeps the same clock as the UK.