KOST — Kosrae Time
See the current KOST time, understand its UTC+11 offset, and compare it with other time zones for scheduling.
How to Convert KOST to Other Time Zones
Open the KOST converter page: Go to https://www.xconvert.com/time-converter/kost-time-zone to open the visual comparison tool with KOST (Kosrae Time, UTC+11) as the reference row. This page is useful when you need to line up work hours in Kosrae with teams elsewhere in the Pacific, East Asia, Australia, or North America, especially for travel planning, shipping coordination, or remote support schedules.
Add comparison cities: Click “+ Add City” and search for cities such as Sydney, Tokyo, and Honolulu to compare KOST against major business and travel hubs. This is practical because Sydney shares part of the wider Oceania business day, Tokyo is a key Asia-Pacific commercial center, and Honolulu is often relevant for Pacific flight routing and cross-ocean coordination even though it sits far behind KOST on the clock.
Select a time range on the grid: Click “Select” to enter selection mode, then drag across the KOST row from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM to highlight a working window in purple. That lets you instantly see that 9:00 AM in KOST is 10:00 PM UTC on the previous day, and for example it is 8:00 AM in Sydney during Australian Eastern Standard Time or 7:00 AM in Tokyo, helping you judge whether a morning call in Kosrae overlaps with office hours elsewhere.
Export and share the result: After selecting the range, use the export options shown on the page: ICS download, Google Calendar, Gmail, Copy to clipboard, or Share link. This is especially useful if you are sending a confirmed meeting slot to a distributed team, because the exported event preserves each participant’s local time automatically and reduces mistakes caused by the International Date Line.
About Kosrae Time (KOST)
KOST stands for Kosrae Time, the standard time used on Kosrae, one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the western Pacific Ocean. Its exact offset is UTC+11:00, which means local time in Kosrae is 11 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time and 11 hours ahead of GMT in pure offset terms.
Kosrae is the easternmost major island state within the Federated States of Micronesia, and its time zone differs from some other FSM states. For example, Pohnpei Time and Kosrae Time both use UTC+11, while Yap and Chuuk use UTC+10, so travelers and administrators moving between FSM states need to check island-specific local time rather than assuming one national time.
KOST has no separate summer or winter clock system, so the offset remains fixed all year. In practical conversion terms, when it is 12:00 noon in KOST, it is 1:00 AM UTC, 2:00 PM in Auckland during NZST is not correct unless seasonally checked, and the previous day in much of the Americas, which matters for scheduling cargo updates, government communications, and Pacific-region operations.
Although KOST is a relatively specialized abbreviation compared with EST or GMT, it shares the same UTC+11 offset with several other abbreviations in different regions and seasons, including AEDT, AET, BST, LHDT, MAGT, NCT, NFT, PONT, SAKT, SBT, SRET, VLAST, and VUT. These are not interchangeable labels, because they refer to different places and in some cases only apply seasonally; the safe rule is to match both the abbreviation and the city or region.
KOST and Daylight Saving Time
Kosrae Time does not observe daylight saving time. The DST status for KOST is false, so there is no spring clock change, no autumn clock change, and no switch to a different seasonal abbreviation at any point in the year.
For 2026, the exact number of KOST time changes is zero. There is no DST start date in 2026, no DST end date in 2026, and KOST remains UTC+11:00 from January 1 through December 31.
This fixed offset makes KOST easier to work with than time zones that shift seasonally, but the comparison still changes when the other location observes DST. For example, the time difference between Kosrae and Sydney is not constant year-round because Sydney alternates between AEST (UTC+10) and AEDT (UTC+11), while Kosrae stays at UTC+11 every day of the year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does KOST stand for?
KOST stands for Kosrae Time, the local standard time used in Kosrae State in the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a Pacific time zone with a fixed offset of UTC+11:00, used year-round without daylight saving adjustments.
Is KOST the same as GMT?
KOST is not the same clock time as GMT. GMT is effectively UTC+0, while KOST is UTC+11, so KOST is 11 hours ahead of GMT; when it is 12:00 PM GMT, it is 11:00 PM KOST on the same day.
Which cities use KOST?
KOST is associated with Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia, rather than a long list of large global cities. The principal populated area commonly referenced is around Tofol, the state capital area, and the time zone is used across Kosrae State for government, schools, local transport, and daily business.
What is the UTC offset for KOST?
The exact UTC offset for KOST is UTC+11:00. That means you add 11 hours to UTC to get local time in Kosrae, so 6:00 AM UTC becomes 5:00 PM KOST on the same calendar day.
When does KOST change?
KOST does not change during the year because it does not observe daylight saving time. There is no switch to a summer abbreviation, no clock movement by one hour, and no published DST transition date for 2026 or for typical current-year use.
Is KOST the same as UTC+11?
Yes, KOST is a UTC+11 time zone. However, not every place on UTC+11 uses the abbreviation KOST, so for accurate scheduling you should confirm both the offset and the location name, especially when comparing with regions that use seasonal abbreviations like AEDT.
How far ahead is KOST from UTC?
KOST is 11 hours ahead of UTC. For example, if it is 9:00 PM UTC on Monday, it is 8:00 AM KOST on Tuesday, which is why date shifts are common when coordinating between Kosrae and Europe or the Americas.
Does KOST observe daylight saving time in 2026?
No, KOST does not observe daylight saving time in 2026. The offset remains UTC+11:00 for the entire year, so any seasonal difference you notice when comparing KOST with Australia, New Zealand, Europe, or North America is caused by those regions changing their clocks, not by Kosrae.