Compare PST vs GMT
See the current PST and GMT time gap, understand seasonal DST changes, and find practical meeting times across both zones.
How to Find the Time Difference Between PST and GMT
Open the PST vs GMT converter: Go to https://www.xconvert.com/time-converter/pst-vs-gmt to load a comparison grid with PST and GMT already shown as separate rows on a 24-hour timeline. This view is useful when you are scheduling a call between the U.S. West Coast and teams that work on Greenwich Mean Time, such as logistics partners, shipping coordinators, or organizations that use GMT as a fixed reference for international operations.
Add relevant comparison cities: Click + Add City and add places such as Los Angeles, London, and Reykjavik to see how PST compares with real business hubs that are often discussed alongside GMT. This is especially practical for media, software, and e-commerce teams that coordinate West Coast working hours with UK clients, Atlantic shipping schedules, or Iceland-based operations that stay on UTC year-round.
Drag to select a meeting window: Click Select if needed, then drag across the PST row from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM PST to highlight that range in purple; the GMT row will show the matching time as 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM GMT on the same day. That makes it easy to confirm that a mid-morning meeting in California lands near the end of the business day in GMT-based schedules, which matters for sales demos, legal reviews, and same-day project handoffs.
Export and share the selected time: After selecting the range, use the export options for ICS download, Google Calendar, Gmail, Copy to clipboard, or Share link to send the exact slot to everyone involved. For example, a distributed team can download the ICS file so the event appears in each person’s local calendar automatically, while a recruiter or account manager can paste the share link into email or chat for quick confirmation across regions.
PST vs GMT Offset Explained
Pacific Standard Time (PST) is UTC-8, while Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is UTC+0, so GMT is 8 hours ahead of PST. That means when it is 9:00 AM in PST, it is 5:00 PM in GMT, and when it is 6:00 PM in PST, it is 2:00 AM in GMT the next day. This gap is large enough that many overlapping work windows are limited to the PST morning and the late GMT afternoon.
The key seasonal issue is that PST is only used during standard time, not year-round. In most of the United States and Canada that observe Pacific Time, clocks switch to daylight saving time on the second Sunday in March and return on the first Sunday in November; for 2025, that means the Pacific zone changes on March 9, 2025 and November 2, 2025. During that daylight period, the region uses Pacific Daylight Time (PDT, UTC-7), so the difference from GMT becomes 7 hours instead of 8.
GMT itself does not change for daylight saving time because it is a fixed standard based on the Prime Meridian at 0° longitude in Greenwich, London. However, many people confuse GMT with the time used in the UK year-round; in practice, the UK uses GMT in winter and British Summer Time (BST, UTC+1) in summer. So if you are actually coordinating with London rather than a fixed GMT reference, the difference versus Pacific time can shift again depending on whether the U.S. and UK have both changed clocks yet.
This distinction matters in real scheduling. A support team in San Francisco working at 8:00 AM PST can reach a GMT-based operations desk at 4:00 PM GMT, which is still inside a normal business day; but if the Pacific team is on PDT, that same 8:00 AM start maps to 3:00 PM GMT. For finance, cloud infrastructure, international customer support, and freight coordination, that one-hour seasonal change can affect escalation cutoffs, trading-related communication, and same-day approvals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the exact time difference between PST and GMT?
GMT is 8 hours ahead of PST when Pacific Standard Time is in effect. For example, 7:00 AM PST = 3:00 PM GMT and 10:00 PM PST = 6:00 AM GMT the next day. This applies during the standard-time portion of the year, typically from early November to early March in Pacific Time regions.
Does PST always stay 8 hours behind GMT?
No. PST specifically means UTC-8, but Pacific regions such as California, Washington, and British Columbia do not stay on PST all year. From March 9, 2025, to November 2, 2025, those regions use PDT (UTC-7) instead, so the difference from GMT becomes 7 hours during that period.
Is London the same as GMT all year?
No, London is not on GMT for the entire year. The UK uses GMT in winter and switches to BST (UTC+1) in summer, so a meeting with London may be 8 hours ahead of PST in winter but differ by another hour when BST is active and Pacific time is on either PST or PDT. This is why using a visual converter is safer than assuming “London = GMT” in every month.
When is the best meeting time between PST and GMT?
The most practical overlap is usually 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM PST, which corresponds to 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM GMT during standard time. That window works well for remote software teams, agency-client calls, and international operations reviews because it stays inside a normal workday for both sides. Later PST afternoon meetings often push GMT participants into late evening or the next calendar day.
How do I convert 9 AM PST to GMT?
Add 8 hours to convert 9:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM GMT. If the Pacific location is actually observing daylight saving time, then you would add 7 hours instead, making 9:00 AM PDT = 4:00 PM GMT. This is a common source of scheduling mistakes for webinars, onboarding sessions, and cross-border vendor meetings.
Why do PST and GMT meeting times change in March and November?
They change because Pacific Time observes daylight saving time while GMT does not. In 2025, Pacific clocks move forward on March 9 and move back on November 2, so the offset shifts between 8 hours and 7 hours depending on the season. This affects recurring meetings, especially for multinational companies that run weekly calls across North America and Europe.
What industries commonly need PST to GMT conversion?
Technology companies with engineering teams on the U.S. West Coast often coordinate with infrastructure, compliance, or vendor teams that use GMT or GMT-based reporting standards. International shipping, aviation operations, cybersecurity monitoring, and global customer support also rely on accurate PST-to-GMT conversion because status updates, incident logs, and handoff times often need a fixed international reference. Even a one-hour seasonal mistake can disrupt SLA deadlines, flight-related coordination, or end-of-day reporting.