The short answer: US Eastern is always 3 hours ahead of US Pacific. Both coasts change their clocks together, so the gap stays a constant 3 hours all year. To convert, subtract three: 9:00 AM EST is 6:00 AM PST, and 12:00 PM ET is 9:00 AM PT. The best coast-to-coast meeting window is late morning to mid-afternoon Eastern.
Eastern and Pacific are the most common US time-zone pairing for remote teams, and it is one of the easiest to get right. Unlike international pairs, both zones shift for daylight saving on the same dates, so the offset is always exactly three hours.
How far ahead is EST of PST?
Eastern Time sits three hours ahead of Pacific Time, and that gap holds every day of the year. Because the US East and West coasts spring forward and fall back together, you never have to track a seasonal exception between them.
| Period | EST ahead of PST |
|---|---|
| US summer (daylight saving) | 3 hours |
| US winter (standard time) | 3 hours |
To go from Eastern to Pacific, subtract 3 hours. To go the other way, add 3. For background on each zone, see what is EST and what is PST.
EST to PST conversions
Here are the common times of day converted from Eastern to Pacific. Subtract three hours and the rest follows.
| Eastern (ET) | Pacific (PT) |
|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | 6:00 AM |
| 12:00 PM | 9:00 AM |
| 5:00 PM | 2:00 PM |
At 9 AM ET the West Coast is only just waking; by noon ET it is a comfortable 9 AM PT; and a 5 PM ET wrap-up is still mid-afternoon at 2 PM PT.
The best window for a coast-to-coast meeting
The overlap you want is late morning to mid-afternoon Eastern. A meeting at 12 PM ET lands at 9 AM PT, which is inside working hours on both coasts, and an early-afternoon Eastern slot keeps the West Coast firmly in its morning. Aim before the East Coast leaves for the day, and after the West Coast has started.
The 3-hour gap is stable because both coasts change clocks on the same dates. The only edge case is people outside the US joining a call, since their offset to the US shifts when only the US changes. For an all-US Eastern-to-Pacific meeting, three hours is all you need.
Stop checking this every time
Three hours is easy arithmetic, but doing it for every invite still adds friction. Atlas keeps your East and West coast cities side by side in your Mac menu bar, shades the hours when both sides are working, and writes any meeting to your calendar in both local times. One glance tells you whether now is a good time to call.
Frequently asked
How many hours ahead is EST than PST?
What is 9 AM EST in PST?
What is the best time for an EST to PST meeting?
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