PST to EST Converter - Time Zone Tool (2024)

Time Zone Converter: Pacific Standard Time to Eastern Standard Time

The PST and EST time zones represent opposite sides of the North American continent. There is a three hour difference between the two zones. The Pacific zone is offset from UTC by -08:00 hours and the Eastern time zone is offset from UTC by -05:00. The separation of these two zones requires a lot of coordination between them for broadcasting and business purposes.

As you can see, this page offers you a moment-to-moment look at the time in both areas to easily calculate the difference between the two of them. There is also a chart that represents all twenty-four hours of the day in both zones.

If you need to convert between these two zones on the fly, here is an example to follow:

If it is 10:20 AM in PST, then it is 1:20 PM in EST. You need only add three hours to any given time to convert from one to the other.

During the winter months, this time zone is in effect, but in the summer there is a switch that moves the clocks forward an hour as a result of Daylight Saving Time. Most of Canada observes this practice. In Mexico, this zone is known as the Northwest Zone and is also matched with the United State?s time switch in the summer.

The largest city in this zone is easily Los Angeles in the U.S. State of California. This zone is one hour ahead of the Alaska Time Zone and one hour behind the Mountain Time Zone. It is two hours behind the Central Time Zone.

The division of this time zone from the others is not dependent on state boundaries. As a result of this, several states fall in both this time zone and another. The three hour difference between this and the Pacific zone has also brought about the need for complex planning around national broadcasts and prime time television.

While the west coast is home to the iconic ?Silicon Valley? and Hollywood, the east coast houses both the largest city and the capital of the United States, making Eastern Standard Time the unofficial time standard for the U.S.

In Canada, there are three provinces and territories that are primarily, but not entirely, within this time zone: