Time Difference Calculator
Find the time difference between major cities and countries worldwide.
Useful for scheduling international calls and meetings.
Calculating the time difference between two clock times is straightforward when both times are on the same day, but it gets tricky when the end time is past midnight, when you cross time zones, or when you need to subtract breaks (like lunch) from a worked-hours calculation.
Basic formula (same day): Difference = End Time − Start Time
Convert both times to minutes since midnight, subtract, then convert back.
Formula: Start in minutes = (Start Hour × 60) + Start Minute End in minutes = (End Hour × 60) + End Minute Difference = End − Start (if negative, add 1,440 to account for crossing midnight)
Worked example (same day): Start: 9:15 AM (555 minutes), End: 5:45 PM (1,065 minutes) Difference = 1,065 − 555 = 510 minutes = 8 hours 30 minutes
Worked example (crossing midnight): Start: 10:30 PM (1,350 min), End: 6:00 AM (360 min) Difference = 360 − 1,350 = −990 → add 1,440 → 450 minutes = 7 hours 30 minutes
Net work hours (subtracting breaks): If you worked 8h 30m but took a 45-minute unpaid lunch: Net hours = 510 − 45 = 465 minutes = 7 hours 45 minutes
Practical uses:
- Payroll: calculating hours worked per shift
- Cooking: timing recipes that run into the next day
- Travel: figuring arrival time in a different time zone
- Project planning: measuring elapsed time between events
Time zone adjustment: Add or subtract the offset difference between two zones before calculating.