Best Time to Schedule Meetings Between the US and Europe
Published May 2026
Working across the Atlantic is a daily reality for thousands of teams. From product launches in New York coordinated with engineers in Berlin, to sales calls between London and San Francisco, transatlantic scheduling is one of the most common challenges in modern business. The good news is that the time zone math is fairly predictable once you know the overlap windows.
Best Overlap Windows
Most of Western Europe operates on Central European Time (UTC+1), with the United Kingdom on GMT (UTC+0). The U.S. East Coast is on Eastern Time (UTC-5), and the West Coast is on Pacific Time (UTC-8). The reliable overlap between U.S. business hours and European business hours is roughly 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM Eastern, which corresponds to 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM in London and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in Paris or Berlin.
EST and London Examples
New York is five hours behind London during standard time. A 9:00 AM meeting in New York is 2:00 PM in London. This window works extremely well because both teams are within their core working hours. Conversely, scheduling a 4:00 PM London meeting puts New York at 11:00 AM, which is also reasonable.
PST and Europe Challenges
The West Coast is harder. San Francisco is eight hours behind London and nine hours behind Paris. The realistic overlap is 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM Pacific, which is 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM in Paris. That means European colleagues need to extend their day, while West Coast teams must be ready to start early. For long-running collaborations, many teams agree on a fixed weekly slot rather than negotiating each meeting separately.
DST Complications
The U.S. and Europe do not switch to daylight saving time on the same dates. The U.S. moves clocks forward on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November. Europe does both on the last Sundays of March and October. The result is a one-hour mismatch for two short windows each year. During those weeks, the gap between New York and London is four hours instead of five, and you can easily mis-schedule a meeting if you rely on memorized offsets.
Ideal Scheduling Windows
- US East to UK and Europe: 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM Eastern.
- US East to Eastern Europe: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM Eastern.
- US West to UK and Europe: 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM Pacific.
- Multi-region calls: Anchor on 11:00 AM Eastern. That covers London afternoon, Paris afternoon, and West Coast morning.
Common Mistakes
- Inviting people in their evening hours and assuming they will accept.
- Forgetting that the U.K. is one hour behind continental Europe.
- Sending invites without specifying the time zone.
- Booking meetings during the two-week DST mismatch using stale offsets.
- Scheduling recurring calls in local time on one side, which silently shifts on the other side after DST.
Remote Work Best Practices
Successful transatlantic teams treat scheduling as a deliberate process. Document working hours in a shared calendar. Rotate early and late meetings so neither side carries the full burden. Use asynchronous communication where possible, and reserve live calls for moments when synchronous interaction adds clear value.
When the math gets tricky, use the Time Zone Converter or the Meeting Planner to compare overlapping hours visually.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time overlaps between New York and London?
The reliable overlap is 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM Eastern, which is 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM in London during standard time.
What's the best meeting time for Europe and California?
8:00 AM to 9:30 AM Pacific is the most workable window. That places European colleagues in the late afternoon, still within their day.
Does DST affect international meetings?
Yes. Because the U.S. and Europe shift clocks on different dates, expect two short windows each year when offsets temporarily change by one hour.
Plan your next transatlantic call confidently with the Meeting Planner.