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Chicago to London Time Converter

London is usually 6 hours ahead of Chicago, so 9:00 AM in Chicago is normally 3:00 PM in London. For a few weeks each year the gap is 5 hours instead, because the US and the UK change their clocks on different dates.

CDT · UTC−5
Mon, Oct 19
BST · UTC+1
Mon, Oct 19

On Monday, October 19, London is 6 hours ahead of Chicago.

Heads-up: clocks in London go back on Sunday, October 25. After that, London is 5 hours ahead of Chicago.

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Time zone rules checked October 2026. The converter runs on your device using its built-in time zone database, so it accounts for daylight saving time on any date you pick.

Chicago and London, hour by hour

Green rows are the hours when both cities are inside an ordinary 9-to-5 working day. Change the date in the converter and this table follows it.

Hour by hour for Monday, October 19, 2026 in Chicago
Chicago CDTLondon BSTOffice hours (9 AM to 5 PM, local weekdays)
12:00 AM6:00 AM
1:00 AM7:00 AM
2:00 AM8:00 AM
3:00 AM9:00 AMLondon only
4:00 AM10:00 AMLondon only
5:00 AM11:00 AMLondon only
6:00 AM12:00 PMLondon only
7:00 AM1:00 PMLondon only
8:00 AM2:00 PMLondon only
9:00 AM3:00 PMBoth working
10:00 AM4:00 PMBoth working
11:00 AM5:00 PMChicago only
12:00 PM6:00 PMChicago only
1:00 PM7:00 PMChicago only
2:00 PM8:00 PMChicago only
3:00 PM9:00 PMChicago only
4:00 PM10:00 PMChicago only
5:00 PM11:00 PM
6:00 PM12:00 AM next day
7:00 PM1:00 AM next day
8:00 PM2:00 AM next day
9:00 PM3:00 AM next day
10:00 PM4:00 AM next day
11:00 PM5:00 AM next day

The best time for a call

If both sides keep roughly 9-to-5 hours, you get 2 hours of overlap on a normal weekday: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM in Chicago, which is 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM in London.

When the gap is 5 hours, the overlap grows to 3 hours: 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM in Chicago.

Chicago is on Central Time, an hour behind New York, and that hour comes straight out of the overlap. With both sides on 9-to-5 you get about two hours, 9 to 11 a.m. in Chicago. Start at 8 and it becomes three.

Central Time also covers Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis and Kansas City, so the same conversions apply if your US team is spread across the middle of the country.

Plan a meeting with Chicago, London and other cities →

Why the time difference changes

Both cities use daylight saving time, but they don’t switch on the same weekend. In the US, clocks go forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November. In the UK, clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October. In the weeks between the two changes, one city has moved its clocks and the other hasn’t, so the difference is an hour off its usual figure.

This catches people out every year, mostly with recurring meetings. Calendar apps keep a recurring event at the organiser’s local time, so for those few weeks it lands an hour earlier or later for everyone else.

London compared with Chicago, Oct 19, 2026 to Oct 19, 2027
FromUntilLondon is9:00 AM in Chicago is
TodayOct 25, 20266 hours ahead3:00 PM BST
Oct 25, 2026Nov 1, 20265 hours ahead2:00 PM GMT
Nov 1, 2026Mar 14, 20276 hours ahead3:00 PM GMT
Mar 14, 2027Mar 28, 20275 hours ahead2:00 PM GMT
Mar 28, 2027—6 hours ahead3:00 PM BST

The two time zones

Chicago

Time zone
Central Time (CST / CDT)
UTC offset
UTC−6, or UTC−5 in summer
Daylight saving
Clocks go forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November.
Next change
Nov 1, 2026 (clocks go back)
IANA zone
America/Chicago

London

Time zone
UK time (GMT / BST)
UTC offset
UTC+0, or UTC+1 in summer
Daylight saving
Clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October.
Next change
Oct 25, 2026 (clocks go back)
IANA zone
Europe/London

Common questions

What time is it in London when it’s 9 AM in Chicago?

Usually 3:00 PM. During the few weeks when the clocks are out of step it’s 2:00 PM. The converter at the top of this page applies the right rule for whatever date you choose.

Is London always 6 hours ahead of Chicago?

No. Over the next twelve months it’s 6 hours most of the time, but it changes for a few weeks: Oct 25 until Nov 1, 2026 (5 hours) and Mar 14 until Mar 28, 2027 (5 hours). That’s down to daylight saving time, explained above.

What’s a good time for a meeting between Chicago and London?

If both sides keep roughly 9-to-5 hours, you get 2 hours of overlap on a normal weekday: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM in Chicago, which is 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM in London.

Is London a day ahead of Chicago?

For part of the day, yes. On a typical day, from about 6:00 PM in Chicago onwards it’s already the next day in London. The converter and hour-by-hour table flag this with a “next day” label.

Need more than two cities? The World Time Grid lines up to five locations side by side, so you can see everyone’s day at once.

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