What is CST in CET?
Central European Time is 7 hours ahead
Central Time is on UTC−5:00 and Central European Time is on UTC+2:00 right now. Both are on daylight saving, so their clocks read CDT and CEST. The gap changes during the year — see below.
- Time in Chicago
- 9:13 pm
- Time in Paris
- 4:13 am
- Difference
- +7 h
- Next clock change
- October 25, 2026
Convert a time
CEST — Central European Time
4:00 am
Wed, the next day
When the difference changes
Central Time and Central European Time do not change their clocks on the same dates, so the gap between them is not the same all year. Most converters show only today’s figure. These are the periods ahead:
- Now – October 25, 2026Central European Time is 7 hours ahead
- October 25, 2026 – November 1, 2026Central European Time is 6 hours ahead
- November 1, 2026 – March 14, 2027Central European Time is 7 hours ahead
- March 14, 2027 – March 28, 2027Central European Time is 6 hours ahead
- March 28, 2027 – onwardsCentral European Time is 7 hours ahead
Periods shorter than a day are not listed: both zones change at 2am in their own local time, so there are a few hours on each transition date when the gap is briefly something else.
Daylight saving
Central Time
Clocks go back one hour at 2am local time, becoming CST.
Central European Time
Clocks go back one hour at 2am local time, becoming CET.
CST to CET conversion table
Every hour of Tuesday, September 22, 2026, converted from Central Time to Central European Time. 7 of the 24 hours fall on a different calendar day in Paris, which is marked.
- 12:00 am CDT
- 7:00 am CEST
- 1:00 am CDT
- 8:00 am CEST
- 2:00 am CDT
- 9:00 am CEST
- 3:00 am CDT
- 10:00 am CEST
- 4:00 am CDT
- 11:00 am CEST
- 5:00 am CDT
- 12:00 pm CEST
- 6:00 am CDT
- 1:00 pm CEST
- 7:00 am CDT
- 2:00 pm CEST
- 8:00 am CDT
- 3:00 pm CEST
- 9:00 am CDT
- 4:00 pm CEST
- 10:00 am CDT
- 5:00 pm CEST
- 11:00 am CDT
- 6:00 pm CEST
- 12:00 pm CDT
- 7:00 pm CEST
- 1:00 pm CDT
- 8:00 pm CEST
- 2:00 pm CDT
- 9:00 pm CEST
- 3:00 pm CDT
- 10:00 pm CEST
- 4:00 pm CDT
- 11:00 pm CEST
- 5:00 pm CDT
- 12:00 am CEST+1 day
- 6:00 pm CDT
- 1:00 am CEST+1 day
- 7:00 pm CDT
- 2:00 am CEST+1 day
- 8:00 pm CDT
- 3:00 am CEST+1 day
- 9:00 pm CDT
- 4:00 am CEST+1 day
- 10:00 pm CDT
- 5:00 am CEST+1 day
- 11:00 pm CDT
- 6:00 am CEST+1 day
Scheduling between the two
Working hours overlap from 9:00 am to 11:00 am CDT, which is 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm CEST. Anything inside that window falls in the normal working day at both ends.
A note on CST: it can also mean China Standard Time (UTC+8) and Cuba Standard Time (UTC−5). This page means US Central Time.
Central Time (CDT) is used in Dallas, Houston, Mexico City and Winnipeg
Central European Time (CEST) is used in Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam, Warsaw and Stockholm