The best time for meetings between the US and Europe
The US–Europe meeting is the most common international call in business, and also the one with the narrowest window. Here is where the working days actually overlap and how to use that window well.
The time differences
| US city | London / Lisbon | Madrid / Paris / Berlin | Athens / Helsinki |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, Miami, Toronto | +5 h | +6 h | +7 h |
| Chicago, Houston, Dallas | +6 h | +7 h | +8 h |
| Denver | +7 h | +8 h | +9 h |
| Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle | +8 h | +9 h | +10 h |
These are the usual differences for most of the year. During the mismatch weeks of daylight saving time (in 2026: March 8–28 and October 25–31) every number in this table is one hour smaller. See our daylight saving time guide for details.
East Coast and Western Europe: the morning window
For New York or Miami with Madrid, Paris or Berlin, the comfortable overlap is 9:00 to 11:00 AM Eastern, which is 3:00 to 5:00 PM in Central Europe. Slots before 9:00 AM Eastern work well for people who start early in the US and give Europeans more of their afternoon.
- Best slot: 9:00–10:00 AM Eastern (3:00–4:00 PM Madrid).
- Good: 8:00 AM Eastern (2:00 PM Madrid), right after lunch in Spain, so avoid it for Spanish teams that lunch late.
- Last reasonable start: 11:00 AM Eastern (5:00 PM Madrid). After that you are into the European evening.
With London the window is one hour wider: 9:00 AM to noon Eastern is 2:00 to 5:00 PM in the UK.
Central US and Europe
Chicago, Houston and Dallas lose one hour of overlap. The practical window is 8:00 to 10:00 AM Central (3:00 to 5:00 PM in Madrid, 2:00 to 4:00 PM in London). A 7:30 AM start is common for Texas teams that work regularly with Europe.
West Coast and Europe: the hardest pair
Los Angeles and Central Europe are 9 hours apart, so the working days barely touch. The options are:
- 8:00 AM Pacific = 5:00 PM Madrid. The most common compromise. Europeans stay a bit late, Californians start a bit early.
- 7:00 AM Pacific = 4:00 PM Madrid. Better for Europe, harder for the US side.
- Asynchronous updates. For status meetings, a written update or a short recorded video often works better than forcing a call into the edges of both days.
With London the West Coast has an extra hour: 8:00 AM Pacific is 4:00 PM in the UK.
Cultural details that matter
- Spanish lunch hours. Many Spanish teams lunch between 2:00 and 4:00 PM. A 2:00 PM Madrid call (8:00 AM New York) may collide with lunch.
- Friday afternoons. In much of Europe Friday afternoon is short. Avoid scheduling important calls after 3:00 PM Central European Time on Fridays.
- August. Southern Europe slows down considerably in August. Plan key decisions before or after.
- US holidays vs European holidays. Thanksgiving, July 4 and Labor Day in the US; Easter Monday, May 1 and Christmas week in Europe. Check both calendars.
Template for a US–Europe invite
New York 9:30 AM · Chicago 8:30 AM · London 2:30 PM · Madrid 3:30 PM
Writing all the cities in the subject or first line avoids the most common error: someone converting the time in their head and getting the daylight saving week wrong.
To test your own combination of cities, open the planner, choose the date and add each guest. The colors show immediately who would be inside working hours.