The time difference between New York and London is one of the most frequently checked conversions for business and travel. London is generally 5 hours ahead of New York.
The exact time difference
When it's 12:00 noon in New York, it's 5:00 PM in London. This 5-hour gap applies during the months when both cities are on the same type of time — either both standard (EST and GMT, roughly November to March) or both daylight saving (EDT and BST, roughly March to October). However, the gap temporarily shifts to 4 hours for about 2-3 weeks in March (when the US springs forward but Europe hasn't yet) and 4 hours again briefly in October/November (when Europe falls back first).
Why the gap changes during DST transitions
The US changes clocks on the second Sunday of March (spring forward) and the first Sunday of November (fall back). Europe changes on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. This creates brief windows where the offset is temporarily different from the usual 5 hours. For example, in March 2026, between March 8 (US DST begins) and March 29 (UK DST begins), London is only 4 hours ahead of New York.
Best meeting times between New York and London
With a 5-hour overlap, the best meeting window is 10:00 AM–2:00 PM Eastern (3:00 PM–7:00 PM London). This keeps the New York participant in the middle of their workday and the London participant in the late afternoon. For scheduling tools, see our New York–London Meeting Planner.