International Meeting Guide
Best Meeting Times Between the US and Europe
The best meeting time depends heavily on which US region is involved. East Coast teams have meaningful overlap with European working hours; West Coast teams often have little or none at all. Here's what the actual numbers look like, region by region.
The short answer
For US East Coast and European teams, the easiest meeting window is generally the US morning and the European afternoon. The farther west the US participant is located, the smaller the shared working-hours window becomes — until, on the West Coast, it effectively disappears.
Using MeetingTrip's configured 9:00 AM–5:00 PM working hours for each city on a representative weekday, here's the normal working-hours overlap by corridor:
- New York ↔ London: 3 hours of shared working hours
- Chicago ↔ London: 2 hours
- Denver ↔ London: 1 hour
- Los Angeles ↔ London: no normal 9:00 AM–5:00 PM overlap
These examples use each city's default working hours as configured in MeetingTrip. Your actual result depends on the specific cities, the meeting date, and each participant's real working hours — the International Meeting Planner calculates it exactly for your situation.
By US region
US ↔ Europe corridor comparison
These are representative city pairs, not universal rules — but they illustrate a real and consistent pattern: overlap shrinks steadily as you move west across the US, using each city's normal 9:00 AM–5:00 PM working day and a representative summer weekday. To line up any two cities side by side, use Compare Time Zones.
| Corridor | Representative pair | Working-hours overlap | DST caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| US East ↔ UK | New York ↔ London | 3 hours | Widens to 4h during US/UK DST mismatch weeks |
| US East ↔ Central Europe | New York ↔ Berlin | 3 hours | Same mismatch pattern as London |
| US Central ↔ Europe | Chicago ↔ London | 2 hours | Same mismatch pattern applies |
| US Mountain ↔ Europe | Denver ↔ London | 1 hour | Same mismatch pattern applies |
| US West ↔ Europe | Los Angeles ↔ London | No normal overlap | Mismatch weeks briefly create one fully comfortable slot |
These figures come from MeetingTrip's own configured city data and working-hours logic, for a representative weekday. The International Meeting Planner calculates the real overlap for your specific cities, working hours and date.
A genuinely useful surprise
Why daylight saving time can change the best meeting window
The US and Europe don't switch daylight saving time on the same dates. In spring the US typically moves its clocks about three weeks before the UK and Europe do; in autumn the order reverses, with the UK and Europe changing first and the US following about a week later. During those short windows, the time difference between US and European cities temporarily changes.
It's tempting to assume a DST mismatch always makes scheduling harder. For New York and London specifically, it's the opposite: during the mismatch weeks, the working-hours overlap temporarily gets larger, not smaller. The current time difference in London shows where the gap stands today.
| Period | Time difference | Working-hours overlap |
|---|---|---|
| Normal winter (both on standard time) | 5 hours | 3 hours |
| Normal summer (both on daylight saving time) | 5 hours | 3 hours |
| Spring mismatch (US has changed clocks, UK hasn't yet) | 4 hours | 4 hours |
| Autumn mismatch (UK has changed clocks, US hasn't yet) | 4 hours | 4 hours |
The practical takeaway: don't memorize the time difference between two cities — calculate it for the actual meeting date. A gap that's reliably 5 hours most of the year can genuinely be 4 hours for a few weeks each spring and autumn, and MeetingTrip's tools calculate this automatically rather than assuming a fixed number.
Worked example 1
New York ↔ London: a relatively easy US-Europe meeting
Working hours: New York 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, London 9:00 AM–5:00 PM. Time-zone difference: 5 hours. Overlap: New York 9:00 AM–12:00 PM, which is 2:00 PM–5:00 PM in London. Calculated for a representative summer weekday — actual results vary by meeting date because of daylight saving time.
The first two options land both participants fully inside their normal working day. The third is scored lower — by noon in New York, London's working day has just ended, so only one side is still genuinely "at work."
See the full New York ↔ London meeting-time breakdown, including how the recommendations change during daylight-saving mismatch weeks.
Worked example 2
Los Angeles ↔ London: when there is no easy overlap
Working hours: Los Angeles 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, London 9:00 AM–5:00 PM. Time-zone difference: 8 hours during the summer. There is no time where both participants are inside their configured normal working hours at once — one side has to accept an earlier or later meeting. Calculated for a representative summer weekday — actual results vary by meeting date because of daylight saving time.
Both options score 90, not 100 — because exactly one side is outside its normal working hours either way. There's no "perfect" time here, only a choice of which side takes the inconvenience: an early start in Los Angeles, or a late finish in London.
See the full Los Angeles ↔ London meeting-time breakdown, including the one meeting time that becomes fully comfortable during daylight-saving mismatch weeks.
A practical note
Recurring meetings should share the inconvenience
When a corridor like Los Angeles ↔ London has no comfortable overlap, a recurring weekly or monthly meeting can quietly become unfair — the same region always ends up taking the early morning or late evening call. Many international teams handle this by rotating who takes the inconvenient slot each time, rather than defaulting to whichever region is easiest to ask. If someone is flying in for the meeting rather than dialling in, when to fly for a business meeting works through the travel side of the same problem.
To be clear: MeetingTrip does not currently track meeting history, calculate rotations, or manage recurring schedules. This is general scheduling practice worth considering, not a feature of the calculators on this site — each recommendation you see here and in the International Meeting Planner is calculated fresh, for a single date, with no memory of past meetings.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time for a meeting between the US and Europe?
It depends heavily on which US region is involved. East Coast teams typically share a few hours of normal working-hours overlap with Europe, usually in the New York morning and the European afternoon. West Coast teams often have little or no shared normal working hours at all, so someone typically has to accept an earlier or later meeting.
What is the best meeting time between the US East Coast and Europe?
For New York and London specifically, a normal weekday typically gives about three hours of shared working hours — roughly 9:00 to 11:30 AM New York time, which falls in the early-to-mid afternoon in London. New York and Central European cities like Berlin show a very similar pattern.
Is there a good meeting time between California and Europe?
Not within each side's normal 9-to-5. With an 8-hour gap to London, there's no time when both a Los Angeles team and a London team are inside a standard working day at once — one side has to take an early morning or late-day meeting, or the teams need another arrangement.
How does daylight saving time affect US-Europe meetings?
For a few weeks each spring and autumn the usual gap shifts by an hour, so a recurring slot that normally works can fall outside someone's working hours. For New York and London the shift actually helps, widening the overlap from 3 hours to 4 — but the safe habit is to check the overlap for the actual meeting date rather than assuming last month's slot still fits.
Why does the New York-London time difference sometimes change?
Because the two cities change their clocks on different dates. In spring New York moves about three weeks before London; in autumn London changes first and New York follows about a week later. During those short windows the gap narrows from the usual 5 hours to 4 — which our International Meeting Planner calculates automatically for your actual meeting date, rather than relying on a fixed rule.
Should recurring international meetings rotate meeting times?
It's worth considering. When there's no comfortable overlap, always giving one region the early or late slot can wear on that team over time, so many international teams rotate who takes the inconvenient time instead. This is a scheduling practice, not something MeetingTrip currently tracks automatically.
Related planning tools and guides
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These examples use representative cities and dates. Enter your real participants and date in the International Meeting Planner for a calculation specific to you.