A meeting planner for time zones
Finding a call time for people in different cities usually means a lot of mental math: if it is 9 in the morning here, what time is it there, and is that still a reasonable hour? This meeting planner lays the whole day out as a grid instead. Every city gets a row, every hour a column, and the cells are colored by whether that hour falls into the local working day. A column that is inside working hours in every row is a slot that works for everyone.
The grid is built for the date you choose, so daylight saving time is taken into account for that exact day. Weekends count as outside working hours, which matters when Monday morning in one city is still Sunday in another.
How to read the grid
- Rows are the cities, in the order you added them. The first city sets the hours of the grid, from midnight to midnight on the chosen date.
- Columns are one hour each. A cell shows the local time when that hour starts. A small day label marks where a city crosses into the next or the previous day.
- Colors: filled cells are working hours, plain cells are outside them, and dimmed cells are the night, from 22:00 to 7:00 local time. A marked column is inside working hours for every city.
- Selecting a column lists the start time for each city with its date and UTC offset. Copy that list into an invitation or share the link.
Tips for meetings across time zones
- Start with the hardest pair. Two cities far apart decide most of the choice. Add them first, then see who else still fits.
- Check the day, not only the hour. A Friday afternoon call from the US can land on Saturday in Asia and Australia.
- Write times with the city. "15:00 Berlin time" is clearer than a zone abbreviation, which changes when daylight saving time starts.
- Share the link. Everyone sees the same grid in their browser and can check their own row.
- Mind the cost. For long recurring meetings, the meeting cost calculator shows what an hour with the whole team adds up to.
How to use the meeting planner
- 1Add 2 to 6 cities or time zones. You can type a city, a zone like America/Chicago or a short name like CET.
- 2Pick the date of the meeting and adjust the working hours if your team starts earlier or ends later.
- 3Click a column where everyone is in working hours to schedule the call there. Copy the list of local times, or copy a link that opens this exact plan. For a single time in many cities, the time zone converter is quicker.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find the best time for a meeting across time zones?
Add every city that joins the call and pick the date. The grid shows the same 24 hours in each city, with working hours highlighted. Columns marked as a match are inside working hours everywhere. Click one to see the exact local time for each person, then copy it or share the link.
What if no hour works for everyone?
Then the planner tells you so and points to the hours that suit the most cities. For a recurring meeting, one option is to rotate the time, so the early or late slot does not always land on the same people. You can also widen the working hours, for example from 8 to 18, and see what opens up.
Does it handle daylight saving time?
Yes. The grid is built for the date you pick, using the time zone data built into your browser. If a city changes its clocks on that day, the grid has 23 or 25 hours for the first city, or the other cities shift by an hour at the switch.
Why do some cells show half hours?
Some time zones are offset from UTC by hours and minutes, not whole hours. Add one of them and the grid shows times like 14:30 in its row. The columns follow the full hours of the first city, and every other row shows the matching local time, minutes included. Check the UTC offset next to each city name to see which ones they are.
Which city sets the hours of the grid?
The first one on the list. Use the home button next to another city to make it the first, and the grid lines up with its hours from midnight to midnight.
Is my list saved anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser. If you copy the link, the cities, the date, the working hours and the selected slot become part of that link, so whoever opens it sees the same grid.