What is the time difference between Amsterdam and Chicago?

Chicago is 7 hours behind Amsterdam. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.

When is the best time to call Chicago from Amsterdam?

Between 16:00–18:00 in Amsterdam, which is 09:00–11:00 in Chicago. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.

Does Amsterdam observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Amsterdam runs on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-25, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

Does Chicago observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Chicago runs on UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

If it is midday in Amsterdam, what time is it in Chicago?

It is 05:00 in Chicago, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.

Which time zones do Amsterdam and Chicago use?

Amsterdam uses Europe/Amsterdam, currently UTC+2 (CEST), and Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Amsterdam time to Chicago time

Right now Chicago runs 7 hours behind Amsterdam. That gap is not fixed: it moves when either city changes its clocks.

Convert a time

From

Date

Time

Converted time

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The converter needs JavaScript to run. Everything below — offsets, daylight saving dates and the hour-by-hour table — is part of the page and works without it.

Hour by hour

The whole day mapped across: read down the left for Amsterdam, across for Chicago.

Amsterdam	Chicago
00:00	17:00previous day
01:00	18:00previous day
02:00	19:00previous day
03:00	20:00previous day
04:00	21:00previous day
05:00	22:00previous day
06:00	23:00previous day
07:00	00:00
08:00	01:00
09:00	02:00
10:00	03:00
11:00	04:00
12:00	05:00
13:00	06:00
14:00	07:00
15:00	08:00
16:00	09:00
17:00	10:00
18:00	11:00
19:00	12:00
20:00	13:00
21:00	14:00
22:00	15:00
23:00	16:00

Daylight saving time

Both cities change their clocks, but not necessarily on the same date — which is why the difference between them shifts for a few weeks each year.

Amsterdam

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+1
Daylight: UTC+2
Next change: 2026-10-25 −60m

Chicago

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-6
Daylight: UTC-5
Next change: 2026-11-01 −60m

When you can actually talk

You have 2 hours of shared working time: 16:00–18:00 in Amsterdam, which is 09:00–11:00 in Chicago.

Amsterdam 16:00–18:00Chicago 09:00–11:00

Reference

The underlying data, in case you need to put it in a calendar invitation or a configuration file.

	Amsterdam	Chicago
IANA zone	Europe/Amsterdam	America/Chicago
Abbreviation	CEST	CDT
Standard offset	UTC+1	UTC-6
Daylight offset	UTC+2	UTC-5
Clock changes this year	2	2
Country	Netherlands	United States

Example, not the current time. Live times appear once the page loads.

Common questions

What is the time difference between Amsterdam and Chicago?: Chicago is 7 hours behind Amsterdam. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.
When is the best time to call Chicago from Amsterdam?: Between 16:00–18:00 in Amsterdam, which is 09:00–11:00 in Chicago. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
Does Amsterdam observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Amsterdam runs on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-25, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
Does Chicago observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Chicago runs on UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
If it is midday in Amsterdam, what time is it in Chicago?: It is 05:00 in Chicago, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.
Which time zones do Amsterdam and Chicago use?: Amsterdam uses Europe/Amsterdam, currently UTC+2 (CEST), and Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.