What is the time difference between Chicago and São Paulo?

São Paulo is 2 hours ahead of Chicago. 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 São Paulo from Chicago?

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

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.

Does São Paulo observe daylight saving time?

No. São Paulo stays on UTC-3 all year, so its clocks never move.

If it is midday in Chicago, what time is it in São Paulo?

It is 14:00 in São Paulo, 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 Chicago and São Paulo use?

Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT), and São Paulo uses America/Sao_Paulo, currently UTC-3. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Chicago time to São Paulo time

São Paulo is 2 hours ahead of Chicago right now, so midday in Chicago lands in the afternoon in São Paulo.

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 Chicago, across for São Paulo.

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

Daylight saving time

Chicago changes its clocks; São Paulo does not. The difference between them therefore shifts by an hour twice a year.

Chicago

Observes daylight saving time

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

São Paulo

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-3

When you can actually talk

The window is 7 hours wide — 09:00–16:00 in Chicago, 11:00–18:00 in São Paulo.

Chicago 09:00–16:00São Paulo 11:00–18:00

Reference

The zone identifiers and offsets behind everything above.

	Chicago	São Paulo
IANA zone	America/Chicago	America/Sao_Paulo
Abbreviation	CDT	UTC-3
Standard offset	UTC-6	UTC-3
Daylight offset	UTC-5	—
Clock changes this year	2	0
Country	United States	Brazil

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

Common questions

What is the time difference between Chicago and São Paulo?: São Paulo is 2 hours ahead of Chicago. 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 São Paulo from Chicago?: Between 09:00–16:00 in Chicago, which is 11:00–18:00 in São Paulo. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
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.
Does São Paulo observe daylight saving time?: No. São Paulo stays on UTC-3 all year, so its clocks never move.
If it is midday in Chicago, what time is it in São Paulo?: It is 14:00 in São Paulo, 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 Chicago and São Paulo use?: Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT), and São Paulo uses America/Sao_Paulo, currently UTC-3. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.