What is the time difference between Madrid and Chicago?

Chicago is 7 hours behind Madrid. 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 Madrid?

Between 16:00–18:00 in Madrid, 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 Madrid observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Madrid 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 Madrid, 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 Madrid and Chicago use?

Madrid uses Europe/Madrid, 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 Madrid time to Chicago time

Chicago is 7 hours behind Madrid right now, so midday in Madrid lands in the small hours in Chicago.

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 Madrid, across for Chicago.

Madrid	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

Madrid and Chicago both observe daylight saving. Where their change dates differ, so does the gap between them for the weeks in between.

Madrid

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

The window is 2 hours wide — 16:00–18:00 in Madrid, 09:00–11:00 in Chicago.

Madrid 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.

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

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

Common questions

What is the time difference between Madrid and Chicago?: Chicago is 7 hours behind Madrid. 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 Madrid?: Between 16:00–18:00 in Madrid, 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 Madrid observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Madrid 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 Madrid, 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 Madrid and Chicago use?: Madrid uses Europe/Madrid, 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.