Sydney is 17 to 19 hours ahead of San Francisco, depending on the time of year. If you are both awake 7 am to 11 pm, a January weekday gives you 11 hours awake at the same time, and 1 hour of those are outside a 9-to-5 for both of you (in July: 9 hours shared, 0 hours free). Here are the good ones.
Sydney is 19 hours ahead of San Francisco that week. On a weekday you are both awake for 11 hours, and 1 hour of those are outside work for both of you.
Worked out for the week of 11 January 2027 (11 Jan – 17 Jan), in San Francisco time, with each zone’s own daylight-saving rules for those dates. Sydney awake 7 am – 11 pm, working 9 am – 5 pm weekdays; San Francisco awake 7 am – 11 pm, working 9 am – 5 pm weekdays.
A weekday, in San Francisco timeboth awake
San Franciscoawake 7 am – 11 pm
Sydneyawake noon – 4 am San Francisco time
7a10a1p4p7p10p1a4a7a
Best on a weekday
5 – 7 pm San Francisco
noon – 2 pm Sydney · San Francisco early evening, Sydney lunchtime (their next day) · during Sydney’s lunch break
Another weekday option
noon – 2 pm San Francisco
7 – 9 am Sydney · San Francisco lunchtime, Sydney morning (their next day) · during San Francisco’s lunch break
The long weekend call
Sat 6 – 9 pm San Francisco
Sun 1 – 4 pm Sydney · San Francisco early evening, Sydney lunchtime
The week · San Francisco time, 11 Jan – 17 Jan
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
9p
10p
Mon
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
Tue
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
Wed
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
Thu
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
Fri
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
Sat
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
Sun
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
Columns are San Francisco hours; the small figure in each cell is the time in Sydney. both freeboth awake, one at workSydney asleep
The Sydney–San Francisco gap through 2027
Dates
Difference
1 January – 13 March
Sydney is 19 hours ahead of San Francisco
14 March – 3 April
Sydney is 18 hours ahead of San Francisco
4 April – 2 October
Sydney is 17 hours ahead of San Francisco
3 October – 6 November
Sydney is 18 hours ahead of San Francisco
7 November – 31 December
Sydney is 19 hours ahead of San Francisco
The week grid and call windows were worked out for 11 Jan to 17 Jan 2027 with the IANA time-zone rules for Australia/Sydney (Sydney) and America/Los_Angeles (San Francisco). That week San Francisco is on standard time and Sydney is on daylight-saving (summer) time. The table uses the same rules for every day of 2027. The finder above recalculates for the current week in your browser.
When it is … in San Francisco
In San Francisco
Sydney, January
Sydney, July
7 am
2 am (next day)
midnight (next day)
9 am
4 am (next day)
2 am (next day)
11 am
6 am (next day)
4 am (next day)
1 pm
8 am (next day)
6 am (next day)
3 pm
10 am (next day)
8 am (next day)
5 pm
noon (next day)
10 am (next day)
7 pm
2 pm (next day)
noon (next day)
9 pm
4 pm (next day)
2 pm (next day)
Wednesday times. Send times as “your 8 pm” or “my 8 pm” so nobody has to guess whose clock you mean.
Stop doing the math every day
The Long Goodbye keeps your person’s local time and time of day on your home-screen widget and lock screen, so you can see whether it is morning coffee or midnight in Sydney before you call. A “thinking of you” tap lights up their widget, and a countdown keeps the next visit in view.
What is the time difference between Sydney and San Francisco?
Sydney is 17 to 19 hours ahead of San Francisco, depending on the time of year. In 2027 it is 19 hours from 1 January to 13 March and from 7 November to 31 December; 18 hours from 14 March to 3 April and from 3 October to 6 November; 17 hours from 4 April to 2 October.
What is the best time to call Sydney from San Francisco?
In January, the easiest two hours on a weekday are 5 – 7 pm San Francisco, which is noon – 2 pm Sydney: San Francisco early evening, Sydney lunchtime, the next day there, during Sydney’s lunch break. At the weekend, Sat 6 – 9 pm San Francisco (Sun 1 – 4 pm Sydney) gives you a longer call. Change the awake and work hours in the finder on this page to fit your own days.
How many waking hours do Sydney and San Francisco share?
If both of you are awake from 7 am to 11 pm, you share 11 hours on a January weekday, and 1 hour of them fall outside 9-to-5 working hours in both places; in July it is 9 hours shared and 0 hours free.
Does daylight saving time change the call times?
Yes. In 2027 San Francisco changes its clocks on 14 March and 7 November and Sydney changes its clocks on 4 April and 3 October, so a call you keep at the same time in San Francisco moves by an hour in Sydney on those dates. Check the table on this page and agree the new time out loud after each change.