Meeting time
Best time to meet: San Francisco and Chicago
San Francisco is 2 hours behind Chicago right now. Their working days overlap for 6 hours: 9 AM to 3 PM in San Francisco, which is 11 AM to 5 PM in Chicago. The easiest time to meet is 11:30 AM in San Francisco (1:30 PM in Chicago).
Tue 7:58 AMSan Francisco · Pacific Standard TimeTue 9:58 AMChicago · Central Standard Time
Hour by hour
With the clocks as they are on November 10, 2026, San Francisco time on the left. A working day here is 9 AM to 5 PM.
| San Francisco | Chicago | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 AM | 8 AM | Both off |
| 7 AM | 9 AM | Chicago at work |
| 8 AM | 10 AM | Chicago at work |
| 9 AM | 11 AM | Both at work |
| 10 AM | 12 PM | Both at work |
| 11 AM | 1 PM | Both at work |
| 12 PM | 2 PM | Both at work |
| 1 PM | 3 PM | Both at work |
| 2 PM | 4 PM | Both at work |
| 3 PM | 5 PM | San Francisco at work |
| 4 PM | 6 PM | San Francisco at work |
| 5 PM | 7 PM | Both off |
| 6 PM | 8 PM | Both off |
| 7 PM | 9 PM | Both off |
| 8 PM | 10 PM | Both off |
| 9 PM | 11 PM | Both off |
| 10 PM | 12 AM next day | Both off |
When the clocks change
The gap moves when either city changes its clocks. The next twelve months:
| Dates | San Francisco is | Both at work (San Francisco time) | Easiest (San Francisco / Chicago) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Now to March 14, 2027 | 2 hours behind | 9 AM–3 PM (6 hours) | 11:30 AM / 1:30 PM |
| March 14, 2027 to March 14, 2027 clocks in Chicago go forward | 3 hours behind | 9 AM–2 PM (5 hours) | 10:30 AM / 1:30 PM |
| March 14, 2027 to November 7, 2027 clocks in San Francisco go forward | 2 hours behind | 9 AM–3 PM (6 hours) | 11:30 AM / 1:30 PM |
| November 7, 2027 to November 7, 2027 clocks in Chicago go back | 1 hour behind | 9 AM–4 PM (7 hours) | 10 AM / 11 AM |
| November 7, 2027 onward clocks in San Francisco go back | 2 hours behind | 9 AM–3 PM (6 hours) | 11:30 AM / 1:30 PM |
Questions people ask
What time is it in Chicago when it is 9 AM in San Francisco?
11 AM in Chicago, while San Francisco is 2 hours behind.
11 AM in Chicago, while San Francisco is 2 hours behind.
When is the best time for a call between San Francisco and Chicago?
11:30 AM in San Francisco, which is 1:30 PM in Chicago. Both cities are at work from 9 AM to 3 PM San Francisco time.
11:30 AM in San Francisco, which is 1:30 PM in Chicago. Both cities are at work from 9 AM to 3 PM San Francisco time.
Does the time difference between San Francisco and Chicago change during the year?
Yes — it changes 4 times in the next twelve months, when the clocks go forward or back; the dates are in the table above.
Yes — it changes 4 times in the next twelve months, when the clocks go forward or back; the dates are in the table above.
More cities
New York and San Francisco5 hours of shared working day · meet at 1:30 PM New York timeLondon and San FranciscoNo shared working hours · fairest at 4:30 PM London timeSan Francisco and BangaloreNo shared working hours · fairest at 6 PM San Francisco timeSan Francisco and SingaporeNo shared working hours · fairest at 4:30 PM San Francisco timeNew York and Chicago7 hours of shared working day · meet at 11 AM New York timeLondon and Chicago2 hours of shared working day · meet at 4 PM London timeSan Francisco and Sydney3 hours of shared working day · meet at 3 PM San Francisco timeSan Francisco and Tokyo1 hour of shared working day · meet at 4 PM San Francisco timeSan Francisco and BerlinNo shared working hours · fairest at 8 AM San Francisco timeSan Francisco and DubaiNo shared working hours · fairest at 6:30 AM San Francisco timeBangalore and ChicagoNo shared working hours · fairest at 6:30 PM Bangalore timeSingapore and ChicagoNo shared working hours · fairest at 7:30 AM Singapore time
Every city from San Francisco · Every city from Chicago · All cities · Plan across more than two cities
Try Meetful
Meetings that take their own notes
Free video meetings in the browser: every line of the transcript under the name of who said it, and the summary and action items when you hang up. Nothing to install — guests just open the link.