Time in Budapest, Hungary 🇭🇺
The current local time in Budapest, Hungary is shown below — the city is in the Europe/Budapest time zone (UTC +02:00 · CEST).
Budapest local time
Thursday, 22 October 2026 CEST
Budapest at a glance
- Time zone
Europe/Budapest· Central European Summer Time- UTC offset now
- +02:00 CEST
- Daylight saving
- Yes · UTC +01:00 / +02:00
- Coordinates
- 47.50° N, 19.04° E
- Population
- 1,752,286
- Country
- Hungary · ISO HU
- Dialing code
- +36
- Currency
- Hungarian Forint (HUF)
- Work week
- Monday to Friday
- Drives on the
- Right
Budapest right now
Time difference
Budapest is shown here relative to your device's time zone.
Planning a call? Compare hours side by side in the time zone converter.
Upcoming public holidays
- National Day Fri, Oct 23, 2026
- All Saints' Day Sun, Nov 1, 2026
- Christmas Day Fri, Dec 25, 2026
- Boxing Day Sat, Dec 26, 2026
Sun today
Sunrise 07:13 · Sunset 17:45
Day length 10h 33m · twilight and monthly table →
Budapest time vs. UTC
A 09:00–17:00 working day in Budapest overlaps with 09:00–17:00 UTC from 11:00 to 17:00 Budapest time. Open this page in your browser and the second row switches to your own time zone.
| Budapest | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 |
- Office hours 09–17
- Awake, off work
- Night 22–07
Budapest vs. major cities
How far Budapest is from the world's main business centres right now, what time it is there when the working day starts in Budapest, and which hours of a 09:00–17:00 day the two places share. Daylight saving changes are applied automatically.
| City | Difference | At 09:00 in Budapest | Shared office hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York · United States | −6 h | 03:00 | 15:00–17:00 |
| Los Angeles · United States | −9 h | 00:00 | None |
| São Paulo · Brazil | −5 h | 04:00 | 14:00–17:00 |
| London · United Kingdom | −1 h | 08:00 | 10:00–17:00 |
| Paris · France | Same time | 09:00 | 09:00–17:00 |
| Johannesburg · South Africa | Same time | 09:00 | 09:00–17:00 |
| Dubai · United Arab Emirates | +2 h | 11:00 | 09:00–15:00 |
| Delhi · India | +3:30 h | 12:30 | 09:00–13:30 |
| Singapore · Singapore | +6 h | 15:00 | 09:00–11:00 |
| Beijing · China | +6 h | 15:00 | 09:00–11:00 |
Shared office hours are shown in Budapest time. Compare any set of cities hour by hour in the time zone converter, or pick a slot that suits everyone with the event planner.
Cities near Budapest
The closest places to Budapest among the cities we track, measured in a straight line from the city centre. All of them keep the same clock as Budapest.
| City | Distance | Time difference |
|---|---|---|
| Bratislava · Slovakia | 160 km (100 mi) northwest | Same time |
| Vienna · Austria | 210 km (130 mi) northwest | Same time |
| Kraków · Poland | 290 km (180 mi) north | Same time |
| Zagreb · Croatia | 300 km (190 mi) southwest | Same time |
| Belgrade · Serbia | 320 km (200 mi) south | Same time |
| Prague · Czech Republic | 440 km (270 mi) northwest | Same time |
| Warsaw · Poland | 540 km (340 mi) north | Same time |
| Munich · Germany | 560 km (350 mi) west | Same time |
Distances are great-circle distances. A plus sign means the other city is ahead of Budapest.
Clock time vs. sun time in Budapest
Budapest's standard offset, UTC +01:00, is based on the 15° E meridian; the city itself lies at 19.04° E, 4.0° east of it. In standard time its clocks run about 16 min behind the sun, and 44 min ahead during daylight saving time. Solar noon — when the sun is highest — falls between 11:28 (around 29 October) and 12:51 (around 23 July) on the clock.
How dates and times are written in Budapest
- Short date
- 2026. 10. 22. · YYYY. MM. DD.
- Long date
- 2026. október 22.
- Time
- 15:30 · 24-hour clock
- Week starts on
- Monday
Examples show 22 October 2026 at 15:30 using the Unicode CLDR conventions for hu-HU, Hungary's most common locale. Businesses and English-language sources may use other formats.
Clock changes in Budapest
Since 1970, Budapest has gone through 2 distinct time-keeping periods, observing daylight saving time in 47 of 57 years. The current pattern, in place since 1980, is UTC +01:00 with UTC +02:00 in daylight saving time. Clocks currently go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October, a rule in place since 1996.
| Date | Change | Local clock | New offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 29 March 2026 | Forward 1 hour | 02:00 → 03:00 | UTC +02:00 |
| Sunday, 25 October 2026 | Back 1 hour | 03:00 → 02:00 | UTC +01:00 |
| Sunday, 28 March 2027 | Forward 1 hour | 02:00 → 03:00 | UTC +02:00 |
| Sunday, 31 October 2027 | Back 1 hour | 03:00 → 02:00 | UTC +01:00 |
When clocks go forward, sunrise and sunset both happen an hour later by the clock — darker mornings, lighter evenings — and the night of the change is an hour shorter. When they go back, the reverse applies.
Time zone history since 1970 (2 periods)
| Years | Offset | Daylight saving |
|---|---|---|
| 1970–1979 | UTC +01:00 all year | No daylight saving time |
| 1980–2026 | UTC +01:00, DST UTC +02:00 | Forward on the last Sunday in March, back on the last Sunday in October (since 1996) |
Source: IANA tz database, as shipped with the Unicode ICU library.
Daylight in Budapest through the year
The longest day in Budapest is 21 June with 15h 58m of daylight; the shortest is 22 December with 8h 26m. Day length swings by 7 h 32 min over the year. The earliest sunrise is at 04:47 on 11 June and the latest sunset at 20:46 on 22 June — not on the solstice itself, because solar noon drifts through the year.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Budapest in?
Budapest uses the Europe/Budapest time zone (CET / CEST): UTC +01:00 in standard time and UTC +02:00 during daylight saving time.
Does Budapest observe daylight saving time?
Yes. In 2026 clocks in Budapest go forward on Sunday, 29 March 2026 at 02:00 and back on Sunday, 25 October 2026 at 03:00.
When is the longest day of the year in Budapest?
Around 21 June, with 15h 58m of daylight. The shortest day is around 22 December, with 8h 26m.
What is the dialing code for Budapest?
To call Budapest from abroad, dial your international access code, then Hungary's country code +36, then the local number without its leading trunk prefix.
What are normal working days in Budapest?
The standard work week in Hungary runs Monday to Friday, with the weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Keep this in mind when scheduling calls from countries with a different weekend.
What is the nearest city to Budapest on a different time?
Of the 189 cities we track, the closest one keeping a different clock is Sofia, Bulgaria, about 630 km (390 mi) to the southeast. It is 1 h ahead of Budapest.
How are dates and times written in Budapest?
Following the hu-HU conventions in the Unicode CLDR, a short date is written YYYY. MM. DD. (2026. 10. 22.) and times usually use the 24-hour clock (15:30). Calendars start the week on Monday.
Explore more for Budapest
Everything else we track for Budapest: daylight, weather, the country overview, and the exact time-zone references.