Working Hours Comparison Tool

Timezone Overlap Calculator for Remote Teams

Working across timezones is one of the biggest challenges for remote and distributed teams. This free working hours comparison tool helps you visualize the overlap between typical business hours in 30+ countries, so you can find the best meeting times without anyone waking up at 3 AM.

How It Works

Select any two countries and instantly see their working hours plotted on a 24-hour clock in UTC. The tool highlights where schedules overlap in purple, and shows each country's working blocks on the outer and inner rings. The shift calculator lets you set a target number of overlapping hours and see exactly how much either team (or both) would need to adjust their schedule to make it work.

Understanding Shift Pain

Not all schedule adjustments are equal. Shifting your workday by one hour is easy — shifting it by six hours means working through the night. The shift pain indicator quantifies this disruption on a scale from "Mild" (under 2 hours, barely noticeable) through "Moderate" (2–4 hours) and "Painful" (4–6 hours) to "Brutal" (6+ hours, a major lifestyle change). When comparing collaboration options, shift pain helps you make humane decisions about who adjusts and by how much.

Countries and Working Hours Included

The tool covers 30 countries spanning every major timezone: United States (9–5, UTC-5), United Kingdom (9–5:30, UTC+0), Germany (8–5, UTC+1), France (9–6, UTC+1), Spain (9–7 with siesta, UTC+1), Italy (9–6, UTC+1), Netherlands (8:30–5, UTC+1), Sweden (8–5, UTC+1), Japan (9–6, UTC+9), South Korea (9–6, UTC+9), China (9–6, UTC+8), India (9:30–6:30, UTC+5:30), Australia (8:30–5, UTC+10), New Zealand (8:30–5, UTC+12), Brazil (8–5, UTC-3), Mexico (9–6, UTC-6), Canada (9–5, UTC-5), Nigeria (8–4, UTC+1), South Africa (8–5, UTC+2), UAE (8–5, UTC+4), Singapore (9–6, UTC+8), Denmark (8–4, UTC+1), Norway (8–4, UTC+1), Finland (8–4, UTC+2), Portugal (9–6, UTC+0), Greece (9–5, UTC+2), Turkey (8:30–6, UTC+3), Saudi Arabia (8–5, UTC+3), Argentina (9–6, UTC-3), and Thailand (8:30–5:30, UTC+7). Each includes typical lunch breaks and statutory weekly hours.

Save, Compare, and Export

Use the snapshot feature to save multiple comparison scenarios — for example, comparing what it takes for a US team to overlap with Japan versus Australia versus India. Saved snapshots include a mini clock visualization and all key metrics. Export your comparisons to JSON for developers or CSV for spreadsheets and presentations.

Common Use Cases

Remote team managers use this tool to plan daily standups across continents. Recruiters use it to set expectations about schedule flexibility for international roles. Freelancers use it to figure out realistic availability windows for overseas clients. And anyone planning an international call can quickly check whether 2 PM in London is a reasonable time for someone in Tokyo (it's 11 PM — probably not).

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate timezone overlap between two countries?

Select two countries from the dropdown menus. The tool automatically converts both schedules to UTC and shows the overlapping working hours on a 24-hour clock face. The purple highlighted arc represents hours when both countries are working simultaneously.

What is shift pain and how is it calculated?

Shift pain measures how much a team needs to adjust their normal working hours to achieve a target overlap. It is the total hours of schedule displacement needed. The tool automatically finds the shortest shift direction around the 24-hour clock — shifting forward or backward, whichever is less disruptive.

Is this tool free to use?

Yes, the working hours comparison tool is completely free. All features including the shift calculator, snapshot comparisons, and data exports are available at no cost. If you find it useful, you can support development via Ko-fi.