In the graph below you see the time zone difference between Central Standard Time and Central European Time. Drag the bubble to adjust the time and to see the corresponding time in the other time zone.
Central Standard Time is the time zone of the central US and Canada, as well as most of Central America, including cities like Winnipeg, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Mexico City, San Jose and Panama City. Central European Time is the time zone of most central European countries, and the Nordics, with places like Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome, Zurich and Warsaw.
Usually it is preferable to schedule meetings before lunch for the person in CST and in the late afternoon for the person in CET.
More CST conversions
CST to PDT, CST to EDT, CST to BST, CST to CEST, CST to CDT
More CET conversions
CET to BST, CET to EDT, CET to MST, CET to PDT, CET to CDT
Central Standard Time is the time zone of the central US and Canada, as well as Mexico and most of Central America. It is six hours behind UTC and is observed during the winter months. In the summer CST becomes CDT – Central Daylight Time. It is important to remember that not all locations in a given state or province necessarily use the time zone – make sure to check the situation for your exact location!
CST is observed in the US, Canada, Mexico and all of Central America (including Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Honduras). In the US it is only the states in the central parts that observes CST, from Wisconsin in the West to Tennessee in the East, and from Michigan in the North to Florida in the South. Similarly, only Canadian provinces in the middle of the country observe CST. With the exception of the North West corner, all of Mexico observes CST.
Mexico: México (including Mexico City), Oaxaca, Yucatán, San Luis Potosi, Chiapas and more.
Canada: Saskatchewan (only Creighton and Denare Beach), Manitoba and most ports of Ontario
US: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Illinois to mention a few.
Most locations in Central Standard Time observe summer time between March and November, then calling it CDT – Central Daylight Time. It is always advisable to check the exact location (e.g. using our time zone converter) instead of relying on time zone abbreviations as there are sometimes exceptions, e.g. some states in the US are split between two time zones.
CET is, as the name implies, the time zone for Central Europe. Important to note is that in summer Central European Time becomes CEST, which stands for Central European Summer Time. In practice, “Central” means “Western” as Central European Time includes everything from the Nordics to Spain. Note that Portugal and the UK are not on CET but instead observe GMT and that Eastern Europe (every country from Finland and South) observe Eastern European Time.
All countries in Western Europe, except Portugal and the UK, observe Central European Time. This includes Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Montenegro and Gibraltar to name a few.
The list is long but includes Berlin, Oslo, Madrid, Rome, Tirana, Amsterdam, Paris, Warsaw, Bern, Geneva and Copenhagen.
Daylight Saving Time is applied in Central Europe/Western Europe. CET in that case becomes CEST – Central European Summer Time and is one hour different. CEST is observed between the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October.