Chicago to Sydney: time difference and best times to meet
Sydney is 17 hours ahead of Chicago. Their working days overlap for 2 hours, from 4pm to 6pm in Chicago (9am–11am in Sydney). The best time to schedule is 4pm Chicago time, which is 9am in Sydney.
America/Chicago
Australia/Sydney
Chicago and Sydney time difference
This live comparison uses the current time-zone rules for both cities, so it reflects daylight-saving changes as well as the usual Chicago and Sydney clock gap. Set your working hours below to see the practical overlap before proposing a meeting.
Hour-by-hour overlap
Each row is one hour of the Chicago day and the matching hour in Sydney. Adjust the working hours to match how your team actually works.
| Chicago | Sydney | Suitable? |
|---|---|---|
| 12am | 5pm | Working hours in Sydney only |
| 9am | 2am | Working hours in Chicago only |
| 10am | 3am | Working hours in Chicago only |
| 11am | 4am | Working hours in Chicago only |
| 12pm | 5am | Working hours in Chicago only |
| 1pm | 6am | Working hours in Chicago only |
| 2pm | 7am | Working hours in Chicago only |
| 3pm | 8am | Working hours in Chicago only |
| 4pm | 9am | Both cities at work |
| 5pm | 10am | Both cities at work |
| 6pm | 11am | Working hours in Sydney only |
| 7pm | 12pm | Working hours in Sydney only |
| 8pm | 1pm | Working hours in Sydney only |
| 9pm | 2pm | Working hours in Sydney only |
| 10pm | 3pm | Working hours in Sydney only |
| 11pm | 4pm | Working hours in Sydney only |
Best times to propose
- 1. 4pm in Chicago · 9am in Sydney — Right at the edge of someone's day
- 2. 5pm in Chicago · 10am in Sydney — Right at the edge of someone's day
Avoid 12am Chicago time and 9am Chicago time — only the other city is at work.
When the gap changes in the next twelve months
- Sunday, March 14, 2027 — Sydney goes from 17 hours ahead of to 16 hours ahead of Chicago.
- Sunday, April 4, 2027 — Sydney goes from 16 hours ahead of to 15 hours ahead of Chicago.
- Sunday, October 3, 2027 — Sydney goes from 15 hours ahead of to 16 hours ahead of Chicago.
Recurring meetings set as a fixed clock time in one city will move by an hour for the other on these dates.
Public holidays to avoid
Dates where one side is off work while the other is not are the most common cause of no-shows on this route.
- Tuesday, November 3, 2026 — Melbourne Cup — Sydney is off, Chicago is working.
- Wednesday, November 11, 2026 — Veterans Day — Chicago is off, Sydney is working.
- Thursday, November 26, 2026 — Thanksgiving Day — Chicago is off, Sydney is working.
- Friday, December 25, 2026 — Christmas Day and Christmas Day; both cities are off.
- Monday, December 28, 2026 — St. Stephen's Day — Sydney is off, Chicago is working.
With 2 shared working hours, Chicago and Sydney can run standing meetings without anyone giving up an evening — as long as the slot sits inside that window on both sides of the next clock change.
Sending a booking link avoids the arithmetic entirely: each side picks a time in their own zone and both calendars get the correct local time, including after a daylight-saving change. See how LemCall handles cross-timezone bookings.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the time difference between Chicago and Sydney?
- Sydney is currently 17 hours ahead of Chicago. That changes to 16 hours ahead of on Sunday, March 14, 2027, when one side shifts for daylight saving.
- When is the best time to schedule a meeting between Chicago and Sydney?
- 4pm in Chicago, which is 9am in Sydney. Right at the edge of someone's day.
- How many hours do Chicago and Sydney overlap?
- 2 hours, from 4pm to 6pm Chicago time (9am–11am in Sydney).
- Does daylight saving change the Chicago–Sydney gap?
- Yes. Over the next twelve months the difference changes 3 times: Sunday, March 14, 2027 (17 hours ahead of becomes 16 hours ahead of); Sunday, April 4, 2027 (16 hours ahead of becomes 15 hours ahead of); Sunday, October 3, 2027 (15 hours ahead of becomes 16 hours ahead of).
- Are there public holidays that affect Chicago–Sydney meetings?
- Yes. The next is Tuesday, November 3, 2026 — a public holiday where Sydney is, but a normal working day in Chicago.
Nearby pairs
Other meeting-time pages for Chicago
Sources
- 1.IANA. Time Zone Database
- 2.Nager.Date. Public holidays API · Retrieved