Unix Timestamp Converter — Epoch to Date
A Unix timestamp, also called epoch time, is the number of seconds that have passed since midnight on 1 January 1970, Coordinated Universal Time. That moment is called the Unix epoch, and it is the starting point from which almost every computer system counts time. A single number like 1796800000 looks meaningless on its own, but it is actually a precise, timezone-free way to describe one exact moment, and it is used everywhere: databases store it, APIs return it, log files are stamped with it, and JWT tokens carry their expiry times as Unix timestamps. This free converter turns a timestamp into a readable date in both UTC and your local time, and turns a date back into a timestamp, entirely in your browser with no data leaving your device. Timestamps are popular because they avoid the confusion of timezones and date formats. The same moment can be written as 12/09/2026 in the United States and 09/12/2026 in most of Europe, and it falls on different calendar dates depending on the timezone, but the timestamp is the same number everywhere in the world.
That makes it ideal for storing times in a database and for comparing events that happened in different places. This tool also shows the current timestamp live, so you can grab the number for right now without any mental arithmetic.
Conversion Results
Enter a timestamp above and click Convert to Date.
What Is a Unix Timestamp?
A Unix timestamp counts seconds from 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970, a date chosen when the Unix operating system was created. The timestamp 0 is that exact moment, 1 is one second later, and 1796800000 is about 57 years after it. Because it is just a count of seconds, a timestamp has no timezone of its own: the same timestamp describes the same instant for everyone, and the converter shows you what clock time that instant corresponds to in UTC and in your own timezone. Negative timestamps describe moments before 1970, which you will see in historical data, and timestamps with decimals describe fractions of a second. Most systems use whole seconds, which is what this tool accepts, but some, such as JavaScript's Date.now, use milliseconds, which are a thousand times larger. If you paste a 13-digit number and the date comes out thousands of years in the future, divide it by 1,000 first.
Seconds, Milliseconds and Timezones
The two most common timestamp mistakes are mixing up seconds and milliseconds, and forgetting about timezones. A timestamp in milliseconds, such as 1796800000000, looks like a timestamp in seconds but is a thousand times bigger, and converting it as seconds gives a date around the year 58,000. JavaScript, Java and many databases use milliseconds in some places and seconds in others, so always check how many digits you have: ten digits means seconds, thirteen means milliseconds. Timezones cause the other classic confusion. The timestamp 1796800000 is 9 December 2026 at 07:06:40 UTC, which is 9 December at 02:06:40 in New York and 8 December at 23:06:40 in Los Angeles, because the same instant falls on different calendar dates in different places. That is why this tool shows both UTC and your local time side by side, so you can see the difference for yourself.
How to Use
- Enter a Unix timestamp in seconds. The box starts with 1796800000. Click Convert to Date to see the matching date in UTC and in your local time, plus the ISO 8601 form.
- Click Use Current Time to convert right now. The current timestamp is also shown live below and updates every second.
- To go the other way, pick a date and time. Use the date picker, then click Convert to Timestamp to get the number of seconds from the Unix epoch to that moment.
- Check whether your number is seconds or milliseconds. A 10-digit number is seconds; a 13-digit number is milliseconds, so divide it by 1,000 before converting.
Worked Example
The timestamp 0 is the Unix epoch itself: 1 January 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC, which was a Thursday. The timestamp 1796800000 converts to 9 December 2026 at 07:06:40 UTC. In New York that is 9 December 2026 at 02:06:40 EST, and in Los Angeles it is 8 December 2026 at 23:06:40 PST, which is why you may see it described as 8 December in the United States even though it is 9 December in UTC. Going the other way, the date 2026-12-09 at 07:06 UTC converts back to the timestamp 1796800000, allowing for the seconds within that minute. The timestamp 1516239022, which appears as the "iat" claim in the classic example JWT, converts to 18 January 2018 at 01:30:22 UTC. Try the current time as well: at the moment you load this page, the live current timestamp is shown below, and it increases by one every second.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Unix timestamp?
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds since 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970, known as the Unix epoch. It is a timezone-free way to describe one exact moment in time.
What date is the timestamp 0?
Timestamp 0 is 1 January 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC, the Unix epoch. Negative timestamps describe moments before that date.
What date is the timestamp 1796800000?
The timestamp 1796800000 is 9 December 2026 at 07:06:40 UTC. In New York it is 9 December 2026 at 02:06:40 EST, and in Los Angeles it is 8 December 2026 at 23:06:40 PST.
How do I tell seconds from milliseconds?
Count the digits. A timestamp in seconds has 10 digits for dates around now, while one in milliseconds has 13 digits. If your date comes out thousands of years in the future, divide the number by 1,000 to convert milliseconds to seconds.
Why does the same timestamp show a different date in different timezones?
A timestamp describes one instant, and the clock time of that instant depends on where you are. The same instant can fall on different calendar dates in different timezones, which is why this tool shows both UTC and your local time.