PDT vs. EDT: Key Differences Every Time-Zone User Needs
PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) is UTC-7; EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) is UTC-4. Both are North American daylight-saving offsets used from spring to fall.
People confuse them because three-letter airport-style codes feel interchangeable and both switch with DST. A Seattle gamer texts “4 p.m. PDT,” while a New York recruiter writes “4 p.m. EDT” for the same meeting invite—same hour face, different coasts, missed call.
Key Differences
PDT serves the Pacific zone (Los Angeles, Vancouver). EDT serves the Eastern zone (New York, Toronto). They’re always three hours apart; when PDT is 9 a.m., EDT is noon.
Which One Should You Choose?
Pick the zone your audience occupies. Hosting a webinar for East-coast clients? Use EDT. Shipping updates from a California warehouse? Use PDT to avoid 3-hour customer confusion.
Examples and Daily Life
iPhone calendar auto-shifts: a 5 p.m. EDT Zoom becomes 2 p.m. PDT for a Portland attendee. Slack reminders respect your system clock, but airline tickets print local times—PDT departure, EDT arrival.
Does PDT ever equal EDT?
No. PDT is always three hours behind EDT during daylight-saving months.
What happens after daylight saving ends?
PDT reverts to PST (UTC-8), and EDT reverts to EST (UTC-5), widening the gap to four hours.
Can I use PDT for Arizona?
Arizona stays on MST year-round, so never label Arizona events with PDT or PST.