What time is it in Hungary?
CET / CEST · Europe/Budapest
Back to HungaryNow in Budapest
CET UTC+01:00
UTC+01:00
UTC+02:00 in summerCentral European Standard Time
Hungary runs on a single zone, Central European Time (közép-európai idő), one hour ahead of UTC, and switches to Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. The clock in Budapest is the clock for the whole country, filed in the time zone database as Europe/Budapest.
Today
Daylight in Budapest today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 06:38First light 06:07
- Sunset
- 18:31Last light 19:01
- Day length
- 11 h 53 min−4 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:34Sun at 41°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Hungary and elsewhere
The two rows are the same day, hour for hour. Pick a city, then an hour, and the line between the rows marks the office hours both sides share.
Time difference
How far Hungary is from other places
Neighbours
- AustriaViennaSame time
- CroatiaZagrebSame time
- RomaniaBucharest+1 h
- SerbiaBelgradeSame time
- SloveniaLjubljanaSame time
- SlovakiaBratislavaSame time
- UkraineKyiv+1 h
Around the world
- London−1 h
- New York−6 h
- Los Angeles−9 h
- São Paulo−5 h
- Moscow+1 h
- Dubai+2 h
- Delhi+3:30 h
- Beijing+6 h
- Tokyo+7 h
- Sydney+8 h
Clock changes
When the clocks change in Hungary
Next change
Sunday, 25 October 2026
Clocks go back one hour: at 03:00 it becomes 02:00 CET, UTC+01:00. The night is an hour longer.
| Year | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 25 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2027 | 28 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 31 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2028 | 26 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 29 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2029 | 25 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 28 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2030 | 31 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 27 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
Summer time reached Hungary in 1916, when Austria-Hungary adopted it during the First World War in step with the German Empire. That first run lasted until 1919 by Wikipedia's account and until 1920 in the time zone database. Clocks went forward again every summer from 1941 to 1949 and from 1954 to 1957, then stayed on standard time for twenty-two years. The present run began in 1980, and Hungary now keeps the European Union's dates.
Had the 2019 plan gone through, Hungary would have had to choose between permanent summer time and permanent winter time. The European Parliament backed ending seasonal changes from 2021 on 26 March 2019, but by March 2026 the Council of the European Union had still not approved the directive, and a plenary debate on 23 October 2025 set no date. Hungarian clocks therefore still move twice a year.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Budapest
- Sunrise
- 06:38
- Sunset
- 18:31
- Daylight
- 11 h 53 min
- Change
- −4 min
Longest day of 2026: 17 June, 15 h 58 min.
Computed for 47.50, 19.04 at sea level with the NOAA solar equations, to the nearest minute, taking no account of hills.
Writing the time
- Clock
- 24-hour
- Short date
- 2026. 03. 05.
- Long date
- 2026. március 5.
- Week starts
- Monday
- Zone names
- CET / CEST
- Time zone database
- Budapest
History
How the clocks in Hungary got here
- 1890
- The move from local mean time, UTC+01:16, to UTC+01:00.
- 1891
- To 1915.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1916
- To 1920.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1921
- To 1940.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1941
- To 1942.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1943
- To 1949.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1950
- To 1953.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1954
- To 1957.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1958
- To 1979.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1980
- To today.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Europe/Budapest, as the build machine carries it.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Hungary
What time zone does Hungary use?
Central European Time, called közép-európai idő in Hungarian, which is UTC+1. From the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October the country keeps Central European Summer Time, UTC+2. There is only one zone, so every town keeps Budapest's clock, and the time zone database lists it under the single entry Europe/Budapest.
When do the clocks change in Hungary in 2026 and 2027?
In 2026 they went forward on 29 March, from 02:00 to 03:00, and go back on 25 October, from 03:00 to 02:00. A year later the clocks move on 28 March and 31 October 2027. The change happens at 01:00 UTC, the same instant across the European Union.
How is the date written in Hungary?
Year first. The short form is 2026. 03. 05., with a full stop after the year, the month and the day, and the long form is 2026. március 5., with the month in lower case. Written out in full, the day comes last of all. The week starts on Monday.
Do Hungarians use the 24-hour clock?
Yes, in formal and informal settings alike, while the 12-hour clock is used mainly in informal speech. A time is often written with a full stop rather than a colon, as 10.35, though 10:35 is also correct, and it is read out as hours and minutes, óra and perc.
Which neighbours of Hungary are on a different time?
Romania and Ukraine. Both keep Eastern European Time, UTC+2 in winter and UTC+3 in summer, so the clock in either is one hour ahead of Budapest in winter and in summer. Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia share Hungary's Central European Time and show the same hour.
When did Hungary first use summer time?
In 1916, as part of Austria-Hungary during the First World War. It was dropped after the war, used again from 1941 to 1949 and from 1954 to 1957, and then left alone until 1980. Hungary has changed its clocks every spring and autumn since that year, and today follows the dates set by the European Union.
Will Hungary stop changing the clocks?
Not while the European Union proposal stays blocked. Parliament voted for it on 26 March 2019, with a first year of 2021 that has long passed, but the Council of the European Union has never approved it, and the Commission has left it to member states to find a common position. Until they agree, the spring and autumn changes in Hungary continue.