What is a Unix timestamp?

A Unix timestamp (also called epoch time) is the number of seconds that have elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970, not counting leap seconds. It is a standard way to represent a point in time across systems and programming languages.

What is the difference between seconds and milliseconds?

Unix timestamps are commonly stored in seconds (10 digits for current dates), but many systems such as JavaScript use milliseconds (13 digits). Our converter lets you toggle between the two so you can work with either format correctly.

Does this converter use my local time zone or UTC?

Both. The tool shows the converted date in your browser's local time zone, in UTC, and in ISO 8601 format, so you can compare them side by side without any manual offset calculation.

Is my data private and secure?

Yes. All conversions happen entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No timestamps or dates are ever sent to a server or stored anywhere, so your data stays completely private.

Timestamp Converter

Convert Unix timestamps to human dates and back, with a live clock. Supports seconds and milliseconds.

Current Unix Time

Seconds—

Milliseconds—

Timestamp to Date

Date to Timestamp

How to Use

Convert between epoch time and human dates in seconds.

Enter a Value

Type a Unix timestamp, or pick a date and time with the date picker.

See the Result

Instantly view local time, UTC, ISO 8601, relative time, and Unix seconds and milliseconds.

Copy Instantly

Click any copy button to send the value straight to your clipboard.

Epoch Time Tips

Work confidently with Unix timestamps.

Seconds vs Milliseconds

A 10-digit number is usually seconds; a 13-digit number is milliseconds. JavaScript's Date.now() returns milliseconds, while most databases store seconds.

The Epoch

Unix time starts at 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970. A timestamp of 0 is exactly that moment, and negative timestamps represent dates before it.

Always Store in UTC

Epoch time is time-zone independent. Store timestamps in UTC and only convert to local time for display to avoid off-by-hours bugs.

The Year 2038 Problem

Systems storing timestamps as signed 32-bit integers overflow on January 19, 2038. Modern systems use 64-bit integers to avoid this limit.