Convert GMT to SAST
SAST is 2 hours ahead of GMT. GMT is UTC+0 and SAST is UTC+2.
Right now: GMT · SAST
Best time to schedule a meeting
Standard 9–5 working hours overlap for 6 hours: 9:00 AM–3:00 PM GMT (11:00 AM–5:00 PM SAST). Schedule meetings inside that window.
| GMT | SAST | Suitable? |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | 11:00 AM | working hours |
| 10:00 AM | 12:00 PM | working hours |
| 11:00 AM | 1:00 PM | working hours |
| 12:00 PM | 2:00 PM | working hours |
| 1:00 PM | 3:00 PM | working hours |
| 2:00 PM | 4:00 PM | working hours |
| 3:00 PM | 5:00 PM | outside 9–5 |
| 4:00 PM | 6:00 PM | outside 9–5 |
| 5:00 PM | 7:00 PM | outside 9–5 |
GMT to SAST conversion table
| GMT | SAST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 2:00 AM |
| 1:00 AM | 3:00 AM |
| 2:00 AM | 4:00 AM |
| 3:00 AM | 5:00 AM |
| 4:00 AM | 6:00 AM |
| 5:00 AM | 7:00 AM |
| 6:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| 7:00 AM | 9:00 AM |
| 8:00 AM | 10:00 AM |
| 9:00 AM | 11:00 AM |
| 10:00 AM | 12:00 PM |
| 11:00 AM | 1:00 PM |
| 12:00 PM | 2:00 PM |
| 1:00 PM | 3:00 PM |
| 2:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
| 3:00 PM | 5:00 PM |
| 4:00 PM | 6:00 PM |
| 5:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
| 6:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| 7:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
| 8:00 PM | 10:00 PM |
| 9:00 PM | 11:00 PM |
| 10:00 PM | 12:00 AM (next day) |
| 11:00 PM | 1:00 AM (next day) |
About GMT
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is UTC+0. It is used in the UK and Ireland in winter, Portugal, Iceland and much of West Africa.
The trap with GMT is that the United Kingdom is not on it for most of the year. From late March to late October the UK runs BST, UTC+1, so a meeting agreed "10am GMT" with a London colleague in July is an hour out unless both parties meant the abbreviation literally. Broadcasters and airlines avoid the ambiguity by saying UTC. GMT itself is fixed at UTC+0 and does not shift; it is the UK's clocks that move away from it and back.
About SAST
South Africa Standard Time (SAST) is UTC+2. It is used in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini.
South Africa Standard Time is UTC+2 with no daylight saving, unchanged since 1903 apart from two wartime years. The whole country keeps it, and so do Lesotho and Eswatini. Against the UK it is two hours ahead in winter and one in summer, which is the shift that catches London–Johannesburg standing calls every March and October.
Does this gap change with the seasons?
This gap is seasonal. The abbreviations themselves are fixed offsets, but the region on GMT switches to BST (UTC+1) from late March to late October. So the 2-hour figure on this page is correct for the part of the year when both places are actually on these abbreviations, and changes by an hour outside it.
SAST does not shift, so the whole change comes from one side. A recurring meeting fixed in SAST will appear to move by an hour for everyone on the other side, twice a year, without anyone changing anything.
This is the reason scheduling systems store an IANA zone such as Region/City rather than an offset or an abbreviation: the zone knows its own rules and the offset does not.
Frequently asked questions
What time is 9:00 AM GMT in SAST?
9:00 AM GMT is 11:00 AM SAST.
Is SAST ahead of GMT?
SAST is 2 hours ahead of GMT.
Which time zone does this use?
GMT is UTC+0 and SAST is UTC+2. Both abbreviations denote a single fixed offset, so this conversion never shifts with daylight saving — what changes is which abbreviation a place is using at the time.