Date to Unix Epoch Converter
Convert any UTC date and time to a Unix timestamp (epoch seconds). Free, instant.
How to use this tool
- Enter date (yyyy-mm-dd) and time (hh:mm:ss utc) in the fields above.
- Results update instantly as you type — or click Calculate.
- Read your unix timestamp and the full breakdown beneath it.
Convert a UTC date and time to its Unix timestamp (epoch seconds), useful for APIs, databases, and log analysis.
How it works
Date to Unix Epoch Converter takes a calendar date and time (in UTC) and produces the corresponding Unix timestamp -- the integer number of seconds since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC. This is needed when writing database queries, constructing API requests, setting cookie expiry times, or generating test data with specific timestamps.
Enter the date in YYYY-MM-DD format and the time in HH:MM:SS UTC format, then click Convert. The tool calculates the exact UTC moment and returns the Unix timestamp as a plain integer. Because Unix timestamps are always in UTC, it is important to ensure your input is also expressed in UTC rather than local time.
Use this tool to construct time range filters for APIs, set Expires headers, create scheduled tasks, or verify that a specific moment in time has the timestamp you expect.
Worked example
Generate a timestamp for an API date-range query
- Decide on the range start: January 1, 2024 at midnight UTC.
- Enter 2024-01-01 in the Date field and 00:00:00 in the Time field.
- Click Convert.
- Copy the output: 1704067200
- Use it in the API request: ?since=1704067200
1704067200 -- the Unix timestamp for the start of 2024 in UTC.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Entering local time instead of UTC and getting a timestamp that is off by your timezone offset -- always convert to UTC first.
- Using the MM/DD/YYYY date format instead of the required YYYY-MM-DD ISO 8601 format: entering 01/15/2024 instead of 2024-01-15 will produce an error or wrong result.
- Forgetting to account for daylight saving time when converting local time to UTC: the UTC offset changes when DST starts or ends.
Key terms
- UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
- The primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks, with no daylight saving time adjustments. Unix timestamps are always relative to UTC.
- Unix timestamp
- An integer counting the seconds elapsed since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC, used universally across programming languages and operating systems.
- Epoch
- A reference point from which time is measured. The Unix epoch is midnight on January 1, 1970 UTC.
Frequently asked questions
- Why use Unix timestamps?
- Unix timestamps provide a language- and timezone-neutral way to represent moments in time, making them ideal for APIs and data storage.