Product Hunt launch time in your time zone (12:01 a.m. PT)

A Product Hunt day starts at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time. Until October 31, 2026 that's 07:01 UTC: 3:01 a.m. in New York, 4:01 p.m. in Seoul. From November 1, when Pacific clocks go back an hour, it's 08:01 UTC: still 3:01 a.m. in New York, but 5:01 p.m. in Seoul. The converter below shows it in your own time zone.

As of October 2026, Product Hunt's launch guide says that "a rule of thumb is to schedule your launch for 12:01am PST" and that the homepage runs on a 24-hour cycle based on Pacific time.

What time is the launch where I am?

What time is 12:01 a.m. PT in major cities?

Times are for the start of a Product Hunt day, computed from the IANA time zone data that browsers use. The middle column is the odd week: the UK and most of Europe go back an hour on October 25, 2026, a week before the US does on November 1.

All times are on the same calendar date as the Pacific launch day. Nobody in this list starts the day before.

Why does the hour move twice in two weeks?

Two clock changes land close together this year. GOV.UK lists October 25, 2026 as the day the UK goes back an hour, and the rest of Europe follows the same last-Sunday-in-October rule. NIST lists November 1, 2026 as the end of daylight saving time in the US. For that one week, London and Berlin are an hour closer to Los Angeles than usual, so the launch starts an hour earlier there.

From November 1, Pacific time is UTC-8 and stays that way until March 14, 2027, the second Sunday in March. Cities that don't change clocks, like Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai and Mumbai, see their launch hour move one hour later. Sydney and Auckland are already on summer time, so they move later too.

One small wrinkle: Product Hunt's guide writes "PST", even though the Pacific clock is on PDT (UTC-7) until November 1. The converter and table above use the Los Angeles clock, which is what "Pacific time" means on a US calendar.

Do I have to launch at 12:01 a.m. PT?

No. Product Hunt calls it a rule of thumb (and lets you schedule a post up to a month ahead), because posting at the start of the day gives people the full 24 hours to see your product. Its guide also says the best time depends on your own situation. If you launch at 9 a.m. PT, you've given up nine of those hours.

The time is set by the Pacific day, so it doesn't matter where you live. A maker in Seoul who schedules for Tuesday is launching on Tuesday afternoon Seoul time, and the leaderboard day ends at midnight Pacific, which is the next afternoon in Seoul.

Which launch hours are hard, and how do I handle them?

• US East Coast (3:01 a.m.): schedule the post the day before and sleep. Have your first comment and replies written, so the morning is only answering people.
• Europe (7:01 to 9:01 a.m.): the easiest slot. You start with the day and your US visitors arrive in your afternoon.
• Asia and Australia (afternoon to evening): you're awake at launch, but US visitors show up while you sleep. Write answers to the questions you expect before you go to bed, and check first thing in the morning.

Whatever your hour, the page people land on has to work without you there. If you'd like a second pair of eyes on it before launch day, send me the link for three free notes.

How do I plan launch-day calls with a team in other cities?

Put Los Angeles and your own city side by side in a meeting planner and pick the launch date. I use Time Atlas World's meeting planner, a free world clock I built, and the link in the box above opens it with your time zone already added. It shows the hours that overlap, so you can set a check-in for when the first US visitors arrive.

What I'd do

Open the converter above, write your local launch hour in your calendar, and if your date falls between October 25 and November 1, 2026, check the table to see whether your hour moves.