Convert Unix Timestamps Online
This free Unix timestamp converter turns an epoch timestamp into a human-readable date and converts a date back into a Unix timestamp. Choose your direction, enter the value, and get the result in UTC, local time, and ISO 8601 format. It is the quick way to make sense of the timestamps that appear throughout logs, APIs, and databases.
How to Use the Timestamp Converter
- Choose Timestamp → Date or Date → Timestamp.
- Enter a Unix timestamp (in seconds) or pick a date and time.
- Press Convert to see the result.
What a Unix Timestamp Is
A Unix timestamp (also called epoch time) is the number of seconds that have elapsed since midnight UTC on January 1, 1970 — the “Unix epoch.” It is a simple, timezone-independent way to represent a moment in time as a single integer, which is why computers love it. For example, 1700000000 corresponds to a date in late 2023. Converting it to a readable date tells you what moment it represents; converting a date to a timestamp gives you that integer for storage or calculation.
Where Unix Timestamps Are Used
Timestamps are everywhere in software. Server logs record events in epoch time, APIs return created and updated times as timestamps, databases store dates as integers for easy comparison, and programming languages use them for date arithmetic. Because a timestamp is just a number, comparing or sorting times is trivial, and there is no ambiguity about timezone or format. Developers constantly need to convert a raw timestamp from a log or API into a readable date to understand when something happened — which is exactly what this tool does.
Seconds vs. Milliseconds
One common gotcha: some systems use seconds and others use milliseconds. A standard Unix timestamp is in seconds (10 digits for current dates), while JavaScript and some APIs use milliseconds (13 digits). If a converted date comes out wildly wrong — thousands of years off — you probably have milliseconds where seconds were expected, or vice versa. This tool works in seconds for input and also shows the millisecond value, so you can match whichever your system uses.
Instant and In Your Browser
The conversion runs in your browser, so it is instant with no signup or limit, and it shows the result in UTC, your local time, and ISO 8601 so you can copy whichever format you need. Whether you are debugging a log, reading an API response, or storing a date as an integer, the converter handles both directions in one click.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Unix timestamp?
The number of seconds since January 1, 1970 UTC — a simple, timezone-independent way to represent a moment in time.
Why is my converted date wrong by thousands of years?
You likely have milliseconds instead of seconds (or vice versa). A current-date timestamp in seconds has 10 digits.
Is the timestamp converter free and private?
Yes — it is free, needs no signup, and runs entirely in your browser.
Time Zones and Storing Dates
One reason Unix timestamps are so beloved by developers is that they sidestep the headache of time zones. A timestamp represents an exact moment in time as a single number anchored to UTC, with no ambiguity about which zone it refers to. Display logic can then convert that one canonical value into whatever local time a user needs. This is why best practice is to store dates as timestamps (or in UTC) in the database and only apply time-zone offsets at the moment of display — it avoids the bugs that creep in when zones are baked into stored data.
Timestamps also make date arithmetic trivial. Finding how long ago something happened, sorting events in order, or checking whether one moment falls before another all reduce to simple integer comparisons when times are stored as epoch seconds. That simplicity is why logs, APIs, and databases lean on them so heavily. The main thing to watch is the seconds-versus-milliseconds distinction between systems, and the fact that a raw timestamp is not human-readable — which is exactly where this converter helps, turning the integer from a log or API into a clear UTC, local, and ISO 8601 date in one click.