Working with a distributed team located across multiple time zones can be a logistical nightmare. Trying to calculate time differences, find meeting times that work for everyone, and avoid scheduling conflicts is enough to make even the most organized professionals pull their hair out. If you've ever found yourself drowning in a sea of world clocks, time zone converters, and endless email threads just to schedule an internal meeting, you're not alone. Coordinating schedules across time zones is one of the biggest challenges remote teams face. The good news? There are some incredibly helpful free tools out there designed to make converting times across time zones and scheduling meetings for remote teams a breeze. From simple time zone checkers to full-fledged meeting scheduling platforms, these tools can streamline the process and save you hours of frustration.
As someone who has worked in the remote space for over six years, whithin global organisations, I have experienced the pain points firsthand and have personally tried and tested each of the mentioned solutions.
Whether you're a freelancer who collaborates with clients globally or a fully-remote company, having the right time zone tools in your arsenal is crucial. Read on to find the perfect solution to finally conquer this time zone scheduling challenge once and for all!
Let's dive into the top three products their key features and their pros and cons, so you can determine which one best fits your distributed team's needs.
1. MeetMomentum.tech
An online visual time zone convertor and chrome extension that integrates with Google Caleder.
MeetMomentum is the most recent tool, which is evident from the interface design. It has a slick dark mode design and fully takes advantage of the modern browser's capabilities offering superior performance and gesture interactions like horizontal scrolling and swiping.
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Responsive design. It adopts to your window size and performs well both on mobile and desktop devices
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Well-designed user interface with great interactivity
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Free Chrome extension option
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Saves your time zone preferences on the browser
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Customizable working hours range, for visual alignment of working hours
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Click or use the smart selection option to select a time and copy to clipart for all chosen time zones
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Paid option to integrate with your Google calendar. You can view your own and your contact's agenda in all time zones, book meetings directly and explore all local holidays.
MeetMomentum also offers a free and reliable World Clock, that updates real time. Try it here.
2. World Time Buddy
An online time zone calculator and and a handy mobile app
This was my go-to option before MeetMomentum. It is a reliable service that has been trusted by many people since it was launched in 2011. Here are some key features:
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Compact design
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Sign up for free to save your time zone preferences
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Some support for local preferences
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customizations options like toggle between 25h or 12h clock
Overall World Time Buddy is a popular visual time zone converter tool that allows to easily compare times across multiple locations. A major pro it's simplicity. It also has handy team collaboration features like saving favourite time zones and sharing custom views. However, one potential con is that World Time Buddy lacks direct calendar integration, so you still need to manually add scheduled meetings to your calendar app. Additionally, while the visuals are helpful, the tool may become cluttered when dealing with a large number of time zones across a highly distributed team.
3. Timeandate
A website dedicated to providing useful widgets and information around time zones, weather and various astronomical phenomena.
Key features include:
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world clock
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unique design for identifying common working hours
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support for local holidays
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customizations options like toggle between 25h or 12h clock
This time zone converter tool is placed third as it lacks features, in comparison to world time buddy and MeetMomentum.
However, Dateandtime.com is a popular website that serves as a comprehensive resource for everything related to time, time zones, and astronomy. It provides a wide range of free online tools and information that users can rely on for accurate time-related data. It is still a good resource for generic date/time information and updates.
For a simple, no-frills way to quickly convert a single time, the Dateandtime.com converter could suffice. However, remote teams would likely need additional scheduling tools alongside it to fully manage time zone complexities.
4. savvytime.com
Another online and chrome extension alternative to timezone meeting scheduler and world clock
While the Savvytime.com converter may suffice for quick, individual time calculations, remote teams and professionals needing to coordinate meetings and schedules across multiple time zones would likely benefit from a more comprehensive solution. Tools that offer team collaboration, scheduling assistance, and calendar syncing can streamline the process and prevent misunderstandings or missed meetings due to time zone confusion.
The Savvytime.com time zone converter is a decent option for simple time conversions, but falls short on advanced scheduling and team coordination features compared to other top time zone tools optimized for remote work scenarios.
