Unix Timestamp Converter
Convert any Unix timestamp to a readable date — or any date to a timestamp — in milliseconds, seconds and more.
What is it?
A Unix timestamp (also called an epoch timestamp or POSIX time) is the number of seconds — or milliseconds, in modern systems — that have elapsed since the Unix epoch: midnight UTC on January 1, 1970. It is the universal standard for representing moments in time in software systems, databases, APIs and log files because it is timezone-agnostic, compact, and easy to compare and calculate with. Our free Unix timestamp converter lets you translate in both directions: paste a Unix timestamp and get a human-readable date and time in your local timezone and in UTC, or pick a date and time and get the corresponding Unix timestamp in seconds, milliseconds and microseconds. The tool also shows the current timestamp, which updates every second, making it easy to capture the exact epoch time for a log entry or API call.
How to use it
- To convert a timestamp to a date: paste or type a Unix timestamp in the first field. The converter auto-detects seconds vs milliseconds based on the number of digits.
- Read the human-readable date in both your local timezone and UTC below the input.
- To convert a date to a timestamp: use the date-time picker in the second section.
- The converted timestamp appears in seconds, milliseconds and microseconds.
- Use the "Current timestamp" display at the top to copy the exact epoch time right now.
Why use this tool
Unix timestamps appear constantly in developer work: API responses, database fields, log files, JWT tokens, URL parameters and configuration files all commonly store time as a Unix timestamp. Converting them to a readable date manually — counting seconds since 1970 — is practically impossible. Having a fast, reliable converter open in a browser tab is a daily-use tool for backend developers, DevOps engineers, data analysts and QA testers. The millisecond auto-detection is particularly useful. Many modern systems (JavaScript Date objects, Java System.currentTimeMillis(), most REST APIs) use millisecond-precision timestamps that look like 1714000000000 rather than 1714000000. Pasting either into our tool gives you the correct result without needing to manually divide by 1000. All conversions happen instantly in your browser. Your timestamps and dates are never sent to any server — important when working with production log data or sensitive API responses.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Unix epoch?
The Unix epoch is the reference point: midnight UTC on January 1, 1970 (1970-01-01T00:00:00Z). Every Unix timestamp is the count of seconds (or milliseconds) elapsed since that moment.
How do I know if a timestamp is in seconds or milliseconds?
A 10-digit timestamp is in seconds (valid through year 2286). A 13-digit timestamp is in milliseconds. Our converter detects this automatically based on the number of digits.
What about microseconds or nanoseconds?
A 16-digit timestamp is in microseconds. The tool displays all three units (seconds, milliseconds, microseconds) for every conversion so you can pick the precision you need.
Why does the converted time look off by a few hours?
Unix timestamps are always in UTC. If the displayed local time looks different from UTC, that is your local timezone offset working correctly. The tool shows both UTC and local time to avoid confusion.
What is the maximum Unix timestamp value?
The 32-bit signed integer limit is 2,147,483,647, which corresponds to January 19, 2038 — the so-called "Year 2038 problem". Modern systems use 64-bit integers which will not overflow for billions of years.