Unix Timestamp Converter — Everything You Need to Know
Understand Unix timestamps, how they work, and how to convert them to human-readable dates. Free online epoch converter.
A Unix timestamp (also called Epoch time or POSIX time) is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC. It is the standard way computers represent time.
Why Unix Timestamp?
- Universal: Same value everywhere in the world (no timezone ambiguity)
- Simple: A single integer, easy to store and compare
- Compact: Only 4 bytes (32-bit) or 8 bytes (64-bit)
- Sortable: Chronological order = numerical order
Seconds vs Milliseconds
Some systems use milliseconds instead of seconds:
| Format | Current (approx) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Seconds (10 digits) | 1,714,xxx,xxx | 1714567890 |
| Milliseconds (13 digits) | 1,714,xxx,xxx,000 | 1714567890000 |
JavaScript uses milliseconds, while Python and most databases use seconds. Always check which format your data uses.
Common Epoch Dates
| Date | Unix Timestamp |
|---|---|
| Jan 1, 1970 | 0 |
| Jan 1, 2000 | 946,684,800 |
| Jan 1, 2020 | 1,577,836,800 |
| Jan 1, 2025 | 1,735,689,600 |
| Jan 1, 2030 | 1,893,456,000 |
| Jan 19, 2038 | 2,147,483,647 (32-bit max) |
The Year 2038 Problem
32-bit signed integers can store timestamps up to 2,147,483,647 (January 19, 2038). After this date, 32-bit systems will overflow, potentially causing crashes. Most modern systems use 64-bit timestamps, which will not overflow for billions of years.
How to Convert
Use our free Unix timestamp converter to:
- Convert timestamps to human-readable dates
- Convert dates to timestamps
- Get the current timestamp instantly
- Supports both seconds and milliseconds