How to Convert a Unix Timestamp to a Readable Date Online

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A Unix timestamp — a number like 1735689600 — represents a specific moment in time as the number of seconds since January 1, 1970. It's compact and unambiguous for computers, but meaningless to read at a glance. Converting it to a normal date makes it usable for humans.

When you need to convert a timestamp

• Debugging an API response or database record that stores dates as Unix timestamps
• Checking whether a token or session has actually expired, based on its expiry timestamp
• Converting a readable date into a timestamp to use in code or a query
• Making sense of log entries that record time as raw timestamps

How to convert a timestamp, step by step

1. Open the Timestamp Converter.
2. Paste the Unix timestamp you want to convert.
3. The tool displays it as a readable date and time.
4. To go the other way, enter a date and get its Unix timestamp.

Tips for working with timestamps

• Check whether it's in seconds or milliseconds. Unix timestamps are traditionally in seconds, but some systems (like JavaScript's Date.now()) use milliseconds — a timestamp that converts to a date far in the past or future is often just off by that factor of 1000.
• Account for time zones. A timestamp itself is timezone-independent, but the readable date it converts to depends on which timezone you're viewing it in.
• Use this alongside a JWT decoder — a decoded token's exp and iat fields are Unix timestamps; see the JWT Decoder to extract them first.

Common questions

Why is my converted date wildly wrong? The timestamp is likely in a different unit than expected — check whether it should be treated as seconds or milliseconds.

Does the conversion account for my local time zone? Readable dates are typically shown relative to a specific timezone reference — check which one is displayed if precise timezone matters for your use case.

Can I convert a date back into a timestamp? Yes — enter a date and time to get its corresponding Unix timestamp.

Need to make sense of a Unix timestamp? Convert it for free →