New Year Countdown: Free Timer to Midnight, Any Time Zone
Set a free New Year countdown to midnight for your party or stream, share it by link, and see which countries reach midnight first and last.
Published · 5 min read
For a New Year countdown, open the free countdown timer, choose Countdown to a date, and pick 1 January 2027 at 00:00. It counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to midnight on your device's clock, says It's time! at zero, and gives you a link to share. Each person who opens the link counts down to midnight in their own time zone, so it works for friends in any country.
New Year's Day 2027 is a Friday, so New Year's Eve is a Thursday night. Here's how to set up the countdown for a party, a screen or a live stream, and a table of when midnight arrives around the world.
Set up a New Year countdown
- Open the free countdown timer and choose Countdown to a date.
- In Count down to, choose 1 January 2027 and set the time to 00:00.
- Add a name in Name (optional), such as "Happy New Year 2027".
- Go full screen in the browser (F11 on most Windows laptops) and put it on the TV or projector.
- Use Copy link to this countdown to send it to guests or post it in a group chat.
The page shows four big boxes, Days, Hours, Minutes and Seconds, and the time left also appears in the browser tab title. The countdown runs from your device's clock, so make sure the clock is right. Phones and laptops that set the time automatically are usually accurate to well under a second.
The last ten minutes: two options
For the final stretch, you have a choice:
- Keep the date countdown running. It ends exactly at midnight on the device's clock. This is the one to trust for the moment itself.
- Start a 10-minute timer at 23:50. Switch to Timer and press 10 min. It shows a single large mm:ss display and a progress bar, and plays a chime at zero. It's dramatic, but it starts when you press the button, so if you press it a few seconds late, it ends a few seconds late.
For a party, many hosts keep the date countdown on the TV and shout the last ten seconds together.
Shared links and time zones
The shared link contains only the date, the time and the name, without a time zone. That's deliberate: a friend in Dubai who opens your link counts down to midnight in Dubai, and your cousin in Toronto counts down to midnight in Toronto. The line under the countdown says "in your time zone" so nobody is confused.
That's perfect for a group chat, but not for a live stream with a worldwide audience where everyone should watch the same moment. In that case, share your screen with the countdown running on it. Viewers then see your countdown to your midnight, whatever their local time.
To work out what time your midnight is for viewers elsewhere, use the free time zone converter. The guide on scheduling across time zones has tips for picking a start time that works for several countries.
Who celebrates New Year first?
Time zones run from 14 hours ahead of UTC to 12 hours behind it, so New Year arrives over about 26 hours. The first inhabited place to reach midnight is Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in Kiribati, at UTC+14. The last inhabited places are American Samoa and Niue, at UTC−11. The uninhabited Baker and Howland Islands, at UTC−12, are the very last.
Here's when midnight on 1 January 2027 arrives in some major places, shown in India Standard Time and New York time:
| Midnight in | Time in India (IST) | Time in New York |
|---|---|---|
| Kiritimati, Kiribati (UTC+14) | 3:30 pm, 31 Dec | 5:00 am, 31 Dec |
| Auckland, New Zealand | 4:30 pm, 31 Dec | 6:00 am, 31 Dec |
| Sydney, Australia | 6:30 pm, 31 Dec | 8:00 am, 31 Dec |
| Tokyo, Japan | 8:30 pm, 31 Dec | 10:00 am, 31 Dec |
| India | midnight | 1:30 pm, 31 Dec |
| Dubai, UAE | 1:30 am, 1 Jan | 3:00 pm, 31 Dec |
| London, UK | 5:30 am, 1 Jan | 7:00 pm, 31 Dec |
| New York, USA | 10:30 am, 1 Jan | midnight |
| Los Angeles, USA | 1:30 pm, 1 Jan | 3:00 am, 1 Jan |
| American Samoa (UTC−11) | 4:30 pm, 1 Jan | 6:00 am, 1 Jan |
Auckland and Sydney are on summer (daylight saving) time at New Year, which is why they're 13 and 11 hours ahead of UTC. These times are for this New Year; check with the time zone converter for other years, because daylight saving rules can change.
Ideas for New Year's Eve
- Countdown every hour. Some families with young children celebrate when another country reaches midnight, such as Sydney or Dubai, then go to bed. Use the table above to pick your "early midnight".
- Video call around the world. Line up a call for each relative's midnight and count down with them. The time zone converter shows each one in your local time.
- A time capsule. Everyone writes three hopes for the year and seals them, then sets a countdown to 31 December 2027 to open them.
- Resolution check-ins. The free date calculator can add 30, 60 or 90 days to 1 January to set check-in dates; 90 days after 1 January 2027 is 1 April 2027.
- Party games. A free wheel spinner with dares or questions keeps the hour before midnight lively.
If Christmas comes first in your house, see the Christmas countdown post for Advent ideas and a days-to-go table.
Count down to midnight
Open the free countdown timer, set 1 January 00:00, and share the link with everyone you're celebrating with, near or far.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I make a New Year countdown?
- Choose Countdown to a date in the free countdown timer, pick 1 January at 00:00, add a name, and press Copy link to share it.
- Will my shared countdown show my midnight or theirs?
- Theirs. The link has no time zone, so each viewer counts down to midnight where they are. For a stream, share your screen instead.
- Which country celebrates New Year first?
- Kiribati's Line Islands, including Kiritimati, at UTC+14. Midnight there is 3:30 pm on 31 December in India.
- Which places celebrate New Year last?
- American Samoa and Niue are the last inhabited places, at UTC−11. The uninhabited Baker and Howland Islands, at UTC−12, are last of all.
- What day is New Year's Day 2027?
- Friday, 1 January 2027. New Year's Eve is Thursday, 31 December 2026.
Calculators
Try the Countdown Timer
Free, no sign-up, works in your browser. Set a timer for any number of minutes with a chime when time is up, or count down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to a date, like a holiday or a launch, and share the countdown with a link.