Postgres Timestamp Vs Timestamptz May 2026

If you have ever built an app that serves users across multiple time zones, you’ve likely woken up to a 3:00 AM page about "incorrect order dates" or "meetings showing up at the wrong hour."

-- Insert the same "local" value INSERT INTO time_test VALUES ('2025-04-14 14:00:00', '2025-04-14 14:00:00'); postgres timestamp vs timestamptz

To preserve the user's original time zone (e.g., for compliance or display), you need a : If you have ever built an app that

# Django/ORM example from django.utils import timezone import datetime bad_time = datetime.datetime(2025, 4, 14, 14, 0, 0) GOOD: Aware datetime good_time = timezone.now() # includes UTC offset Share it in the comments below

If you care when something happened, use TIMESTAMPTZ . Your future self (and your global users) will thank you. Have a horror story about timestamps gone wrong? Share it in the comments below!

If your column is TIMESTAMPTZ , but your application sends a naive timestamp, PostgreSQL will assume the timestamp is in your session's time zone. If your server is in UTC and your user is in Sydney – .

If you change your session time zone to 'Asia/Tokyo' (UTC+9) and read the table: