San Francisco is typically 9 hours behind Amsterdam. When it's 5:00 PM in Amsterdam, it's 8:00 AM in San Francisco. Both cities observe daylight saving time, though the transition dates differ slightly.
During the brief periods when the US and Europe change clocks on different weekends (usually in March and November), the difference can temporarily be 8 or 10 hours. For most of the year, it's a consistent 9-hour difference.
Optimal meeting window: 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM San Francisco time (3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Amsterdam). This catches late afternoon business hours in Amsterdam while being early morning in SF.
Many tech companies have offices in both cities, making early morning SF calls routine for European coordination.