San Francisco is typically 9 hours behind Berlin. When it's 5:00 PM in Berlin, 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 Berlin). This catches late afternoon business hours in Berlin while being early morning in SF.
Berlin's thriving startup scene makes this a popular route for tech companies with European operations.