How to Count Business Days Between Two Dates

To count business days between two dates, start with the full date range, remove weekends, remove any holidays that do not count, and then check whether your rule includes the start date, the end date, or both.

For a typical Monday-to-Friday workweek, the basic formula is:

Business days = weekdays in the range - excluded holidays

That sounds simple, but most mistakes happen because people skip one of three questions:

• Does the start date count?
• Does the end date count?
• Which holidays should be excluded?

If you want the result without counting manually, use the CurrentDateTime Working Days Calculator. It counts Monday through Friday, excludes Saturdays and Sundays, lets you add custom holidays, and includes both selected endpoints in its range.

The Basic Method

For a normal Monday-to-Friday business calendar:

1. Choose your start date.
2. Choose your end date.
3. Decide whether the start and end dates are included.
4. Count each Monday through Friday in the range.
5. Skip Saturdays and Sundays.
6. Remove any holidays or company closure days that should not count.
7. The remaining total is your number of business days.

The method is easy once the counting rules are clear. The difficult part is making sure you are counting the right days for the task.

Example: Monday to Friday

Suppose the range is: Monday, August 3 through Friday, August 7 and both dates count. There are no holidays.

Total: 5 business days. CurrentDateTime's Working Days Calculator follows this inclusive method, so a Monday-to-Friday range counts as five working days.

Example: A Range That Includes a Weekend

Now suppose the range is: Thursday through the following Tuesday and there are no holidays.

Total: 4 business days. There are six calendar dates in the range, but only four qualifying weekdays. This is the key difference between counting elapsed calendar days and counting working days.

Example: A Holiday Inside the Range

Suppose your range is: Monday through Friday, but Wednesday is a holiday that your business-day definition excludes.

The count becomes:

• Monday = Day 1
• Tuesday = Day 2
• Wednesday = excluded holiday
• Thursday = Day 3
• Friday = Day 4

Total: 4 business days. This is why a calculator that only removes weekends may still give the wrong result for a real deadline. Timeanddate's business-day calculator follows the same general principle by allowing weekends and public holidays to be excluded from the range.

Do You Count the Start Date?

There is no universal answer. For a simple date-range calculation, you may want to include the start date. For a legal or contractual deadline, the rule may tell you to begin counting on the following day.

For example, one federal U.S. time-computation rule says that the day after the triggering event is Day 1. Another rule for business-day periods similarly excludes the day of the event that starts the period and then counts each following business day.

So before counting, ask: Am I measuring business days contained in a date range, or am I calculating a deadline that begins after an event? Those are different tasks.

Inclusive vs Exclusive Counting

This distinction causes many one-day errors.

• Inclusive counting: The start and end dates can both count if they are qualifying business days. Example: Monday through Friday = 5 business days. This is how the CurrentDateTime Working Days Calculator handles the selected range.
• Exclusive-start counting: The triggering date does not count. You begin with the next qualifying business day. Example: A notice is received Monday. If the rule excludes Monday: Tuesday = Day 1, Wednesday = Day 2, Thursday = Day 3.

The exact method depends on the rule you are following. Do not switch between the two counting methods without noticing.

Does the End Date Count?

Again, it depends on the calculation. If you are asking: How many working days fall between August 3 and August 7, including both dates? then Friday counts.

If you are asking: How many full business days have elapsed after August 3 but before August 7? the result may be different. Some business-day calculators provide options for including or excluding the final date for exactly this reason. When accuracy matters, define the endpoints before calculating.

A Reliable Manual Formula

If the business week is Monday through Friday, you can think of the problem as: Total qualifying weekdays minus: qualifying holidays.

For example: Date range contains 12 weekdays. Two of those weekdays are excluded holidays. Then: 12 - 2 = 10 business days.

A holiday that already falls on Saturday or Sunday should normally not be subtracted a second time from a weekday count. CurrentDateTime's calculator follows that logic: it categorizes each date as a weekday, weekend, or custom holiday and does not double-count a holiday that is already on a weekend.

How to Count Business Days With a Calendar

For a short period, a paper or digital calendar is often enough. Mark: Monday through Friday = possible business days. Then cross out: Saturdays, Sundays, and excluded holidays. Count what remains.

For example, imagine: Start: Wednesday, End: following Wednesday. Calendar: Wednesday = 1, Thursday = 2, Friday = 3, Saturday = skip, Sunday = skip, Monday = 4, Tuesday = 5, Wednesday = 6. Result: 6 business days. That assumes both Wednesdays count and there are no holidays.

How to Count Business Days Across Several Weeks

For longer ranges, counting one day at a time becomes tedious. A faster approach is to separate: full weeks from: partial weeks. A standard Monday-to-Friday week contains: 5 business days. So four complete workweeks contain: 20 business days.

Then count any remaining partial week separately. For example: 4 complete workweeks = 20 days, plus: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday = 3 more days. Total: 23 business days. Then subtract any relevant weekday holidays. This shortcut works well when your weekend is Saturday and Sunday.

A Quick Approximation Formula

If you only need an estimate: Business days ≈ calendar days × 5/7. For example: 28 calendar days × 5/7 = about 20 weekdays.

But this is only an approximation. It ignores: the exact starting weekday, the exact ending weekday, public holidays, and non-standard weekends. Do not use this shortcut for an actual deadline. Use the real dates instead.

How to Count Business Days in Excel

Microsoft Excel has a built-in function specifically for this task. The NETWORKDAYS function counts whole working days between two dates and can optionally exclude holidays. Microsoft's documentation also points to NETWORKDAYS.INTL when you need to define which days are considered weekends.

A basic formula is: =NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date). For example: =NETWORKDAYS(A2, B2). To exclude holidays stored in another range: =NETWORKDAYS(A2, B2, D2:D10). This is useful when you maintain a spreadsheet containing company holidays or project deadlines.

What Is NETWORKDAYS.INTL?

NETWORKDAYS.INTL is useful when Saturday and Sunday are not your weekend. Microsoft says the function returns the number of whole workdays between two dates and lets you specify which days count as weekend days.

That matters for international teams and businesses with different work schedules. For example, a company might have: Friday and Saturday off instead of: Saturday and Sunday. A simple Monday-to-Friday assumption would give the wrong answer.

Business Days Are Not Universally Monday Through Friday

Monday through Friday is a common business week, but it is not a universal definition. The actual working calendar can vary by:

• country
• company
• industry
• government agency
• contract
• bank
• stock exchange

This is why CurrentDateTime allows custom holidays to be entered instead of pretending that one built-in holiday list works for everyone. The same principle applies to weekends. If your working week is different, you need a calculator or spreadsheet formula that supports a custom weekend pattern.

What Holidays Should You Exclude?

That depends on the purpose of your calculation. Possible holiday calendars include:

• U.S. federal holidays
• state holidays
• local holidays
• bank holidays
• company holidays
• stock-market closures
• national holidays in another country

Do not automatically exclude every holiday you know about. Exclude the holidays that the relevant rule or business schedule actually treats as non-working days. For a company project, that may mean company closure days. For a government filing, it may mean legally defined public holidays. For an international contract, the agreement may identify the governing jurisdiction.

What If a Holiday Falls on Saturday or Sunday?

This can be more complicated than it looks. For ordinary working-day counting, the weekend date is already excluded. But some jurisdictions or companies observe the holiday on a nearby weekday. For example, a Sunday holiday may cause Monday to become an observed day off.

If the observed Monday is excluded from business days, you need to remove Monday from the count too. So do not look only at the holiday's nominal calendar date. Check the applicable observed holiday schedule.

What Happens If the Final Day Is a Weekend?

This depends on the rule you are following. If you are simply counting how many business days are inside a date range, the weekend day does not count.

If you are calculating a legal deadline, the deadline may move to the next qualifying business day. For example, one federal rule counts all calendar days in its applicable periods but moves the final day to the next regular business day when the end falls on a weekend or federal holiday. That is not the same as business-day counting, but it demonstrates why deadline rules need to be read carefully.

Counting Business Days Forward From a Date

Sometimes you are not asking: How many business days are between these dates? Instead you want: What date is 10 business days from Monday?

The process is slightly different. Suppose Monday is the starting event and the next business day is Day 1: Tuesday = 1, Wednesday = 2, Thursday = 3, Friday = 4, Monday = 5. Continue until you reach Day 10. Weekends are skipped. Relevant holidays are skipped too.

Timeanddate provides a separate business-date calculator for this type of task because adding working days to a date is different from simply counting weekdays inside a selected range.

Counting Business Days Backward

The same idea works in reverse. Suppose you need to find a date: 5 business days before Friday and the starting Friday itself does not count. Move backward: Thursday = 1, Wednesday = 2, Tuesday = 3, Monday = 4, Friday of the previous week = 5. The Saturday and Sunday in between are skipped. Again, holidays can shift the answer.

Business Days vs Calendar Days

Do not confuse the two calculations. Calendar days count every date. Business days usually remove weekends and applicable holidays. If a range contains: 14 calendar days, it will normally include: 10 Monday-to-Friday weekdays before considering holidays. But the exact number depends on which weekday the period starts and ends on. For a deeper explanation, see Calendar Days vs Business Days: What's the Difference?

Working Days vs Business Days

These terms are often used interchangeably in everyday conversation. But a formal rule can define them differently. A "working day" may refer to days an organization is open. A "business day" may be separately defined by law or contract. If the document you are following defines the term, use that definition. Do not substitute your own.

Business Days vs Weekdays

A weekday is simply: Monday through Friday. A business day may exclude some weekdays. For example: Monday is a weekday. If Monday is an applicable public holiday, it may not be a business day. So the calculation is often: weekdays - holidays = business days. That is more precise than saying business days and weekdays always mean the same thing.

Example: 10 Business Days From a Monday

Let's use a simple example with no holidays. Assume the starting Monday does not count and Tuesday is Day 1.

• Week 1: Tuesday = 1, Wednesday = 2, Thursday = 3, Friday = 4 (Weekend = skip)
• Week 2: Monday = 5, Tuesday = 6, Wednesday = 7, Thursday = 8, Friday = 9 (Weekend = skip)
• Following Monday: Monday = 10

So the tenth business day lands on the following Monday. This example also shows why saying: "10 business days means two weeks" is not always precise. The exact calendar date depends on when counting begins.

Example: 5 Business Days With a Holiday

Suppose: Start event = Friday, Monday is a holiday, and the starting Friday does not count. Then: Saturday = skip, Sunday = skip, Monday = holiday (skip), Tuesday = Day 1, Wednesday = Day 2, Thursday = Day 3, Friday = Day 4, Monday = Day 5. The fifth business day is much later than simply adding five calendar days. That is why deadlines around holiday weekends deserve extra attention.

How Many Business Days Are Between Two Dates?

There is no meaningful answer without the actual dates and counting rules. You need at least: start date, end date, weekend pattern, holiday list, and endpoint rule. Once you have those, the calculation is straightforward.

The CurrentDateTime Working Days Calculator accepts a start date, end date, and optional custom holidays, then reports working days, weekend days, excluded holidays, and total days.

CurrentDateTime Working Days Calculator Example

CurrentDateTime currently gives a useful example using the full month of August 2026. From: August 1, 2026 through: August 31, 2026, the tool reports:

• 21 working days
• 10 weekend days
• 31 total days

with no custom holidays entered. The tool includes both August 1 and August 31 in the selected range, but because August 1 is a Saturday, it does not count as a working day. This is a good example of why inclusion of an endpoint does not automatically mean it increases the business-day total. The date still has to qualify as a working day.

How Leap Years Affect Business-Day Counting

A leap year adds February 29. Whether that increases your business-day total depends on which weekday February 29 falls on and whether it is excluded for another reason. If February 29 is: Monday through Friday, it can contribute another working day. If it falls on: Saturday or Sunday, it does not increase a standard Monday-to-Friday business-day count. A reliable calculator handles this automatically.

How Time Zones Can Affect the Starting Date

For most business-day calculations inside one country, time zones do not matter. They can matter for international deadlines. Suppose a document is sent late Monday evening in California. The recipient in another country may already be on Tuesday. If the agreement says the clock begins when the recipient receives the document according to the recipient's local date, the starting date may differ from the sender's.

Before counting international business days, confirm: which location's date controls, which time zone applies, and whose holiday calendar applies. You can use the CurrentDateTime Time Zone Converter when you first need to establish the correct local date for an international event.

How to Count Business Days for a Project

Project planning is usually simpler than legal deadline counting. First, choose the project start and end dates. Then remove: weekends, company holidays, and planned shutdown days. The remaining weekdays are your potential working days.

You may then want to remove additional non-productive dates such as: team retreats, maintenance windows, and office closures. At that point, you are really building a project working calendar, which may be more useful than a generic business-day count.

How to Count Business Days for Shipping

Shipping estimates can use carrier-specific rules. A seller may say: "3 to 5 business days", but that does not automatically tell you: whether order day counts, whether Saturday delivery counts, whether processing and transit are separate, and which holidays the carrier observes. Use the company's own shipping policy. Do not assume a generic Monday-to-Friday calculation exactly matches a carrier's operational calendar.

How to Count Business Days for Banking

Banking can use specialized definitions. A banking day may depend on whether the bank is open for substantially all of its banking functions, and financial regulations can define business days differently for specific transactions. That means a generic working-day calculator is useful for planning, but it should not override your bank's stated settlement or funds-availability rules.

How to Count Business Days for Legal Deadlines

Legal deadlines require the most care. You need to identify:

• the exact governing rule
• whether the triggering date counts
• whether weekends are excluded throughout
• which holidays are excluded
• what happens if the final day is a holiday
• what time the deadline expires

Different rules use different methods. One federal regulation, for example, starts counting on the day after the triggering event but counts all calendar days before applying a special weekend or holiday rule to the final day. Another administrative rule expressly says that when a period is stated in business days, the triggering day is excluded and every following business day is counted. This is why you should never assume one legal counting method applies everywhere.

Common Business-Day Counting Mistakes

A Checklist Before You Calculate

Before counting business days, answer these questions:

If you can answer those questions, the actual count becomes much easier.

The Simplest Rule to Remember

For a normal Monday-to-Friday calendar:

Count weekdays, remove holidays, and check whether the endpoints count.

That is the core of almost every business-day calculation.

But do not let the simple arithmetic hide the important part.

The correct answer depends on the rules of the calendar you are using.

For ordinary project planning, delivery estimates, or general date calculations, use the CurrentDateTime Working Days Calculator. It shows the working-day total, weekend days, holidays excluded, and overall calendar-day count in one result.

For legal, banking, regulatory, or contractual deadlines, use the calculator as a counting aid but verify the governing definition and deadline rules separately.