📅 Business Days Calculator: Count Working Days Between Two Dates
By Shihab Mia · Updated 2026-06-27
Pick a start date and an end date to count the working days between them.
This business days calculator counts the working days (Monday to Friday) between two dates and leaves out the weekends. Pick a start date and an end date, and you will see the number of business days, the total calendar days, how many weekend days fall in the range, and roughly how many full working weeks that adds up to. It works the range one day at a time, so the count is exact rather than an estimate.
What is the Business Days Calculator?
A business days calculator counts the working days between two dates while skipping the weekend. A business day, also called a working day or weekday, is any day that is not a weekend. In most of the world that means Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday count, while Saturday and Sunday do not. Counting business days matters whenever a deadline, delivery, or payment is quoted in working days rather than calendar days, because a "5 business day" window can stretch across a full week or more once a weekend lands inside it.
The method this tool uses is deliberately simple and transparent: it starts on the first date, walks forward one day at a time to the last date, and adds one to the business-day count every time the day is a Monday through Friday. Total calendar days is just the number of days stepped through, and the weekend total is whatever is left over. Because it checks each day individually, the answer is correct no matter how the weekends fall, and it never relies on a rough "divide by 7 and multiply by 5" shortcut that drifts at the edges of the range.
One thing to decide is whether both the start and end dates should be counted. This calculator includes both endpoints by default, which is the usual reading of a phrase like "the days from Monday to Friday." If you uncheck that option, the start date is skipped and counting begins the next day, which matches the way many courier and legal deadlines are phrased ("within 5 business days of receipt"). Note that this tool counts standard weekdays only and does not subtract public holidays, which vary by country, region, and year.
The same logic powers the spreadsheet functions you may already know. In Excel and Google Sheets, NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date) returns the count of Monday-to-Friday days between two dates, exactly like this tool, and NETWORKDAYS.INTL lets you redefine which days are the weekend. Both functions accept an optional list of holiday dates to subtract as well. If you only need a quick, accurate weekday count without setting up a sheet, this calculator gives the same NETWORKDAYS answer in a single step.
Business days come up constantly in real life. Shipping carriers quote transit times in working days, banks clear payments and process refunds on working days, courts and government agencies count filing deadlines in business days, and payroll, notice periods, and service-level agreements are all measured against the working week rather than the calendar. Because weekends interrupt the count unevenly, the gap between calendar days and business days widens the longer the range, which is exactly why a dedicated calculator beats mental math.
For planning over longer spans, it helps to know the typical totals: a standard week has 5 business days, a month has roughly 20 to 23, and a full year has about 260 to 262 weekdays before any public holidays are removed. In the United States, subtracting the 11 federal holidays that fall on weekdays brings the practical total down to roughly 250 working days a year. Use those benchmarks as a sanity check on whatever the calculator returns for your own date range.
When to use it
- Working out a delivery or shipping window quoted in business days rather than calendar days.
- Checking how many working days are left before a project deadline or invoice due date.
- Counting the billable or worked days in a pay period, contract, or notice period.
- Planning annual leave by seeing how many weekdays a holiday range actually uses up.
- Estimating when a bank transfer, refund, or cheque will clear when timing is quoted in working days.
- Sanity-checking a NETWORKDAYS result from a spreadsheet without building a formula.
How to use the Business Days Calculator
- Choose the start date of your range.
- Choose the end date of your range.
- Leave "Count both the start and end date" ticked to include both endpoints, or untick it to start counting from the day after the start date.
- Read off the business days, total calendar days, weekend days, and full weeks.
- If your range contains public holidays, subtract them from the business-day total yourself.
Formula & method
Worked examples
Count the business days from Monday 17 June 2024 to Friday 21 June 2024, both included.
- Step through each day: 17th (Mon), 18th (Tue), 19th (Wed), 20th (Thu), 21st (Fri).
- All five days are weekdays, so each one is a business day.
- Total calendar days stepped through = 5, weekend days = 0.
Result: 5 business days, 5 total days, 0 weekend days, 1 full week
Count the business days from Monday 17 June 2024 to Monday 24 June 2024, both included.
- The range spans 8 calendar days (17th through 24th).
- It contains one weekend: Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd, which are skipped.
- That leaves the weekdays 17th to 21st plus the 24th, which is 6 business days.
Result: 6 business days, 8 total days, 2 weekend days
Count the working days in June 2024, from the 1st to the 30th inclusive.
- June 2024 has 30 calendar days.
- The month contains 10 weekend days (five Saturdays and five Sundays).
- 30 total days − 10 weekend days = 20 working days.
Result: 20 business days, 30 total days, 10 weekend days, 4 full weeks
Find the deadline for "5 business days" starting Thursday 12 June 2025, counting from the next day.
- Untick the include-start option so counting begins Friday 13 June.
- Business day 1 is Fri 13th; Sat 14th and Sun 15th are skipped.
- Business days 2 to 5 are Mon 16th, Tue 17th, Wed 18th, and Thu 19th.
Result: The 5th business day lands on Thursday 19 June 2025
Which days of the week count as business days (standard Mon to Fri week)
| Day | Counts as a business day? |
|---|---|
| Monday | Yes |
| Tuesday | Yes |
| Wednesday | Yes |
| Thursday | Yes |
| Friday | Yes |
| Saturday | No (weekend) |
| Sunday | No (weekend) |
Approximate working days in a typical period (no holidays subtracted)
| Period | Calendar days | Typical business days |
|---|---|---|
| One week | 7 | 5 |
| Two weeks (a fortnight) | 14 | 10 |
| One month | 28 to 31 | 20 to 23 |
| One quarter | 90 to 92 | about 65 |
| One year | 365 or 366 | about 260 to 262 |
Weekdays vs working days after US federal holidays, recent years
| Year | Weekdays (Mon to Fri) | Federal holidays on a weekday | Working days after holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 262 | 11 | 251 |
| 2025 | 261 | 11 | 250 |
| 2026 | 261 | 11 | 250 |
US federal holidays (subtract these yourself if they fall in your range)
| Holiday | When it falls |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Third Monday in January |
| Washington's Birthday | Third Monday in February |
| Memorial Day | Last Monday in May |
| Juneteenth | June 19 |
| Independence Day | July 4 |
| Labor Day | First Monday in September |
| Columbus Day | Second Monday in October |
| Veterans Day | November 11 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Fourth Thursday in November |
| Christmas Day | December 25 |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Confusing business days with calendar days. A deadline of "5 business days" is not 5 calendar days. If it starts on a Thursday, the fifth business day is the following Wednesday because the weekend in between does not count. Always check which kind of day a deadline uses.
- Forgetting whether both endpoints are counted. Including or excluding the start date changes the answer by one. "From Monday to Friday" usually counts both ends, while "within 5 business days of receipt" usually starts counting the next day. Set the checkbox to match the phrasing.
- Expecting public holidays to be removed. This tool only removes Saturdays and Sundays. National and regional holidays such as Christmas or a bank holiday still get counted as business days here, so subtract any holidays in your range manually.
- Using a divide-by-seven shortcut. Estimating working days as calendar days times 5 divided by 7 is close but can be off by a day or two depending on which weekdays the range begins and ends on. Counting day by day, as this tool does, avoids that drift.
- Assuming every country shares the Saturday to Sunday weekend. Several countries observe a Friday to Saturday or Friday to Sunday weekend. This calculator uses the standard Monday to Friday week, so adjust your reading if your region or contract defines the weekend differently.
- Forgetting that holidays on a weekend are often observed on a weekday. When a public holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday, many employers observe it on the nearest weekday instead, which removes one more working day. Check the official observed date before finalising a deadline.
Glossary
- Business day
- Any weekday from Monday to Friday. Also called a working day or weekday. Saturdays and Sundays are excluded.
- Calendar day
- Every day on the calendar, including weekends. The total calendar days is the full span between two dates.
- Weekend
- Saturday and Sunday in the standard Western working week. These days are not counted as business days.
- Inclusive count
- A count that includes both the start and the end date. Excluding an endpoint shifts the total by one day.
- Public holiday
- A nationally or regionally observed day off, such as a bank holiday. This calculator does not subtract them automatically.
- NETWORKDAYS
- A spreadsheet function in Excel and Google Sheets that returns the number of working days between two dates, with an optional list of holidays to exclude.
- Observed date
- The weekday on which a holiday is officially taken off when the actual date falls on a weekend, often the nearest Friday or Monday.
- Federal holiday
- One of the 11 days off recognised by the US government under federal law. State and company holidays may differ.
Frequently asked questions
How do I count business days between two dates?
Enter the start date and end date above, and the calculator counts every Monday to Friday in the range while skipping Saturdays and Sundays. It steps through one day at a time, so the business-day total is exact.
Are weekends included in business days?
No. Business days are Monday to Friday only. Saturdays and Sundays are weekend days and are excluded from the business-day count, though they still appear in the total calendar days figure.
Does this calculator account for public holidays?
No. It removes weekends only, because public holidays differ by country, region, and year. If your range contains holidays such as Christmas or a bank holiday, subtract them from the business-day total yourself.
Does the count include the start and end date?
By default both the start and end dates are counted. Untick "Count both the start and end date" to skip the start date and begin counting from the day after, which matches deadlines worded as "within X business days."
How many business days are in a typical year?
A year has roughly 260 to 262 business days before any public holidays are subtracted. In the United States, removing the 11 federal holidays that fall on weekdays leaves about 250 working days, for example 251 in 2024 and 250 in both 2025 and 2026.
What is the difference between business days and calendar days?
Calendar days count every day including weekends, while business days count only Monday to Friday. A span of 7 calendar days usually contains 5 business days, so the two figures diverge whenever a weekend falls inside the range.
What does "5 business days" actually mean?
It means five Monday-to-Friday days, not five calendar days. Starting on a Thursday, the five business days are Thursday and Friday, then Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the next week, so the deadline lands the following Wednesday once the weekend is skipped.
How many working days are in a month?
Most months contain between 20 and 23 working days depending on their length and how the weekends fall. A 30-day month with two full weekends and a couple of extra weekend days usually works out to about 22 business days before holidays.
Is this the same as the Excel NETWORKDAYS function?
Yes for the weekday count. NETWORKDAYS in Excel and Google Sheets returns the number of Monday-to-Friday days between two dates, which is what this tool reports. NETWORKDAYS can also subtract a list of holidays, which you would do separately here.
Do all countries use a Monday to Friday working week?
No. While Monday to Friday is the most common pattern, several countries observe a Friday-Saturday or Friday-Sunday weekend. This calculator assumes the standard Monday to Friday week, so adjust the result if your region defines the weekend differently.