📅 Business Days Calculator
By ToolNimba Editorial Team · Updated 2026-06-19
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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 | ~65 |
| One year | 365 or 366 | ~260 to 262 |
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 ÷ 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.
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.
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. That comes from about 52 weeks at 5 working days each, give or take a day depending on how the year starts and ends.
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.