Calculate the number of business days between two dates. The calculator counts Monday through Friday as working days and can include or exclude the start and end dates.
Choose your dates below to see the number of business days, calendar days, weekend days and full weeks in the selected period.
What is a business days calculator?
A business days calculator finds the number of working days between two dates.
By default, this calculator treats Monday through Friday as business days and Saturday and Sunday as weekend days.
This can be useful for calculating delivery times, project deadlines, payment terms, notice periods and other schedules that are based on working days instead of calendar days.
How to calculate business days between two dates
To calculate the number of business days:
- Select a start date.
- Select an end date.
- Choose whether the start date should be included.
- Choose whether the end date should be included.
- Select Calculate business days.
The result shows the number of business days together with the total calendar days and weekend days in the selected period.
What counts as a business day?
In this calculator, a business day is any day from Monday through Friday.
Saturday and Sunday are excluded.
For example, a period running from Monday through the following Sunday contains:
- 7 calendar days
- 5 business days
- 2 weekend days
Public holidays are not currently excluded, so a weekday that falls on a public holiday is still counted as a business day.
Business days vs calendar days
Business days and calendar days are not the same.
Calendar days include every day of the week:
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Business days normally include only:
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
For this reason, 10 calendar days may contain only 6, 7 or 8 business days depending on which weekdays the period covers.
Should the start date be included?
Whether you include the start date depends on what you are calculating.
For example, if a task begins on Monday and Monday counts as the first working day, select Include start date.
If the counting begins on the following day, deselect it.
The calculator lets you choose either method.
Should the end date be included?
The same principle applies to the end date.
If the deadline day itself should count as a business day, leave Include end date selected.
If the period ends before that date begins, deselect it.
Do weekends count as business days?
Saturday and Sunday do not count as business days in this calculator.
However, business calendars can differ between countries, organizations and industries. Some workplaces operate on Saturdays, Sundays or other schedules.
For a standard Monday-to-Friday workweek, this calculator provides the appropriate count.
Are public holidays excluded?
Not yet.
The current calculator excludes Saturdays and Sundays but does not automatically remove public holidays.
For example, if Christmas Day falls on a Monday, it will currently be counted as a weekday.
A future version of the calculator may allow public holidays to be excluded by country.
Business days and delivery times
Many delivery estimates are expressed in business days.
For example, if an order placed on Monday has a delivery time of five business days, weekend days are normally excluded from the calculation.
The exact delivery date can still depend on:
- The time the order was placed.
- Public holidays.
- Carrier schedules.
- Whether the first day is counted.
- Local business-day definitions.
Use the calculator as a general date-planning tool rather than as a guarantee of a particular delivery date.
Business days and project deadlines
Business-day calculations are also useful for project planning.
A deadline of 20 business days can cover significantly more than 20 calendar days because weekends are skipped.
This distinction is important when planning:
- Projects
- Contracts
- Invoices
- Payment terms
- Applications
- Shipping
- Employee schedules
- Administrative deadlines
Related date calculators
You may also find these tools useful:
- Today’s date in numbers
- Date calculator
- Current week number
- Calendar with week numbers
- Tomorrow’s date
- Yesterday’s date
Frequently asked questions
How many business days are between two dates?
Enter the start and end dates in the calculator above. It will count all Monday-to-Friday weekdays within the selected period.
What days are considered business days?
This calculator considers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to be business days.
Are Saturday and Sunday business days?
No. Saturday and Sunday are treated as weekend days and are excluded from the business-day total.
Does the calculator exclude holidays?
No. Public holidays are currently treated like normal weekdays.
Can I exclude the start date?
Yes. Uncheck Include start date to begin counting from the following calendar day.
Can I exclude the end date?
Yes. Uncheck Include end date if you do not want the final date included in the calculation.
What is the difference between business days and working days?
The terms are often used interchangeably. Both generally refer to weekdays when businesses are normally open, usually Monday through Friday.
Can a business day be on a weekend?
Some organizations operate on weekends, but this calculator uses the standard Monday-to-Friday definition.
Why is the number of business days lower than the number of calendar days?
Calendar days include weekends. Business days exclude Saturdays and Sundays, so the business-day total is normally lower.