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Business Days Calculator (Working Days Between Dates)
Choose a start date and an end date to see how many business days lie between them. A second mode adds or takes away business days from one date. Weekends drop out on their own, and public holidays drop out if you tick the box. Monday, October 12 to Friday, October 23, 2026 holds 10 weekdays, but only 9 business days once Columbus Day is gone.
A shop that opens on Saturdays can switch to a Monday to Saturday week. Company shutdown days can go in the extra days box. Holidays come from built-in calendars for the US, the three UK nations, Ireland, Canada and Australia, on their observed dates in any year.
Quick answer: A business day is a weekday, Monday to Friday, that is not a public holiday. Go through the range, cross out Saturdays and Sundays, then cross out holidays that land on weekdays. November 2 to 30, 2026 has 21 weekdays. Veterans Day and Thanksgiving fall inside it, so 19 business days are left.
US holiday dates follow the observance rules of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. A holiday on a weekend moves to the Friday before or the Monday after. For example, January 1, 2028 is a Saturday, so the day off is Friday, December 31, 2027. UK calendars use the GOV.UK substitute-day rule, which moves a weekend holiday to the next free weekday. When you add business days, the start date is not counted. Private employers may close on other days, so add those in the box above.
This tool is for any two dates you choose. Two related pages need no dates at all. The work days left calculator counts from today to the end of this month and year. The working days by year pages list each month of a whole year.
Worked example: a November deadline
Say a contract was signed on Monday, November 2, 2026, and work had to finish by Monday, November 30. The team wanted to know how many business days they really had, counting both dates.
The range holds 29 calendar days. Four Saturdays and four Sundays fall inside it, so 21 weekdays are left. Two of those weekdays are federal holidays. Veterans Day was on Wednesday, November 11, and Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26. Taking those out leaves 19 business days.
Result: 19 business days (21 weekdays minus 2 federal holidays).
Business days between dates in Excel or Google Sheets
Put the start date in A2 and the end date in B2. List your holiday dates in H2:H12. These functions work the same way in Excel and in Google Sheets.
| What you want | Formula |
|---|---|
| Weekdays between two dates, both counted | =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) |
| Business days, holidays taken out | =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,H2:H12) |
| Business days, end date left out | =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2-1,H2:H12) |
| Monday to Saturday work week | =NETWORKDAYS.INTL(A2,B2,11,H2:H12) |
| Friday and Saturday weekend | =NETWORKDAYS.INTL(A2,B2,7,H2:H12) |
| Date 10 business days after A2 | =WORKDAY(A2,10,H2:H12) |
| Date 10 business days before A2 | =WORKDAY(A2,-10,H2:H12) |
NETWORKDAYS counts the start and the end date. WORKDAY does not count the start date, which matches the add mode of this calculator.
Business days per month reference table
| Month | 2026 weekdays | 2026 holidays | 2026 business days | 2027 weekdays | 2027 holidays | 2027 business days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22 | 2 | 20 | 21 | 2 | 19 |
| February | 20 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 1 | 19 |
| March | 22 | 0 | 22 | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| April | 22 | 0 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| May | 21 | 1 | 20 | 21 | 1 | 20 |
| June | 22 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 1 | 21 |
| July | 23 | 1 | 22 | 22 | 1 | 21 |
| August | 21 | 0 | 21 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| September | 22 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 1 | 21 |
| October | 22 | 1 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 20 |
| November | 21 | 2 | 19 | 22 | 2 | 20 |
| December | 23 | 1 | 22 | 23 | 2 | 21 |
| Full year | 261 | 11 | 250 | 261 | 12 | 249 |
Weekend holidays and their observed weekdays: Independence Day 2026 (a Saturday) is observed on Friday, July 3, 2026; Juneteenth 2027 (a Saturday) is observed on Friday, June 18, 2027; Independence Day 2027 (a Sunday) is observed on Monday, July 5, 2027; Christmas Day 2027 (a Saturday) is observed on Friday, December 24, 2027; New Year's Day 2028 (a Saturday) is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027.
Common mistakes
- Counting the day of the event. Many deadlines start the day after it, so set the start date to the next day, or untick “Include the end date”, which gives the same total.
- Skipping the holiday on the wrong day. When a federal holiday falls on a weekend, the weekday off moves: Independence Day 2026 is a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday, July 3.
- Assuming every employer closes on federal holidays. Many private employers work on Columbus Day and Veterans Day, and states add their own holidays. Uncheck the holiday box and adjust by hand if your list differs.
- Forgetting the year-end observed holiday. New Year's Day 2028 is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027, so a range ending at the close of 2027 loses one more business day than you might expect.
- Using a different weekend. This calculator treats Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, or only Sunday with the 6-day work week. Countries with a Friday–Saturday weekend need a different count.
Business and working days questions
How many business days are between two dates?
Count every weekday from the start date to the end date, then take off the public holidays on weekdays. Enter both dates above to get the number. From November 2 to 30, 2026, the answer is 19 US business days.
Is a business day calculator the same as a working days calculator?
Yes, in most uses. Both count Monday to Friday and skip public holidays. Some employers also work Saturdays, so this page has a 6-day option for that.
Does "Include the end date" change the count?
Yes. When it is ticked, both dates count. When it is not, the count stops the day before the end date. September 21 to 25, 2026 holds 5 weekdays with the Friday counted, or 4 without it.
How do I add business days to a date?
Choose "Add or subtract business days", then enter the start date and the number of days. The start date itself is not counted. Wednesday, November 25, 2026 plus 1 US business day is Friday, November 27, because Thanksgiving is skipped. Use a negative number to count back.
How do I calculate business days in Excel?
Use =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,H2:H12), with the start date in A2, the end date in B2 and holidays in H2:H12. Use NETWORKDAYS.INTL for a different weekend, and WORKDAY to add business days to a date.
How many business days are in a year?
2026 has 261 weekdays and 250 business days after the 11 US federal holidays. 2027 has 261 weekdays and 249 business days, because New Year's Day 2028 is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027.
How many business days are in a month?
Most months have 20 to 23 weekdays. After US federal holidays, months in 2026 range from 19 business days in February and November to 22 in March, April, July and December.
How many calendar days is 10 business days?
It is usually 14. Monday, October 12, 2026 plus 10 business days is Monday, October 26, when only weekends are skipped. Each weekday holiday in the range adds one more day. To add calendar days instead, use the add days calculator.
Is Saturday a business day?
Not by default. Saturday and Sunday are weekend days, so only Monday to Friday count. Choose the 6-day work week to count Saturdays as working days too.
Which holidays does the calculator skip?
Seven calendars are built in: US federal holidays, UK bank holidays for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Ireland public holidays, Canada federal statutory holidays and Australia national public holidays. State, religious and company holidays are not included, but you can add them in the Extra days off box.
What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?
For most US federal employees, a Saturday holiday is observed the Friday before and a Sunday holiday the Monday after. The calculator skips the observed weekday, such as Friday, July 3, 2026 for Independence Day.
Does Ireland move a public holiday that falls on a weekend?
Not automatically. Irish law gives no substitute weekday. Employees get a paid day off in lieu, an extra day of leave or an extra day's pay instead. So the Ireland calendar uses the legal dates, such as St Stephen's Day on Saturday, December 26, 2026.
Sources
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Federal Holidays — holiday dates and the Saturday/Sunday observance rule
- 5 U.S.C. 6103 (Legal Information Institute) — the list of 11 legal public holidays
- GOV.UK: UK bank holidays — England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland dates, including substitute days
- Citizens Information: Public holidays in Ireland — the 10 Irish public holidays and what happens when one falls on a weekend
Cite this page
APA: ClockTotals. (2026, October 16). Business Days Calculator (Working Days Between Dates). https://clocktotals.com/business-days-calculator/
MLA: “Business Days Calculator (Working Days Between Dates).” ClockTotals, 16 Oct. 2026, clocktotals.com/business-days-calculator/.
Link (HTML): <a href="https://clocktotals.com/business-days-calculator/">Business Days Calculator (Working Days Between Dates)</a>