To count the days between two dates, pick a Start date and an End date, keep Calculation mode on Date only (the default), and select Calculate duration. The Inclusive day count card shows both counts: exclusive (end day not counted) and inclusive (both days counted). Business days and weekend days appear next to it.
How to calculate days between dates
- Choose the dates. Pick a Start date and an End date. The end date starts as today. Select Swap dates if you entered them the wrong way round.
- Pick a mode. Date only (the default) counts whole days. Choose Date + time precision if you need hours and minutes, then set the start and end times.
- Set the work week. Choose 4, 5, 6 or 7 in Working days per week for the business-day count, and adjust Hours per workday if you want work hours too.
- Calculate and copy. Select Calculate duration. Results update when you change a field, and Copy summary copies everything as text.
How many days between dates: inclusive or exclusive?
There are two correct answers to "how many days between two dates", and the one you need depends on the question.
- Exclusive counts the gap: how many days you have to wait. From 1 January to 25 December 2026 is 358 days.
- Inclusive counts every calendar day in the range, including both the first and the last. The same range is 359 days. Use this for hotel-style "days of" counts, leave requests, event lengths and course durations.
The Inclusive day count card shows both numbers side by side, so you can quote whichever one fits. Turn the Inclusive day count switch off if you only want the exclusive count.
Business days between dates
With Business days switched on, the calculator walks through every date in the range and counts the working days. Both the start and end dates are included. The Working days per week setting decides which days count:
| Setting | Days counted |
|---|---|
| 5 days (default) | Monday to Friday |
| 6 days | Monday to Saturday |
| 4 days | Monday to Thursday |
| 7 days | Every day |
Example: Monday 12 October to Friday 23 October 2026 is 11 days exclusive, 12 inclusive, and 10 business days. Multiply by Hours per workday (8 by default) and you get 80 work hours.
Public holidays aren't removed, because they differ by country and state. Subtract them yourself. The Weekend days card counts Saturdays and Sundays in the range.
How to calculate the number of days between two dates by hand
Count the days left in the start month, add the full months in between, then add the days in the end month.
Example, 15 March to 10 June: March has 31 days, so 16 days remain after the 15th. April has 30 and May has 31. Add the 10 days of June: 16 + 30 + 31 + 10 = 87 days. Add 1 if you want the inclusive count, 88.
Watch February. It has 29 days in a leap year, which is any year divisible by 4, except century years that aren't divisible by 400. So 2000 was a leap year and 2100 won't be. The Leap days in range line in the results counts how many 29 Februarys fall inside your range.
In Excel or Google Sheets, subtracting one date cell from another gives the exclusive day count, and NETWORKDAYS(start, end) counts Monday-to-Friday days with both ends included.
Date difference calculator in years, months and days
The Exact calendar difference card breaks the gap into calendar units, such as "3 years, 2 months, 5 days". In Date + time precision mode it adds hours, minutes and seconds. To time something as it happens, the online stopwatch is simpler. The calculator steps forward a year at a time, then a month at a time, then counts the remaining days, so a month means a real calendar month.
The Duration in other units panel shows total weeks, minutes and milliseconds, plus total months as an average (days ÷ 30.4375). Timeline insights adds a custom milestone (100 days by default) and the dates one month and one year after the start. To work out an age from a birthday, the age calculator adds the next birthday and totals lived.
Frequently asked questions
Does the calculator include the end date?
It shows both. The exclusive count leaves the end date out, and the inclusive count adds one day so both the start and end dates are counted. Business-day and weekend counts always include both dates.
How many days are there between two dates?
Subtract the earlier date from the later one in days. The calculator does this for any two dates and shows the exclusive count, the inclusive count and the exact gap in years, months and days.
Does it skip public holidays in the business day count?
No. Business days count only by day of the week, using the work week you choose. Subtract public holidays for your country yourself.
Why do I see a decimal number of days?
In Date + time precision mode the times are part of the sum, so a range that doesn't start and end at the same time of day gives part days. Switch Calculation mode back to Date only to get whole days. Date only mode always counts whole calendar days, so a daylight saving change can't make a day short.
Can I count days in the past or backwards?
Yes. If the end date is before the start date, the calculator still counts the days and marks the result as a reverse range under Direction.
How do I count the days from today to a date?
Set Start date to today and End date to your target date, with Calculation mode on Date only. The exclusive count is the number of days left to wait.