How do you calculate business days between two dates?
List every day from the start date to the end date, cross off Saturdays and Sundays, and count what remains. The formula is: business days = total calendar days minus weekend days minus public holidays that fall on weekdays. Doing it by hand is tedious for long periods, which is exactly what the calculator above automates. Enter your two dates and press Calculate.
- Enter the start date and end date. Both dates are included in the count.
- Press Calculate to see business days, total calendar days and weekend days.
- If a public holiday falls on a weekday inside your range, subtract one for each from the business day total.
What counts as a business day?
A business day is any weekday, Monday through Friday, that is not a public holiday. Banks, courts, government offices and most companies measure turnaround times in business days because no work happens on weekends. So when a contract says "delivery within 10 business days," it means 10 working weekdays, which usually stretches across two to three calendar weeks depending on where the weekends fall.
Are public holidays subtracted?
This calculator subtracts Saturdays and Sundays only; it does not subtract public holidays. The reason is practical: holidays differ by country, region and even company, so no single list fits everyone. To adjust, count the public holidays that fall on weekdays inside your date range and subtract one business day for each. A holiday that lands on a Saturday or Sunday changes nothing, since weekends are already excluded.
How many business days are in a typical month?
A typical month has about 21 business days. The exact number moves between 20 and 23 depending on how the weekends fall. Over a full year, there are 260 weekdays (52 weeks times 5), and after subtracting typical public holidays most countries land near 250 working days. These averages are handy for rough planning, but always run the exact dates through the calculator when a deadline or payment depends on it.
Business days vs. calendar days: what is the difference?
Calendar days count every day including weekends; business days count only Monday to Friday. The gap surprises people: 10 business days is usually 14 calendar days, and 30 business days stretches to about 42 calendar days, which is six full weeks. Whenever someone quotes you a timeline in business days, mentally add the weekends back in before you mark your calendar.
When do you need a business day count?
More often than you would think. Project deadlines are estimated in working days, because weekends do not move tasks forward. Notice periods in contracts and leases are frequently defined in business days. Shipping estimates like "5 to 7 business days" exclude weekends, which is why Friday orders arrive later than expected. Payroll and invoicing use business days for payment terms such as "net 10." And leave planning gets interesting: nine days of annual leave wrapped around two weekends can buy you more than two weeks off, which our vacation countdown readers love to exploit.
For the bigger picture on hitting time-bound goals, see our deadline countdown timer, which tracks the days, hours and seconds until your due date.