Count the exact number of working days between two dates — choose your work week and exclude your own list of holidays.
Choose a date range and work week, then click Calculate
This business days calculator counts the exact number of working days between two dates, letting you pick the work week that matches where the work actually happens and exclude your own list of public holidays — useful for project deadlines, payment terms, delivery estimates and legal notice periods.
Enter a start and end date (both included in the count) and choose a Work Week: Mon–Fri for most countries, Sun–Thu for the Middle East and Israel, or Sun–Fri for a 6-day work week. The calculator counts every calendar day in the range, removes the days that fall on your chosen off days, and then subtracts any holiday you listed that falls within the range on a day that wasn't already an off day — so a holiday that lands on a weekend doesn't get subtracted twice.
Calendar days and business days diverge fast — a 30-calendar-day period typically holds only about 21-22 business days on a Mon–Fri week, fewer once holidays are removed. Getting this number right matters for contract deadlines, invoice due dates, shipping estimates and staffing plans, especially when coordinating across countries with different work weeks and holiday calendars.
This working days calculator is built for anyone who needs to plan around actual working time rather than raw calendar days — HR and payroll teams calculating processing windows, project managers setting realistic deadlines, freelancers and agencies tracking net-30 or net-60 invoice terms, logistics teams estimating shipping and delivery SLAs, and legal teams counting statutory notice periods. Because the work week and holiday list are both configurable, it works equally well for a Mon–Fri office in Europe, a Sun–Thu team in the Middle East, or a distributed team juggling both across a single project timeline.
The exact rules this calculator applies to your date range, work week, and holiday list
The calculator first walks every calendar day from your start date to your end date and checks each one's day of the week against the off-days for your selected work week — any day that isn't an off day is a work day. It separately reads your Holidays box line by line, keeping only lines that match the YYYY-MM-DD pattern, fall inside your date range, and haven't already been counted once. A holiday only reduces the final count if it lands on a day that would otherwise have been a work day; a holiday that happens to fall on a weekend is not subtracted a second time, since that day was already excluded as an off day.
Choose Mon–Fri, Sun–Thu, or Sun–Fri so the off-days match where the work is actually performed, not just your own calendar.
Add any holiday, in YYYY-MM-DD format, one per line — the calculator subtracts only holidays that fall inside your range and on a non-off day.
The same holiday date listed twice is only ever subtracted once, so re-pasting a holiday list won't skew your result.
From choosing your dates to reading the business-day breakdown
Pick the first date of your range in the Start Date field — this day is included in the final count.
Pick the last date of your range in the End Date field. It must be on or after the start date, or the calculator will alert you and stop.
Select Mon–Fri, Sun–Thu, or Sun–Fri from the Work Week dropdown, and list any holidays to exclude — one per line, in YYYY-MM-DD format — in the optional Holidays box.
The calculator counts every calendar day in your range, removes off days for your chosen work week, and subtracts any qualifying holidays.
See your Total Business Days headline figure, plus a breakdown of Total Calendar Days, Weekend/Off Days, and Holidays Excluded.
Counting business days across a full month, with and without a holiday excluded
Suppose you need the business days in September 2026 for a Mon–Fri team, excluding the U.S. Labor Day holiday on September 7, 2026.
| Date | Day | Excluded As |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-05 / 09-06 | Sat / Sun | Weekend (off day) |
| 2026-09-07 | Mon | Holiday (Labor Day, entered) |
| 2026-09-12 / 09-13 | Sat / Sun | Weekend (off day) |
| 2026-09-19 / 09-20 | Sat / Sun | Weekend (off day) |
| 2026-09-26 / 09-27 | Sat / Sun | Weekend (off day) |
Suppose a task runs Monday, October 5, 2026 through Friday, October 9, 2026, on a Mon–Fri work week with no holidays.
Explanation: Example 1 shows how a full month's weekends and a single named holiday combine to shrink 30 calendar days down to 21 business days. Example 2 confirms the calculator's inclusive counting rule — both the start and end date are counted, so a Monday-through-Friday range returns exactly 5 business days, not 4.
What each figure in the Results panel means
| Result Field | What It Means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Total Business Days | The headline figure — calendar days in range, minus off days, minus qualifying holidays. | 21 business days |
| Total Calendar Days | Every day from the start date to the end date, inclusive, regardless of work week or holidays. | 30 calendar days |
| Weekend / Off Days | Days in range that fall on an off day for your selected work week. | 8 off days |
| Holidays Excluded | Holidays you listed that fell within the range and on a day that wasn't already an off day. | 1 holiday |
In payroll and HR contexts, the Total Business Days figure is commonly used to estimate processing windows for onboarding paperwork, leave accrual, or pay-cycle cutoffs that explicitly run on working days rather than calendar days.
In legal and contract contexts, notice periods, response windows, and filing deadlines are frequently defined in business days specifically so weekends and public holidays don't quietly eat into the available time.
In shipping and logistics contexts, carriers and vendors often quote delivery windows in business days, so counting the actual working days between an order date and a promised delivery date helps verify whether an SLA was met.
This calculator provides a mathematical count based on the work week and holidays you supply. It does not know your company's specific holiday calendar, floating holidays, or regional observances unless you enter them yourself.
Where counting working days instead of calendar days actually matters
Estimate how many working days a pay run, onboarding step, or benefits enrollment window will take.
Set realistic delivery dates by counting actual working days between kickoff and launch.
Check whether a "5-7 business day" delivery promise lines up with the calendar dates quoted.
Count statutory or contractual notice windows that are defined in business days, not calendar days.
Track underwriting and closing windows that lenders often quote in business days.
Verify a net-30 or net-60 business-day payment due date against the invoice date.
Work out how many working days a requested vacation or leave period actually covers.
Count working days in a billing period when contracts specify hours or days worked, not calendar time.
Estimate visa, permit, or application processing windows quoted in business days by an agency.
Count instructional working days in a term or semester, excluding weekends and school holidays.
Check working-day-based filing or response deadlines that explicitly exclude weekends and court holidays.
Switch work weeks to Sun–Thu or Sun–Fri when planning with teams whose weekend falls on different days.
What this business days calculator does well, and where it has boundaries
The three work weeks this calculator supports, plus an example of the holiday date format it expects
| Work Week Option | Off Days | Work Days / Week | Common Regions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon–Fri | Saturday, Sunday | 5 | North America, Europe, and most global businesses |
| Sun–Thu | Friday, Saturday | 5 | Middle East, Israel, and parts of North Africa |
| Sun–Fri | Saturday only | 6 | 6-day work-week schedules in some industries |
This calculator has no built-in holiday calendar, so every holiday you want excluded must be typed into the Holidays box in YYYY-MM-DD format. The table below shows one country's federal holidays purely as a formatting example — swap in whichever dates apply to your own country, region, or company.
| Example Holiday (US Federal) | 2026 Date | Entry Format |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1, 2026 | 2026-01-01 |
| Independence Day | July 4, 2026 | 2026-07-04 |
| Labor Day | September 7, 2026 | 2026-09-07 |
| Thanksgiving Day | November 26, 2026 | 2026-11-26 |
| Christmas Day | December 25, 2026 | 2026-12-25 |
Summary: This business days calculator turns a start date, end date, work week, and optional holiday list into an exact working-day count, with a transparent breakdown of calendar days, off days, and holidays excluded. Pair it with the Date Difference Calculator and Countdown Calculator for a fuller picture of any date-based plan.
Common questions about counting business days
Official references to complement this calculator when you need an official holiday list
Explore other time & date tools