Time calculator
Business Days Calculator
Separate Monday-through-Friday workdays from weekends when counting days between two dates.
Business days
10
How the calculator counts business days
The calculator takes two date inputs: a start date and an end date. Both must be valid calendar dates, and the end date cannot come before the start date. A checkbox labeled 'Include the end date' controls whether the final date is part of the count. When checked (the default), both the start and end dates participate in the calculation. When unchecked, the interval ends the day before the entered end date.
The output shows three values: the total number of calendar days spanned by the interval, the count of Monday-through-Friday business days within that interval, and the number of weekend days (Saturdays and Sundays). Calendar days minus weekend days always equals business days, providing a simple check that the three numbers are consistent. Saturday and Sunday are the only days excluded; public holidays that fall on weekdays are counted as business days because holiday calendars vary by country, industry, and year.
Walking through August 3–14, 2026
August 3, 2026 is a Monday and August 14, 2026 is a Friday. When the 'Include the end date' checkbox is on, the interval spans all 12 calendar days from August 3 through August 14 inclusive. The first week contains Monday through Friday (August 3–7), yielding 5 business days. Saturday August 8 and Sunday August 9 are weekend days. The second week continues with Monday through Friday (August 10–14), yielding another 5 business days. Total: 10 business days, 2 weekend days, 12 calendar days.
If the checkbox is turned off, the end date becomes August 13 (one day earlier). The interval now spans 11 calendar days, and August 14 is no longer counted. This removes one business day from the total since August 14 is a Friday, leaving 9 business days and still 2 weekend days (Saturday August 8 and Sunday August 9).
Multi-week spans and planning uses
For planning purposes, business-day counting is often used to estimate project timelines or leave balances. If a project starts on a Monday and the team is unavailable Saturday and Sunday, understanding the actual working days between two dates matters for realistic scheduling. The calculator shows the raw calendar span because some workflows span weekends even though work does not occur during those days.
A common use case is leave approval: when an employee requests 10 business days off starting Monday, their last day off is the second Friday, a two-week span containing one full weekend, and they return the following Monday. The calculator handles this by clearly separating the three counts. For deadlines spanning multiple months, entering dates weeks or months apart reveals both the raw day count and the actual working days available, accounting for all weekend blocks across that period.
Assumptions and limitations
- Public holidays on weekdays are counted as business days. No holiday calendar is built in because countries observe different days, employers maintain their own calendars, and holiday dates shift annually. Subtract holiday counts manually after obtaining the business-day total.
- The start date is always included in the count, regardless of the checkbox state. Only the end date is controlled by the 'Include the end date' option.
- Time of day is not considered. The calculator uses noon as the reference time for all dates to avoid daylight-saving-time boundary issues near midnight.
- An end date earlier than the start date is invalid and returns a dash. Negative day counts are nonsensical and the tool rejects them silently.
- All inputs are treated as standard Gregorian civil calendar dates as your browser's date picker provides them.
Frequently asked questions
Does this count public holidays as business days?
Yes, it counts any weekday as a business day, regardless of whether it is a holiday. Holiday rules vary too widely to bake in. Calculate the business-day span, then subtract the specific holidays relevant to your country and workplace.
What if I need to know working days but my team works Saturday?
This calculator defines business days strictly as Monday through Friday. If your organization works Saturday or uses a different schedule, you will need to adjust the result manually or use a custom spreadsheet.
Is the start date always included?
Yes. The checkbox controls only the end date. If you need to exclude the start date as well, subtract one from the business-day count manually.
Why does excluding the end date subtract exactly one day?
Unchecking the box ends the interval at 11:59 PM the day before the entered date. If that day is a weekend, calendar days decrease by one but business days remain the same. If it is a weekday, both calendar days and business days decrease by one.
Can I use this to count business days into the past?
The end date must be on or after the start date, so enter the earlier date as the start and the later date as the end. A span of business days is the same length in either direction, so the count you get applies to counting backward too.
How is this different from just counting days in a calendar app?
A calendar shows you every day and you have to skip weekends manually. This tool instantly totals only the Monday-through-Friday days and also reveals the weekend count, making it clear how much actual working time exists within a date range.