Date Difference

Free Date Difference: subtract the dates directly — =B2-A2 returns the number of days — and use =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) for working days (Mon–Fri, both...

ƒxDate Difference CalculatorLive

Start date A2

End date B2

Days between

364

Breakdown: 0 years · 11 months · 30 days

Workdays (Mon–Fri, NETWORKDAYS)

261

=B2−A2 · =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)

How it works

Exact answer

In Excel or Google Sheets, subtract the dates directly — =B2-A2 returns the number of days — and use =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) for working days (Mon–Fri, both dates inclusive); format the result as a Number, not a Date.

▤Step by step

Put the start date in A2 and the end date in B2 (real dates, not text).

Days: =B2-A2. Working days: =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2).

Holidays: list them in a range and use =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,holidays).

Format the result cells as Number — a date format would display the count as a date.

What this does

Dates are serial numbers, so date arithmetic is plain subtraction: end minus start gives days. NETWORKDAYS counts only Monday–Friday and can exclude a holiday list as its third argument. For calendar-style answers ("3 years, 2 months, 12 days") the undocumented-but-working DATEDIF function decomposes the gap with its "y", "ym", and "md" units.

A worked example

A project starts 2026-01-01 (A2) and ends 2026-12-31 (B2). =B2-A2 returns 364 days. =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) returns 261 working days. =DATEDIF(A2,B2,"m") returns 11 full months. If the result shows as a strange date like 30.12.1900, the cell is formatted as Date — switch it to Number. Deadlines, ages, tenancy periods, SLA clocks — counting days (or working days) between two dates is one of the most common spreadsheet questions there is.

Common mistakes

Result cell formatted as Date, showing 30.12.1900 instead of 364.
Text dates that look right but cannot be subtracted — DATEVALUE or re-entry fixes them.
Forgetting NETWORKDAYS counts BOTH endpoints: Monday to Friday of one week is 5, not 4.
Relying on DATEDIF's "md" unit near month ends — Microsoft documents it as unreliable.

FAQ

How do I count days between two dates in Excel?

Subtract them: =B2-A2, with the result cell formatted as Number.

How do I get working days only?

=NETWORKDAYS(start,end) for Mon–Fri, or =NETWORKDAYS.INTL for custom weekends; add a holiday range as the last argument.

Why isn't `DATEDIF` in Excel's function list?

It is a Lotus 1-2-3 compatibility function: undocumented in the wizard but fully functional when typed — =DATEDIF(start,end,"y").

All guides All tools

What you can practise with it

Built in your browser when you click. Nothing is uploaded, no signup, free for commercial use.

Sample Employee Data Sample Expense Data Sample Project Task List Sample Time Tracking Data

Embed this tool on your site

Free to use on any website, including commercial ones. Paste the snippet where the calculator should appear — it works on its own, loads lazily, and sends no data anywhere.

Embed code

<iframe src="https://formulasmith.com/en/embed/date-diff/" title="Date Difference" width="100%" height="620" loading="lazy" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:12px;max-width:720px" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://formulasmith.com/en/calculator/date-diff/">Date Difference</a> by FormulaSmith</p>

Optional: make the frame grow with the tool

Add this next to the snippet and the iframe resizes itself instead of scrolling.

<script>addEventListener("message",function(e){var d=e.data;if(!d||d.formulasmith!=="height"||typeof d.height!=="number")return;var f=document.querySelector('iframe[src="https://formulasmith.com/en/embed/date-diff/"]');if(f)f.style.height=Math.min(d.height,2000)+"px"});</script>

The one condition: keep the credit link under the tool visible and crawlable.