How to Count Business Days Between Dates

A business day, also called a working day, is a weekday from Monday through Friday. Saturdays and Sundays are excluded, and so are public holidays that fall on a weekday. This is the basis for shipping estimates, payment terms, project deadlines, and legal timelines.

The distinction matters because a span of seven calendar days is usually only five business days. If you promise something in ten business days, that is two full working weeks, which can stretch across more than two weeks of calendar time once weekends and holidays are counted out.

To count business days between two dates, you include both the start and end dates, then remove every Saturday and Sunday in the range. After that, you subtract any holidays that land on a weekday, since a holiday already on a weekend does not reduce the working-day total.

Because both endpoints are inclusive, a task starting Monday and due the same Monday counts as one business day, not zero. This inclusive counting is standard for contracts and delivery windows, but always confirm the convention your organization or contract uses, since some define terms slightly differently.

The calculator handles the weekend math and lets you add holidays, so you get an accurate working-day total without counting on a calendar.

Business-day counting shows up everywhere money and deadlines meet. Shipping carriers quote delivery in working days, invoices use net terms like net 30, and payroll cutoffs skip weekends. Getting the count right keeps expectations accurate on both sides.

Holidays vary by country and even by region, so a national holiday list will differ from a local one. When precision matters, enter the exact holidays that apply to you rather than assuming a default set, since a single missed holiday shifts every downstream date.