Business Days Calculator
A “business day” is a Monday-to-Friday working day. This calculator counts how many fall between two dates, and lets you list specific holiday dates to exclude as well, so the count matches your actual working calendar rather than just skipping weekends.
How to use the business days calculator
- Enter the start and end dates.
- Optionally list any holiday dates inside that range, separated by commas, in YYYY-MM-DD form.
- Read the business-day count. Both the start and end date are counted if they themselves are working days.
Formula
The count includes both endpoints when they fall on a weekday: from a Monday to the following Friday is 5 business days, not 4. Every Saturday and Sunday in the range is excluded automatically, and so is any date you list as a holiday, provided it also falls inside the range and on a weekday (a holiday that falls on a weekend does not remove an extra day, since that day was already excluded).
Worked examples
A working week
Monday 28 September 2026 to Friday 2 October 2026 is 5 business days — every day in the range is a weekday, with no weekend inside it.
With holidays
1–31 October 2026 has 31 calendar days, of which 9 fall on a weekend, leaving 22 weekdays. Excluding two holiday dates that land on weekdays within that month brings the count to 20 business days.
What “business days” means in practice
The inclusive convention, explained
Ask most people “how many business days from Monday to Friday” and they will say 5 — counting both ends. That is the convention this tool uses: if the start and end date both fall on a weekday, both are counted. Some other tools instead count only the days strictly between the two dates (an “exclusive” count), which gives one fewer. Always check which convention a tool (including this one) uses before relying on it for something like a payment or delivery deadline.
Typical business-day counts by month
| Month length | Typical business days |
|---|---|
| 28 days (Feb, non-leap) | 20 |
| 30 days | 21–22 |
| 31 days | 21–23 |
The exact count depends on which weekday the month starts on.
Common uses
- Estimating delivery or processing time quoted in “business days”.
- Payroll and billing cycles that run on working days only.
- Project planning that excludes weekends and known holidays.
A limitation worth knowing
This tool uses a fixed Saturday–Sunday weekend. Some countries and industries use a different weekend (Friday–Saturday, for example); for those, treat the weekend days as if they were holidays and list them individually.
Practice problems
Try these yourself first, then check your answer. The answers come from the calculator above.
- How many business days are in November 2026, excluding Thanksgiving (26 November)?
Show answer
Business days: 20
Common mistakes to avoid
- Forgetting that a holiday listed outside the start/end range has no effect — only holidays that fall inside the range and on a weekday change the count.
- Assuming every month has the same number of business days; it depends on how the weekends fall, typically 20 to 23 for a full month.
- Entering the end date before the start date — the tool sorts them automatically, but double-check which one you meant to be first.
Frequently asked questions
Does the count include the start and end date?
Yes, if they themselves fall on a weekday. A Monday-to-Friday range of exactly one working week is 5 business days.
How do I exclude public holidays?
List each holiday date in the holidays field, separated by commas. Only ones inside your date range and on a weekday change the total.
What counts as a weekend?
Saturday and Sunday. Some countries use a Friday–Saturday weekend instead; this tool always uses Saturday–Sunday.
Can I find a date a certain number of business days from now?
Not directly in this tool yet — for now, use the date calculator with calendar days and check the weekday, adjusting as needed.
Reviewed September 26, 2026 by the SolveCalcPro editorial team. Found a mistake? Tell us; see our editorial policy.