By Tim King · Updated 19 September 2026

Working Days Calculator

Business Days Between Two Dates, Weekends and Public Holidays Excluded

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Start date

End date

Weekend days

Public holidays in the range

Result

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How the Working Days Calculator works

This working days calculator counts the business days between two dates. Enter a start and end date and get the number of working days between them, with weekends taken out and both dates counted. Add the number of public holidays that fall inside the range and they come out of the working-day total too, alongside a breakdown of weekend days and total days.

Working days calculator: counting the days that count

Contracts, statutes and service agreements rarely give deadlines in calendar days. They say "within 10 business days" or "20 working days", and a weekend or a bank holiday in the middle can push the true date back by most of a week. Errors nearly always come from whether the start and end dates count, which days are the weekend, and which holidays apply.

The formula

Working days = total days − weekend days − public holidays.

Both the start and end dates are included, so Monday to Friday of one week is 5 total days and 5 working days. The calculator walks through every date in the range and checks its weekday against the weekend you chose. It then subtracts the number of holidays you enter, and never takes out more days than remain. It does not guess holidays, which differ by country and region.

Worked examples

The first example is the last quarter of 2026, 1 October to 31 December. That is 92 total days with 26 weekend days, leaving 66 working days before holidays. In England, Christmas Day falls on a Friday and Boxing Day on a Saturday, so the substitute bank holiday is Monday 28 December. Enter 2 holidays and the answer is 64.

The second example is a Christmas shutdown from 21 December 2026 to 8 January 2027. There are 19 total days and 4 weekend days, so 15 weekdays. Take off Christmas Day, the Boxing Day substitute and New Year's Day and 12 working days remain.

How many working days are in a month?

With a Saturday–Sunday weekend, a month has 20 to 23 weekdays before holidays. A full year has 260 or 261, depending on how the weekends fall. Subtract your own public holidays from each row. Working days per month, before public holidays, for three weekend patterns

Month	Days	Sat–Sun weekend	Fri–Sat weekend	Sunday only
January 2027	31	21	21	26
February 2027	28	20	20	24
March 2027	31	23	23	27
April 2027	30	22	21	26
May 2027	31	21	22	26
June 2027	30	22	22	26
July 2027	31	22	21	27
August 2027	31	22	23	26
September 2027	30	22	22	26
October 2027	31	21	21	26
November 2027	30	22	22	26
December 2027	31	23	22	27
January 2028	31	21	22	26
February 2028	29	21	21	25
March 2028	31	23	22	27
April 2028	30	20	21	25
May 2028	31	23	23	27
June 2028	30	22	21	26
July 2028	31	21	22	26
August 2028	31	23	23	27
September 2028	30	21	20	26
October 2028	31	22	23	26
November 2028	30	22	22	26
December 2028	31	21	21	26

How to read the result

Working days is the count after weekends and any holidays you entered, with both end dates included. For a count that excludes the start date, as many deadline rules do, subtract one or start from the next day.
Weekend days is the number of dates in the range that fall on your chosen weekend.
Public holidays appears only when you entered some, and shows how many were actually removed.
Total days is the calendar length of the range, inclusive. The date difference calculator gives the same span in weeks, months and years.

Dates typed in reverse order are swapped automatically.

Where business days are defined

Consumer credit. Under US Regulation Z, the three-day right to cancel certain home loans counts every day except Sundays and federal holidays, so Saturday counts. Use the Sunday only setting for that rule.
Weekends differ by country. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt and Israel rest Friday and Saturday. The UAE moved to a Saturday–Sunday weekend in 2022.
Holiday counts differ. England and Wales have 8 bank holidays, Scotland 9 and Northern Ireland 10. The US has 11 federal holidays, and Australian states each set their own list.
Payment and delivery terms. "Net 30" normally means calendar days. "Dispatched within 3 working days" does not, so a Friday order may ship on Wednesday.

Tips and pitfalls

Only count holidays on weekdays. A holiday on a Saturday is already out of the count, unless your country moves it to a substitute weekday, which is when you enter it.
Regional holidays. Easter Monday is a holiday in England but not in Scotland. Many US states add their own days. Use the list for the place where the work is done.
Deadline rules vary. Courts and regulators each say whether the first day counts and what happens when a deadline lands on a holiday.
Pay for part of a month. Pro-rata salary is often worked out from working days. Divide the month's pay by its working days from the table, then scale with the salary to hourly calculator.

For teams across regions, the time zone converter shows where a working day overlaps.

Sources: GOV.UK bank holidays.

Checked against: Working days exclude weekends and GOV.UK bank holidays

FAQ

How many working days are in a year?

A year has 260, 261 or 262 weekdays depending on which day it starts and whether it is a leap year; 2026 and 2027 have 261, 2028 has 260. Subtract your own jurisdiction's public holidays — typically eight to thirteen — and most full-time years land somewhere between 249 and 253 working days.

Why does this calculator not know my public holidays?

Because holidays vary by country, by state and sometimes by town, and they change year to year. Rather than guess a jurisdiction and be wrong for most people, the calculator takes the number of holidays as an input so the assumption stays yours and stays visible in the result.

Does this count the start and end date?

Yes, both dates are included in the count. Monday to Friday in the same week returns five working days. If you want the elapsed gap between two dates rather than the days themselves, use the date difference calculator with exclusive counting instead.

Should I count a public holiday that falls on a weekend?

No. A holiday landing on Saturday or Sunday has already been removed as a weekend day, so counting it again would subtract a working day that was never in the total. If your jurisdiction observes it on the following Monday, count that Monday instead.

How many business days are between two dates?

Count the calendar days including both ends, subtract the Saturdays and Sundays, then subtract any public holidays that fall on a weekday. A 47-day span from a Monday to a Friday holds 12 weekend days, leaving 35 weekdays, and two weekday holidays bring it to 33 business days.

Can I use this to count working days for a notice period or project deadline?

Yes, but check which convention the contract uses. Many notice periods and court deadlines count "clear days" that exclude the start date, the end date or both, and some count calendar days rather than business days. This calculator includes both ends; adjust by one or two if the rule you are bound by does not.