Days between dates
The exact number of days between two dates, and how many of them are working days.
Days between
364
Jan 1, 2026 → Dec 31, 2026
- Working days
- 260
- Weeks
- 52 + 0d
- Months
- 11m 30d
What this calculator counts
“Days between two dates” means at least three different things, and most arguments about a deadline are really arguments about which one was meant:
- Elapsed days — the difference. From 1 January to 31 December is 364 days.
- Inclusive days — both endpoints counted. The same range is 365 days.
- Working days — weekdays only, ignoring Saturdays and Sundays.
All three are shown at once, so you can see which convention your contract or form is using instead of guessing.
How the count works
Both dates are converted to plain calendar dates and compared in UTC. The difference is divided by the number of milliseconds in a day, then rounded to a whole number. Because the inputs are dates and not timestamps, a daylight saving change in between cannot shift the result.
Inclusive counting simply adds one. Working days are counted by taking the full weeks in the range (five weekdays each) and then checking the remaining days one by one, so a range that starts mid-week is still correct.
A worked example
From 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026:
- Elapsed days: 364
- Inclusive: 365
- Working days: 260 for the elapsed range, 261 if you count both endpoints
- In weeks: 52 weeks exactly, which is why the remainder is zero.
Why the off-by-one argument happens
A notice period of “seven days” starting on the 1st can end on the 7th or the 8th depending on whether the first day counts. Rental agreements, visa windows and warranty periods all pick a convention, and they do not all pick the same one. When a number is disputed, check the wording for “inclusive”, “from”, “within” or “after” before assuming the calculator is wrong.
Working days, and what is missing
Weekends are excluded by definition here. Public holidays are not, because they vary by country, by region, and by year — a hard-coded table would be wrong within twelve months. For planning leave or delivery dates, subtract the holidays that apply to you from the working-day figure.
Leap years and month lengths
A leap year adds one day to the year, not to the method. 29 February is treated like any other date, and a range that contains it is simply one day longer than the same range in a common year. Months are never assumed to be 30 days: the months-and-days breakdown uses each month’s real length.
Frequently asked questions
Should I count the first day, the last day, or both?
It depends on the convention, not on the maths. A hotel stay from the 1st to the 3rd is two nights, which is the difference between the dates. A project running from the 1st to the 3rd inclusive covers three days. Use the checkbox to switch between the two; the difference is always exactly one day.
Why does the number change when I cross a time zone?
It should not, and here it does not. Both dates are read as calendar dates and compared in UTC, so a flight from London to New York cannot add or remove a day. Only a tool that compares timestamps instead of dates has that problem.
Are public holidays excluded from the working days count?
No. This calculator excludes Saturdays and Sundays only. Public holidays depend on the country and the year, and a wrong holiday table is worse than none, so they are left out deliberately. Subtract them yourself, or use a country-specific version once we publish one.
How do I count the days until a date?
Put today in the first field and the target date in the second. The result is the number of days you have to wait, not counting today. Several countries and legal deadlines count from the following day, which is why the inclusive option exists.
Does a leap year change the answer?
It changes the total, yes — 2024 has 366 days instead of 365 — but not the method. The count is a real difference between real dates, so 29 February is counted like any other day.
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