Business Days Calculator
Count working days between any two dates, automatically excluding weekends. Free for project planning, payroll, and deadline calculations.
What Is a Business Days Calculator?
A business days calculator counts the working days between two dates, automatically skipping weekends. You pick a start and end date — the tool returns the exact number of Monday-through-Friday days in that range, no manual counting required.
The difference between calendar days and business days matters more than you'd think. 14 calendar days sounds like 2 weeks of work, but it's only 10 business days. A 30-day contract period contains roughly 22 business days — not 30. These gaps compound quickly when you're calculating project deadlines, payment terms, or delivery SLAs.
Note: this calculator excludes weekends only. Public holidays are not automatically deducted — those vary by country, region, and company calendar. If your deadline falls around major holidays, subtract those days from the result.
How to Count Business Days Between Two Dates
The manual method: list every day in the range, cross out Saturdays and Sundays, count what's left. Fine for a week, error-prone for a month, impractical for a quarter.
There's an arithmetic shortcut — divide total calendar days by 7 (complete weeks × 5 business days) and handle the partial week at the end — but it breaks down when the range doesn't start on a Monday. The calculator handles all of this automatically.
- 1Select your Start Date in the date picker above
- 2Select your End Date — must be later than the start date
- 3Click Calculate Business Days — result appears instantly
The count includes the start date and end date if they fall on weekdays.
Missed deadlines cost more than time: A PMI Pulse of the Profession report found that 48% of projects miss their original deadline — with poor schedule planning cited as the top cause. Schedules built on calendar days instead of working days are a common culprit: they inflate available time by 40% compared to actual working hours.
Business Days vs Calendar Days — Why It Matters
These two measures diverge significantly as timelines grow:
| Range | Calendar Days | Business Days |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week | 7 | 5 |
| 2 weeks | 14 | 10 |
| 1 month | ~30 | ~22 |
| 1 quarter | ~90 | ~65 |
| 6 months | ~180 | ~130 |
Contract payment terms are almost always expressed in business days. "Net 30" typically means 30 business days — roughly 6 calendar weeks, not one month. Misread this and your cash flow planning is off by 2 weeks on every invoice.
Project sprints use business days because resources — people, equipment, vendors — operate on weekday schedules. A 20-day sprint means 20 business days, which is 4 calendar weeks. Plan in calendar days and you underestimate required time by 28%.
Business Days by Country — Holiday Rules Differ
Weekends are universal. Public holidays are not — and for cross-border projects, this matters.
United States
11 federal holidays per year (New Year's, MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, July 4th, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas). State-specific holidays add more variation.
United Kingdom
Bank holidays vary by nation: England and Wales have 8, Scotland has 9, Northern Ireland has 10. Easter's date shifts every year — a cross-Atlantic "10 business day" SLA in March or April can fall on different calendar dates each side.
India
3 national holidays (Republic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti) + up to 14 restricted government holidays. Private companies vary widely — some observe Diwali and Holi as full office closures; others don't.
Australia
National holidays (New Year's, Australia Day, ANZAC Day, Christmas, Boxing Day) plus state-specific days. Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday in Victoria only — relevant if your supplier or client is in Melbourne.
This calculator counts all weekdays as business days regardless of country. For holiday-aware calculations, subtract the relevant holidays from the result manually, or check our Public Holidays calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a business day?
A business day is any weekday (Monday through Friday) that is not a public holiday. In most contexts: weekdays are always business days, weekends are never business days, and public holidays depend on the country and company calendar. This calculator counts all Monday-to-Friday days as business days — holiday exclusions are not automatic since they vary by location.
Does this calculator exclude public holidays?
This calculator excludes weekends only — public holidays are counted as regular business days. Holiday schedules differ by country, state, and industry, so the calculator focuses on the universal weekday/weekend rule. For projects running around major holidays, subtract those days from the result manually.
How do I calculate business days for a project deadline?
Select today as the Start Date and your deadline as the End Date, then click Calculate. The result tells you exactly how many working days remain. If you need to find a due date that is X business days away, count forward approximately 1.4 calendar days per business day (e.g. 10 business days ≈ 14 calendar days).
How many business days are in a typical month?
Most months contain 21–23 business days, depending on where weekends fall. The annual average is approximately 261 business days (5 days × 52 weeks + 1). January and August often have 23; months where the 1st falls on a weekend may have as few as 20. For planning purposes, 22 business days per month is a safe average.
Do US and UK business day rules differ?
The weekday definition (Monday–Friday) is the same in both countries. The difference is public holidays: the US has 11 federal holidays per year; the UK has 8–10 bank holidays depending on the nation (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland). For cross-Atlantic projects, check each side's holiday calendar before committing to business day deadlines — a "10 business day" SLA in December can fall on different calendar dates on each side of the Atlantic.