How to Calculate Working Days Between Two Dates

Quick Answer

To calculate working days between two dates: subtract weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) and public holidays from the total number of days in the range. A working days calculator does this automatically. Enter the start and end date, choose your country's holidays, and it returns the count of business days.

What Counts as a Working Day

A working day (or business day) is any day that is not a weekend or a public holiday. In a standard 5-day week, Saturday and Sunday are excluded. In some countries and industries (including parts of India), only Sunday is a weekly off, making it a 6-day week.

Common Uses

Working day counts matter for notice periods when resigning (30 working days), project deadlines and SLAs (delivered within 10 business days), leave planning (how many actual work days you will miss), payment terms (net 15 business days), and legal or government processing timelines.

How to Calculate

Open the Working Days Calculator

Enter the start date and end date

Select India or US public holidays

Choose whether Saturday is a working day (5-day vs 6-day week)

The tool shows total days, working days, weekends, and holidays separately

Manual Calculation Method

To count manually: find the total days between the dates, count the number of full weeks and multiply by 5 (for a 5-day week) to get base working days, then add the leftover weekdays, and finally subtract any public holidays that fall on weekdays. A calculator eliminates the error-prone counting.

Example

From March 1 to March 31, 2026 (31 days) there are about 9 weekend days, leaving 22 weekdays. If two public holidays fall on weekdays that month, the working day count is 20.

Note on Holidays

Public holidays vary by country, state, and even company. This calculator uses major national holidays for India and the US in 2026. For company-specific holidays or regional festivals, adjust the result accordingly.