Count Working Days (Excluding Holidays)

All versionsNETWORKDAYS

NETWORKDAYS counts the working days between two dates — automatically skipping weekends, and any holidays you hand it. Perfect for SLAs, project timelines, and payroll.

Quick formula: for a start in B1, end in B2, and a holiday list in D2:D5:

=NETWORKDAYS(B1, B2, D2:D5)

Weekends (Sat/Sun) are always excluded; the 3rd argument is an optional range of holiday dates to skip too. Both endpoints are counted if they’re workdays.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

NETWORKDAYS WORKDAY

The example

Working days from Mon Jun 1 to Fri Jun 19, 2026, with one holiday (Jun 19).

	A	B
1	Start	6/1/2026
2	End	6/19/2026
3	Holiday	6/19/2026
4	Working days	14

The formula

Working days between the two dates, skipping the holiday:

=NETWORKDAYS(B1, B2, B3) // 15 weekdays − 1 holiday = 14

How it works

NETWORKDAYS does the calendar math for you:

It counts every day from start to end, inclusive of both ends.
It removes Saturdays and Sundays automatically — no weekend logic needed.
It removes any dates in the optional holidays range (3rd argument). Put your holidays in a column and point to it.
In the example, the 19 calendar days contain 15 weekdays; one of those is a holiday, leaving 14 working days.

Custom weekends? Use NETWORKDAYS.INTL when your weekend isn’t Sat/Sun — e.g. =NETWORKDAYS.INTL(B1, B2, 7, holidays) treats Fri/Sat as the weekend. To add N working days to a date instead of counting them, use WORKDAY(start, N, holidays).

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

Pick a start and end date; weekends are skipped.

Start

End

Working days:

Variations

Custom weekend (NETWORKDAYS.INTL)

Weekend code 7 = Friday/Saturday:

=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(B1, B2, 7, D2:D5)

Add working days to a date

WORKDAY lands N working days out:

=WORKDAY(B1, 10, D2:D5)

Just the weekday count

Omit holidays to count weekdays only:

=NETWORKDAYS(B1, B2)

Pitfalls & errors

Both ends count. NETWORKDAYS is inclusive — a Monday-to-Monday span counts both Mondays. Subtract 1 if you only want full days elapsed.

Text dates fail. Arguments must be real dates, not text like "6/1/2026" typed as text. Wrap with DATEVALUE if needed.

Holidays must be a range or array. A single holiday still works, but list them in cells and reference the range so the list is easy to maintain.

Practice workbook

📊

Download the free Count Working Days (Excluding Holidays) practice workbook

A working-days calculator with a holiday list, the .INTL and WORKDAY variants, plus 4 challenges with answers. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

How do I count working days between two dates in Excel?

Use =NETWORKDAYS(start, end, holidays). It counts both endpoints, skips Saturdays and Sundays automatically, and skips any dates in the optional holidays range.

How do I exclude holidays?

List the holiday dates in a column and pass that range as the third argument: =NETWORKDAYS(start, end, D2:D5).

What if my weekend isn't Saturday and Sunday?

Use NETWORKDAYS.INTL with a weekend code, e.g. =NETWORKDAYS.INTL(start, end, 7, holidays) treats Friday and Saturday as the weekend.

Stop fighting formulas. Learn them in a day.

This recipe is one of hundreds of real-world formulas we teach. Our Excel Formulas & Functions class covers lookups, logic, text, and dynamic arrays hands-on — live in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, Denver, or online.

See the Formulas & Functions Class

Related formulas: Workdays between dates · Next weekday · Days until a date

Function references: NETWORKDAYS · WORKDAY