Working days calculator

Business days between two dates, or the date that is a number of working days away. Weekends and public holidays of the chosen country are excluded, and every excluded holiday is listed so you can check the result.

How the calculation works

A working day is a calendar day that is neither a weekend day nor a public holiday in the selected country. "Between two dates" counts the working days from the first date to the second, both included by default; untick a box to exclude a boundary, which is how most contract deadlines are counted. "Add working days" walks forward from the start date one working day at a time; the start date itself is never counted, so adding one working day to a Friday gives the following Monday.

Holiday data covers 2024 to 2030. Outside that range only weekends are excluded, and the result says so. Regional holidays are not included, so a deadline in Bavaria or New South Wales may need one day more. Dates marked as estimated on the country pages depend on a lunar sighting and can move by a day.

Frequently asked questions

Is a business day the same as a working day?

In everyday use, yes: a day on which offices and banks are open, so neither a weekend day nor a public holiday. Some contracts define business days more narrowly (for example banking days in a specific city); when in doubt, the contract wins.

Do you count the start date?

By default both boundaries are counted, because that answers "how many working days are there from Monday to Friday" with five. For notice periods and payment terms, untick the start date so that the count begins the day after.

Why does my HR system give a different number?

Usually because of a regional holiday, a company closure day, or a different weekend definition. Change the weekend days above, and compare with the excluded holidays listed under the result.

Can I use this in my own software?

Yes. The same holiday data is available as JSON for every country and year, free and without a key. See the API documentation.