Business days in two weeks
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start | End |
| 2 | 3/1/2024 | 3/15/2024 |
Formula: D2: =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)
Result: 11
March 1 (Fri) to March 15 (Fri) contains 11 weekdays, counting both ends.
Date & time
NETWORKDAYS
Working days in a period.
Syntax
NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays])Example: =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,Holidays)
Available in: All versions
NETWORKDAYS counts the working days between two dates, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and an optional list of holidays: =NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays]). Both the start and end dates are counted if they are working days.
When to use it
- You estimate delivery or project time in business days.
- You calculate billable days or leave.
- You need SLA elapsed time that skips weekends and holidays.
- You want a different weekend pattern: use NETWORKDAYS.INTL.
Arguments explained
- start_date. The first day of the period, counted if it is a working day.
- end_date. The last day of the period, also counted if it is a working day.
- holidays. Optional. A range or array of dates to exclude in addition to Saturdays and Sundays, for example a list of public holidays on another sheet.
- Custom weekends. If your weekend is not Saturday and Sunday, use NETWORKDAYS.INTL, which lets you choose the weekend days.
Worked examples
Exclude a holiday
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start | End | Holidays | |
| 2 | 3/1/2024 | 3/15/2024 | 3/13/2024 |
Formula: F2: =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,D2)
Result: 10
The holiday on Wednesday, March 13 removes one more day.
A weekend gives zero
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start | End |
| 2 | 3/9/2024 | 3/10/2024 |
Formula: D2: =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)
Result: 0
Saturday and Sunday are both excluded.
Try it
A tiny spreadsheet with example data. Edit the formula or any number and see the result.
Formula in F2: =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,C2:C3)
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start | End | Holiday | Time | Result | |
| 2 | 3/15/2026 | 6/20/2026 | 5/1/2026 | 14:45 | 69 | |
| 3 | 1/31/2026 | 2/28/2026 | 5/9/2026 | 09:30 | ||
| 4 | 12/24/2025 | 1/9/2026 |
Result in F2: 69
Common errors and how to fix them
- #VALUE!. A date or holiday is text. Convert to real dates.
- Off by one. Both start and end are included, so a same-day Monday returns 1. Subtract 1 for elapsed days.
- Wrong weekends. Only Saturday and Sunday are excluded. For other patterns use NETWORKDAYS.INTL.
- Negative result. If the start date is after the end date, the result is negative.
Related functions
Frequently asked questions
- How do I add business days to a date?
- Use WORKDAY(start, days, [holidays]).
- How do I list holidays?
- Type them in a range of real dates and pass that range as the third argument.
- Does NETWORKDAYS include the start date?
- Yes, if it is a working day.
- How do I use a Friday-Saturday weekend?
- Use NETWORKDAYS.INTL with a weekend code or string.