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Dates function

Excel NETWORKDAYS function

NETWORKDAYS counts the working days between two dates, Monday to Friday, including both the start and end date. Use it to size project tasks, count billable days, or see how many business days are left.

fx=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date)

Arguments

start_date
The first date of the period.
end_date
The last date of the period. It is included in the count.

NETWORKDAYS examples

Every result below was calculated live from this sample sheet.

ABCD
1PhaseStartEndDay rate
2Discovery2026-11-022026-11-13650
3Prototype2026-11-162026-12-18650
4Launch2027-01-042027-01-15800
  1. fx=NETWORKDAYS(B2,C2)

    Result: 10

    Two full weeks, Monday to Friday, give 10 working days.

  2. fx=NETWORKDAYS(B3,C3)

    Result: 25

    Five full weeks: the prototype phase has 25 working days.

  3. fx=NETWORKDAYS(B4,C4)*D4

    Result: 8000

    Working days times the day rate gives the cost of the launch phase.

  4. fx=NETWORKDAYS(TODAY(),C4)

    Result: today’s date-based value

    Business days left from today until the launch phase ends.

How to use NETWORKDAYS

  1. Click the cell for the result.
  2. Type =NETWORKDAYS( and click the start date.
  3. Type a comma and click the end date.
  4. Optionally add a range of holiday dates as a third argument, then press Enter.

Common NETWORKDAYS mistakes

Expecting it to skip public holidays automatically

Excel does not know your holidays. List them in a range and pass it as the third argument.

Off by one compared with DAYS

NETWORKDAYS counts both the start and end date. DAYS counts the gap between them.

Your weekend is not Saturday and Sunday

Use NETWORKDAYS.INTL, which lets you choose which days are the weekend.

NETWORKDAYS FAQ

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

Use =NETWORKDAYS(start,end). It counts Monday to Friday and includes both dates.

How do I exclude holidays from NETWORKDAYS?

Type the holiday dates in a range and add it as the third argument, like =NETWORKDAYS(B2,C2,H2:H10).

Does NETWORKDAYS include the start date?

Yes. If the start and end are the same weekday, the answer is 1.

Practice NETWORKDAYS in these lessons

Guides that use NETWORKDAYS

Related functions

Updated 2026-10-31