How business days are counted
Business days are weekdays from Monday to Friday; Saturdays and Sundays are excluded. This calculator steps through every day from your start to end date, inclusive of both, and counts only the weekdays. From 15–19 June 2026 (a Monday to Friday) there are 5 business days.
A month-long example: from 1 June 2026 to 30 June 2026 there are 30 calendar days, made up of 22 weekdays and 8 weekend days. Over a long range the rough guide is that business days come to about five sevenths of the calendar days, but the exact figure depends on which weekday your range starts and ends on.
For the same task from a slightly different angle, try the days between dates calculator.
How to use this calculator
Choose a start date and end date; the count includes both ends. The badge also shows total days and weekend days. To count plain calendar weeks instead, use the weeks between dates calculator.
Because both ends are counted, a start and end date on the same weekday gives 1, not 0. If you are quoting a lead time such as "ships in 3 business days", most senders start counting from the day after dispatch, so set the start date to the next weekday to match.
The date plus days calculator is the natural next step once you have this figure.
A note on holidays
This calculator counts Monday-to-Friday weekdays only and does not subtract public holidays, which vary by country. If a holiday falls within your range, subtract it manually from the result to get true working days.
Public holidays make a real difference over long ranges: many countries lose eight to fourteen weekdays a year to them, and some sectors add company shutdown days on top. Check the calendar for your country, count the holidays that fall on a Monday to Friday inside your range, and subtract that number from the result shown here.
If you are checking your work, the work hours calculator gives you a second reference point.
Frequently asked questions
- How many business days from June 15 to 19, 2026?
- That range runs Monday to Friday, so there are 5 business days.
- What counts as a business day?
- Any weekday from Monday to Friday. Saturdays and Sundays are not business days.
- Are both the start and end dates included?
- Yes. The count is inclusive, so both the start and end dates are counted if they are weekdays.
- Does it skip public holidays?
- No. It only excludes weekends. Subtract any public holidays in your range manually, since they differ by country.
- Should a deadline be set in business days or calendar days?
- Use business days when the work depends on someone being at their desk, such as bank transfers, shipping or contract reviews. Use calendar days for anything that runs continuously, like notice periods or subscription terms, because a weekend still counts there.