Why can I choose which days count as weekends instead of it always being Saturday and Sunday?

Not every work week follows a Saturday/Sunday weekend -- several countries and industries use a Friday/Saturday or Sunday-only weekend structure. Letting you pick which days of the week are non-working makes the count accurate for your actual work schedule rather than assuming one global convention.

What happens if I list a holiday that falls on a weekend?

It's counted once, as a weekend day -- since that date was already going to be excluded from the working-day count regardless of the holiday list, adding it as a holiday too wouldn't change the total and isn't double-subtracted. This matters for keeping the "Weekend Days" and "Holidays Excluded" stats from overlapping in a way that would misrepresent either count.

Does the count include or exclude the start and end dates themselves?

Both the start and end dates are included in the calculation (assuming neither is a weekend or listed holiday) -- the range is treated as inclusive on both ends, which matches how people usually think about "days between January 1st and January 31st," including both endpoints.

What format do the holiday dates need to be in?

One date per line, in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g., 2026-12-25) -- this unambiguous format avoids the day/month ordering confusion that formats like MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY can cause depending on which country's convention you're used to.

Working Days Calculator

Counts business days, not just calendar days — pick your date range, choose which days are weekends, and optionally list holidays to exclude.

How Working Days Calculator Works

A project deadline or leave request measured in calendar days overstates how much actual work time is available -- weekends and holidays don't count toward getting anything done. This calculator counts only genuine working days between two dates, letting you define exactly which days of the week count as weekends and list specific holidays to exclude on top of that.

Formula & Method

Every calendar day from the start date to the end date (inclusive) is checked against two exclusion rules in order: first, is its day of the week one of your chosen weekend days? If so, it's counted as a weekend day. Otherwise, does its exact date appear in your holiday list? If so, it's counted as a holiday. Any day matching neither rule counts as a working day. Holidays that happen to fall on an already-excluded weekend day are counted only once, as a weekend day, not double-counted -- since a date can only be one thing in the final tally.

Worked Example

From January 1, 2026 (a Thursday) through January 31, 2026, with the default Saturday/Sunday weekend and January 1st listed as a holiday: that's 31 total calendar days, 9 of them weekend days, 1 additional holiday (January 1st itself, which falls on a weekday), leaving 21 working days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can I choose which days count as weekends instead of it always being Saturday and Sunday?: Not every work week follows a Saturday/Sunday weekend -- several countries and industries use a Friday/Saturday or Sunday-only weekend structure. Letting you pick which days of the week are non-working makes the count accurate for your actual work schedule rather than assuming one global convention.
What happens if I list a holiday that falls on a weekend?: It's counted once, as a weekend day -- since that date was already going to be excluded from the working-day count regardless of the holiday list, adding it as a holiday too wouldn't change the total and isn't double-subtracted. This matters for keeping the "Weekend Days" and "Holidays Excluded" stats from overlapping in a way that would misrepresent either count.
Does the count include or exclude the start and end dates themselves?: Both the start and end dates are included in the calculation (assuming neither is a weekend or listed holiday) -- the range is treated as inclusive on both ends, which matches how people usually think about "days between January 1st and January 31st," including both endpoints.
What format do the holiday dates need to be in?: One date per line, in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g., 2026-12-25) -- this unambiguous format avoids the day/month ordering confusion that formats like MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY can cause depending on which country's convention you're used to.

Start Date

End Date

Holidays to Exclude (optional)

One date per line, format YYYY-MM-DD. Only dates inside your range that aren't already a weekend count against the total.

— Working Days