How this instrument works
A 'business day' sounds like a fixed, universal unit, but what actually counts as one depends on local workweek convention: most US and Western workplaces run a 5-day week with Saturday and Sunday both off, while plenty of other regions and industries run a 6-day week with only Sunday off. This calculator counts both ways from the same two dates, so you can pick whichever pattern actually matches the deadline or shipping estimate you're working against.
The count is inclusive of both the start and end date — spanning Monday through the following Monday, for instance, counts 8 total calendar days, not 7. From that inclusive total, the calculator subtracts however many Saturdays and Sundays (5-day mode) or Sundays alone (6-day mode) fall within the span, leaving the business-day count.
This calculator counts weekday pattern only — it does not exclude public holidays, because doing so accurately would require a specific holiday calendar (which varies by country, by year, and often by industry) as an input this tool doesn't currently support. If your deadline needs to account for holidays too, treat this calculator's business-day figure as an upper bound and subtract any holidays that fall within your date range by hand.
- Enter Start date and End date.
- Pick your Workweek pattern — 5-day week (Saturday and Sunday off) or 6-day week (Sunday only off).
- Read Business days — the workday count under your chosen pattern, inclusive of both dates.
- Read Total days and Weekend/off days for the full breakdown of the span.
- Remember this counts weekday pattern only, not public holidays — subtract any holidays in your range by hand if your deadline needs to account for them.
Worked example — a Monday-to-Monday span, two workweek patterns
From Monday, 2026-07-27 through the following Monday, 2026-08-03, inclusive, is 8 total calendar days, spanning exactly one Saturday and one Sunday. Under a standard 5-day workweek, that's 8 − 2 = 6 business days. Under a 6-day workweek where only Sunday is off, it's 8 − 1 = 7 business days — one extra working day for the same calendar span, simply because Saturday counts as a workday in that pattern.
A plain Monday-through-Friday span of the same month, 2026-07-27 to 2026-07-31, contains no weekend days at all under the 5-day pattern: 5 total days, 5 business days, 0 weekend days — a clean, un-adjusted 1-to-1 match between total days and business days.
Questions
Does this calculator exclude public holidays from the business-day count?
No — it counts weekday pattern only (which days fall on a Saturday or Sunday), not specific holiday calendars, since holidays vary by country, region, and even industry, and building an accurate holiday list would require a specific jurisdiction as an extra input this tool doesn't currently take. If your date range includes a public holiday, subtract it manually from this calculator's business-day figure.
Why is the count inclusive of both the start and end date?
Because that's how most real-world deadline and shipping-estimate questions are actually framed — 'how many business days from Monday through the following Monday' naturally includes both endpoints as days that count, not just the days strictly between them. If you need an exclusive count instead, subtract one business day from this calculator's result as a rough adjustment.
What's the difference between the 5-day and 6-day workweek options?
The 5-day option treats both Saturday and Sunday as non-working days, the standard convention across most US, European, and many global office workplaces. The 6-day option treats only Sunday as non-working, a pattern still common in parts of retail, manufacturing, and some countries' standard workweeks — pick whichever actually matches the schedule your deadline is based on.
Can I use this to estimate a shipping or delivery date?
Yes, as a starting estimate — many carriers quote delivery windows in business days under a standard 5-day pattern, so this calculator can tell you how many business days fall within a given date range. Just remember it won't automatically account for the carrier's own holiday closures, which you'd need to check separately against their specific published holiday schedule.
Why might my manual count of business days disagree slightly with this calculator?
The most common reason is a holiday falling within your date range that this calculator doesn't know about, since it only counts weekday pattern. A less common reason is disagreement about whether the count should be inclusive or exclusive of the start/end dates — double-check this calculator uses an inclusive count, and adjust your manual comparison accordingly.