NETWORKDAYS returns the number of whole working days between a start date and an end date, automatically excluding Saturdays and Sundays plus any holidays you specify. It is the standard way to measure business-day duration, deadlines, and turnaround times in Excel.
=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays])What does NETWORKDAYS do?
NETWORKDAYS is a Date & Time function that counts how many working days fall between two dates. By default it treats Saturday and Sunday as non-working days, and you can supply a list of holiday dates to exclude as well. The result is a whole number that represents the business days available for a task, project, or delivery.
This matters because calendar days and working days are not the same. A five-day turnaround that starts on a Thursday actually finishes the following Wednesday once the weekend is removed. NETWORKDAYS handles that arithmetic for you, so schedules, service-level agreements, and payroll periods stay accurate without manual counting.
A typical situation: a customer service team promises a resolution within ten business days. Instead of guessing, you enter the case open date and today's date, add the public holiday list, and NETWORKDAYS tells you instantly whether the case is inside or outside the promise. The same pattern works for project planning, invoice due dates, and employee leave calculations.
When to use NETWORKDAYS
- Calculating the number of business days between an order date and a delivery date.
- Checking whether a support ticket or complaint is still within its service-level agreement.
- Working out invoice payment terms such as net 30 working days.
- Planning project phases and milestones that only advance on working days.
- Estimating employee leave duration in working days rather than calendar days.
- Measuring turnaround time for approvals, repairs, or onboarding tasks.
NETWORKDAYS syntax
=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays])| Argument | Required? | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
start_date | Required | The first date in the period you want to measure. Enter a date, a cell reference, or a function such as TODAY(). Example: A2 containing 2024-03-04. |
end_date | Required | The last date in the period. It can be earlier than start_date; NETWORKDAYS then returns a negative number. Example: B2 containing 2024-03-15. |
holidays | Optional | An optional range or array of dates to exclude in addition to weekends. Example: E2:E5 listing public holidays. |
What it returns: A whole number representing the count of working days (Monday to Friday) between the two dates, minus any holiday dates that fall on working days. The count includes both the start date and the end date if they are working days.
NETWORKDAYS examples
1 Basic working days between two dates
The goal is to count the weekdays in a single project window. The formula =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) takes the start date in A2 and the end date in B2. Excel counts every Monday-to-Friday date from 2024-03-04 through 2024-03-15, which is two full working weeks. It returns 10, confirming the project spans ten business days.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start Date | End Date | |||
| 2 | 2024-03-04 | 2024-03-15 | 10 | ||
| 3 |
2 Excluding public holidays
Here the team wants the real working days available in March, taking a public holiday into account. The formula =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,E2:E3) counts weekdays from 2024-03-04 to 2024-03-15 and then removes any date listed in E2:E3. The holiday on 2024-03-08 is a Friday, so it reduces the count by one. The result is 9 working days.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start Date | End Date | Project | Owner | Holiday | |||
| 2 | 2024-03-04 | 2024-03-15 | Website refresh | Priya | 2024-03-08 | 9 | ||
| 3 | 2024-03-29 | |||||||
| 4 |
3 Service-level agreement check
A support team promises to resolve cases within five working days. The formula =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) measures the business days between the open date and the close date. From 2024-04-01 (Monday) to 2024-04-05 (Friday) is exactly five weekdays. The function returns 5, which is inside the promise, so the case passes the check.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Case ID | Open Date | Close Date | Agent | Priority | |||
| 2 | C-1042 | 2024-04-01 | 2024-04-05 | Sam | High | 5 | ||
| 3 |
4 Invoice due date in working days
The finance team offers net 10 working days on invoices. The formula =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,E2:E3) counts the business days between the invoice date and the payment date, excluding two bank holidays. From 2024-05-01 (Wednesday) to 2024-05-15 (Wednesday) there are 11 weekdays, but 2024-05-06 and 2024-05-13 are holidays, so the count drops to 9. The invoice was paid one working day early against a ten-day term.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invoice No | Invoice Date | Payment Date | Customer | Bank Holiday | |||
| 2 | INV-2201 | 2024-05-01 | 2024-05-15 | Northwind Ltd | 2024-05-06 | 9 | ||
| 3 | 2024-05-13 | |||||||
| 4 |
5 Leave duration across a holiday
HR needs the working days an employee is away, not the calendar days. The formula =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,E2:E2) counts weekdays from 2024-06-03 to 2024-06-14 and removes the company holiday on 2024-06-10. That period contains ten weekdays, but the holiday is a Monday, so the leave is recorded as 9 working days. This figure feeds directly into the absence tracker.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Employee | Leave Start | Leave End | Department | Company Holiday | |||
| 2 | Jordan Lee | 2024-06-03 | 2024-06-14 | Operations | 2024-06-10 | 9 | ||
| 3 |
Common NETWORKDAYS errors and how to fix them
| Error | Why it happens | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| #VALUE! | One of the date arguments is text that Excel cannot interpret as a date, such as "next Monday" or a date typed in an unrecognised format. | Enter real dates or cell references to real dates. Use a consistent format like YYYY-MM-DD or your regional date format, and check that the cell is not formatted as Text. |
| #NUM! | A date argument is outside Excel's supported date range, typically before 1900-01-01 or after 9999-12-31. | Correct the date to fall within the supported range. If the date was calculated, verify the source values feeding that calculation. |
| Wrong count (off by one or more) | The holidays range includes weekend dates, duplicate dates, or dates outside the period, or the start and end dates are reversed. | Keep the holiday list clean and unique. Remember NETWORKDAYS includes both start and end dates when they are working days. If end_date is earlier than start_date, the result is negative by design. |
| #REF! | The holidays argument points to a range that has been deleted or moved, or a sheet reference is broken. | Re-select the holiday range or repair the reference. Consider using a named range for the holiday list so it survives structural changes. |
Tips for using NETWORKDAYS
- Store holidays in a dedicated, clearly labelled column or sheet and reference that range; update it once per year rather than editing formulas.
- Use
TODAY()as the end_date to measure working days elapsed so far, for example=NETWORKDAYS(A2,TODAY()). - Remember that NETWORKDAYS counts both the start and end date if they are working days, so a Monday-to-Friday period returns 5, not 4.
- If your organisation works Saturday instead of Sunday, or has a different weekend pattern, use
NETWORKDAYS.INTLinstead. - Format the result as a plain number, not a date, because the function returns a count of days.
- Test the holiday range by checking that every date in it is a real date and not text; text holidays are silently ignored.
Frequently asked questions
Does NETWORKDAYS include the start and end dates?
Yes. If the start date and end date are both working days, both are counted. For example, Monday to Friday returns 5.
What is the difference between NETWORKDAYS and NETWORKDAYS.INTL?
NETWORKDAYS always treats Saturday and Sunday as the weekend. NETWORKDAYS.INTL lets you choose which days are non-working, such as a Friday-Saturday weekend or a single-day weekend.
Can NETWORKDAYS return a negative number?
Yes. If the end date is earlier than the start date, the function returns a negative count. Swap the arguments if you need a positive duration.
Why is my holiday not being excluded?
The most common cause is that the holiday cell contains text rather than a real date, or the holiday falls on a weekend that is already excluded. Check the cell format and the date value.
Does NETWORKDAYS work with times as well as dates?
It works with date values. If a cell contains a date and time, the time portion is ignored for counting purposes, but the date part is used.
Related functions
Every example on this page was recalculated by SheetSkill’s spreadsheet engine. NETWORKDAYS reference