| Function Category | Date and Time |
| Volatility | Non-volatile |
| Related Functions | WORKDAY — returns the end date after a specified number of working days DATEDIF — returns the difference between dates in days, months, or years |
What Does the NETWORKDAYS Function Do
The NETWORKDAYS function calculates the number of working days between two dates. It automatically excludes weekends (Saturday and Sunday), and can also account for holidays if they are specified separately.
NETWORKDAYS function syntax
=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date[, holidays])Where:
- start_date — the start date of the period
- end_date — the end date of the period
- holidays — optional range containing holidays that should also be excluded
Example 1: Working Days Between Two Dates
=NETWORKDAYS(A1, B1)| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start | End | NETWORKDAYS | Calendar days |
| 2 | 10/01/2026 | 10/31/2026 | 22=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) | 31=B2-A2+1 |
| 3 | 10/19/2026 | 10/23/2026 | 5=NETWORKDAYS(A3,B3) | 5=B3-A3+1 |
| 4 | 10/24/2026 | 10/25/2026 | 0=NETWORKDAYS(A4,B4) | 2=B4-A4+1 |
| 5 | 10/31/2026 | 10/01/2026 | -22=NETWORKDAYS(A5,B5) | -31=B5-A5-1 |
Both the start and the end date are counted: Monday to Friday is 5 days. A weekend-only period gives 0, and reversed dates give a negative number.
Returns the number of working days between dates in cells A1 and B1, excluding only Saturdays and Sundays.
Example 2: NETWORKDAYS with holidays
=NETWORKDAYS(A1, B1, D1:D5)| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start | End | Without holidays | With holidays | Holidays | |
| 2 | 11/01/2026 | 11/30/2026 | 21=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) | 18=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,F2:F4) | 11/11/2026 | |
| 3 | 11/26/2026 | |||||
| 4 | 11/27/2026 |
Veterans Day (Nov 11) and Thanksgiving with the day after (Nov 26–27) fall on weekdays, so 3 days are subtracted. A holiday on a Saturday or Sunday wouldn’t change the result. For other weekends (e.g., Friday–Saturday), use NETWORKDAYS.INTL.
In addition to weekends, holidays specified in the range D1:D5 are also excluded from the calculation.
NETWORKDAYS features and limitations
- If the start date is greater than the end date, the result will be negative.
- The function is useful in project management, deadline calculations, and vacation planning.
- Holidays must be specified as a list of dates - this can be a separate column on the sheet.
Other Date and Time Functions
TIMEVALUE, TIME, YEAR, DATE, DATEVALUE, EDATE, DAY, WEEKDAY, YEARFRAC, EOMONTH, MONTH, MINUTE, WEEKNUM, WORKDAY, DATEDIF, TODAY, SECOND, NOW
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