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Calculate Business Days in Excel Excluding Weekends and Country-Specific Public Holidays

AuthorSiluviaLast modified

Calculating the number of days between two dates is easy, but determining the actual business days can be more complicated. In addition to weekends, public holidays must also be excluded, and holiday dates vary from one country to another.

The Calculate Business Days feature in Kutools for Excel calculates the working days between a start date and an end date based on the selected country. It automatically excludes weekends and supported public holidays, without requiring a holiday list or complex Excel formulas.

Advantages of Calculate Business Days

The Calculate Business Days feature provides a convenient way to determine the actual working time available within a date range. It is useful for project scheduling, delivery estimates, payment deadlines, leave planning, and other business scenarios.

Its main advantages include:

Exclude weekends automatically

Saturdays and Sundays within the selected date range are excluded from the result.

Account for country-specific public holidays

The calculation applies the supported public holidays of the selected country.

Support multiple countries

You can select the country that matches the project, customer, office, or business calendar.

Use dates directly from worksheet cells

The start date and end date can be selected from cells in the worksheet.

Place the result in a specified cell

The calculated number of business days is inserted into the output cell you select.

Avoid formulas and holiday lists

There is no need to create a NETWORKDAYS formula or maintain a separate range of holiday dates.

How to Calculate Business Days Between Two Dates in Excel

In this example, we’ll calculate the business days for a U.S. marketing campaign running from September 1 to September 30, 2026. The date range includes eight weekend days and Labor Day on September 7.

The worksheet contains the following information:

a screenshot of the sample data

To automatically exclude the weekends and U.S. public holiday from the calculation, use the Calculate Business Days feature of Kutools for Excel as follows:

Step 1: Open the Calculate Business Days dialog box

Go to Kutools > Content > Calculate Business Days to open the Calculate Business Days dialog box.

a screenshot showing how to open the calculate business days dialog box

Step 2: Configure the business-day calculation

After opening the dialog box, enter the calculation settings and select the country that applies to the date range.

  1. In the Date section, select the cells containing the Start Date and the End Date separately.
  2. In the Output Cell box, select the destination cell for the result.
  3. In the Country list, select United States or the country whose holiday calendar applies to the calculation.
  4. Click OK.
    a screenshot of configuring the settings

Result

The calculated number of business days is inserted into the selected output cell.

In this example, the period from September 1 through September 30, 2026 contains 30 calendar days. After excluding eight weekend days and Labor Day on September 7, the result is 21 business days.

a screenshot of the calculated number of business days
Note: Select the country that matches the calendar used by your business or project. The same date range may produce a different result when another country is selected because public holiday schedules vary by country.

Tips for Calculating Business Days

Accurate input dates and country settings help ensure that the calculated result matches the intended business calendar. Consider the following tips before performing the calculation:

Use valid Excel dates

Make sure the start and end dates are recognized by Excel as date values. Dates stored as text may not be processed correctly.

 
Select the correct country

Public holidays vary between countries, so select the country associated with the project, office, customer, or business process.

 
Keep the start date earlier than the end date

Enter the dates in chronological order to produce a meaningful business-day calculation.

 
Select an empty output cell

Choose a blank cell for the result to avoid replacing existing worksheet content.

 
Check whether the date range includes public holidays

A date range containing only regular weekdays and weekends may produce the same result for several countries. A period containing public holidays better demonstrates the effect of the selected country.

 
Review organization-specific nonworking days separately

Company shutdowns, regional holidays, and internal leave days may differ from the standard public holiday calendar used for the selected country.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following questions address the most common concerns about calculating business days with this feature.

What is considered a business day?

A business day is a weekday that is not recognized as a supported public holiday for the selected country.

Does the calculation exclude both weekends and public holidays?

Yes. Saturdays, Sundays, and supported public holidays for the selected country are excluded from the business-day result.

Do I need to prepare a separate holiday list?

No. The feature applies the supported public holidays associated with the selected country, so you do not need to create or maintain a holiday range manually.

Can I calculate business days for different countries?

Yes. Select the appropriate country for each calculation. The same date range may return different results because public holiday schedules vary by country.

Conclusion

The Calculate Business Days feature in Kutools for Excel quickly calculates the working days between two dates while excluding weekends and country-specific public holidays. It provides a practical way to plan projects, estimate processing times, and manage date-based deadlines without creating formulas or maintaining holiday lists.

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