How to Calculate Days Between Dates: A Step-by-Step Guide
Counts days between two dates.
Dates and durations matter for notice periods, leave planning, project deadlines and contracts. Counting days on a calendar is slow and easy to get wrong, especially across months of different lengths.
What you need
- Start date
- End date
Step by step
- Enter the start date.
- Enter the end date.
- The results update as you type, or press Calculate.
- Read the days between first, then the supporting figures below it.
The formula
Days = end − start.
Worked example
For example, with these inputs:
- Start date: 1 Jan 2026
- End date: 31 Dec 2026
the calculator returns:
- Days between: 364 days
- Weeks: 52.00 weeks
- Including end date: 365 days
Practical tips
- Convert times to minutes before subtracting, then convert back to hours and minutes.
- Write dates in an unambiguous format such as 5 Oct 2026 when sharing deadlines.
- Notice periods in employment contracts may be counted in calendar days or working days, so read the wording carefully.
- For overnight shifts, add 24 hours when the end time is earlier than the start time.
Background
Time durations are easier to handle in minutes. Convert each time to minutes after midnight, subtract, then convert back to hours and minutes, adding 24 hours for shifts that run past midnight.
Singapore has 11 gazetted public holidays a year, and when one falls on a Sunday the following Monday is a holiday. Working-day calculations therefore need holidays removed separately from weekends.
When sharing dates internationally, write the month as a word to avoid confusion between day-month and month-day formats.
Related calculations
- Day of the Week Calculator: Tells you which weekday any date falls on.
- Weeks Between Dates Calculator: Counts weeks between two dates.
- Months Between Dates Calculator: Counts complete calendar months between two dates.
- Time Duration Calculator: Calculates hours and minutes between two times, including overnight shifts.
Want to skip the arithmetic? The free Days Between Dates Calculator does all of this instantly and updates as you type.
Run your own numbers: Days Between Dates Calculator