Purpose
Return value
Syntax
=NETWORKDAYS(start_date,end_date,[holidays])- start_date - The start date.
- end_date - The end date.
- holidays - [optional] A list of non-work days as dates.
How to use
The NETWORKDAYS function returns the number of working days between two dates, automatically excluding weekends (Saturday and Sunday) and optionally excluding holidays provided as a list of dates. NETWORKDAYS can be used to calculate employee benefits that accrue based on days worked, the number of working days available during a project, the number of working days required to resolve a customer support issue, etc.
NETWORKDAYS takes three arguments: start_date, end_date, and holidays. All three arguments must be valid Excel dates. Holidays are optional. To exclude holidays, provide a range of valid Excel dates for the holidays argument. Holidays are treated as non-working days and will not be included in the result.
NETWORKDAYS includes both the start date and end date when calculating workdays. If you give NETWORKDAYS the same date for start date and end date, and the date is not a weekend or holiday, it will return 1.
Example
The general form of a NETWORKDAYS formula is as follows:
=NETWORKDAYS(start,end) // exclude weekends
=NETWORKDAYS(start,end,holidays) // exclude weekends + holidays
In the example shown, holidays is the named range H5:H13, which contains non-working days in 2021. Columns E and F show the number of working days in each month of the year. The formula in cell E5 (Result 1) contains the NETWORKDAYS function but does not take into account holidays:
=NETWORKDAYS(B5,C5) // returns 21
The formula in cell F5 (Result 2) does take into account holidays:
=NETWORKDAYS(B5,C5,holidays) // returns 19
NETWORKDAYS will automatically exclude both Saturday and Sunday. This behavior is not configurable. If you need more flexibility, the NETWORKDAYS.INTL function provides a way to treat any day of the week as a non-working day.
Notes
- NETWORKDAYS calculates whole workdays, ignoring any time values.
- NETWORKDAYS will automatically exclude both Saturday and Sunday.
- NETWORKDAYS includes both the start date and end date when calculating workdays.
- To create a custom weekend schedule, see the NETWORKDAYS.INTL function.
NETWORKDAYS function examples
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NETWORKDAYS function videos
Excel formula error codes
How to calculate the number of days between dates
Related functions
NETWORKDAYS.INTL Function
The Excel NETWORKDAYS.INTL function calculates the number of working days between two dates. NETWORKDAYS.INTL can optionally exclude a list of holidays and provides a way to specify which days of the week are considered weekends.
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