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DAYS

DAYS

  • Last updated on

Description

Use this function to return the count of days between two dates.

 

Syntax

DAYS("end_date","start_date")

 

Inputs

This function has the following arguments:

Name Required Description Valid input
end_date Yes Last date of the range to be considered.  This can be a cell reference, an integer date, or an explicit date in the format "DD/MM/YYYY" or "YYYY/MM/DD".
A formula which results in one of these is also acceptable. Quotation marks are required for an explicit date.
start_date Yes First date of the range to be considered. This can be a cell reference, an integer date, or an explicit date in the format "DD/MM/YYYY" or "YYYY/MM/DD".
A formula which results in one of these is also acceptable. Quotation marks are required for an explicit date.

 

Examples

Sample data

  A B
1 Start date End date
2 February 1, 2024 4/30/2024
3 5/31/2017 April 23, 2019
4 1/7/2025 3/4/2025

Sample formulas

Use case Formula Explanation and Result
Determine the number of days between the provided dates. =DAYS("2021/03/04","2020/03/06")

This formula calculates the number of days between 2020/03/06 and 2021/03/04.

Result: 363.
Determine the number of days between a date specified in a cell and the provided date. =DAYS("01/12/2024",A2)

This formula calculates the number of days between 01/12/2024 and the value contained in A2.

Result: 1725.
Determine the duration of an event in days. =IFERROR(SUM(DAYS(B2,A2)), "Bad Date")

This formula works in the following manner:

  • A2 contains the start date stored as a date. Cell B2 contains the end date stored as a date.
  • DAYS(B2,A2) calculates the number of days between the start and end dates.
  • SUM(…) is used here to handle potential errors if one of the date cells is empty.
  • IFERROR(…) handles the case where the value in A2 or B2 is not a valid date, returning "Bad Date" instead of an error.

Result: 89.
Calculate the number of non-working days between two dates. =DAYS(B4,A4)-NETWORKDAYS(A4,B4)

This formula works in the following manner:

  • A4 contains the start date stored as a date.
  • B4 contains the end date stored as a date.
  • DAYS(B4, A4) calculates the number of days between the start and end dates, inclusive.
  • NETWORKDAYS(A1, B1) calculates the number of workdays (Monday to Friday) between the start and end dates.
  • Subtracting the number of working days from the number of days leaves the number of non-working days.

Result: 15.

 

Notes

  • If an explicit date is used, it must be in quotation marks ("DD/MM/YYYY" or "YYYY/MM/DD").
  • If two explicit dates are used, they must be in the same format ("DD/MM/YYYY" or "YYYY/MM/DD"), and both be in quotation marks.
  • If either date isn't a valid integer date or in the format "DD/MM/YYYY" or "YYYY/MM/DD", DAYS returns the #VALUE! error.
  • If end_date predates start_date, the value will be negative.
  • This is an absolute count of days.

 

Related functions

DescriptionUse this function to return the count of days between two dates. SyntaxDAYS("end_date","start_date") Input...