NETWORKDAYS counts Monday-through-Friday dates between a start and end date. It includes eligible endpoints and can exclude a separate list of holidays.
Use =NETWORKDAYS(start_date,end_date) for standard weekends. Add a holiday range as the third argument when company closures should also be excluded.
NETWORKDAYS Function Syntax in Google Sheets
=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays])- start_date begins the period.
- end_date ends the period.
- holidays is an optional range or array of additional excluded dates.
Use real date cells, DATE formulas, or date serials. Unquoted slash expressions are division, not date literals.
When to Use NETWORKDAYS
- Count billable weekdays in an invoice period.
- Measure project duration without weekends.
- Calculate working days remaining before a deadline.
- Exclude public holidays and company closures.
- Compare calendar days with working days.
Count Workdays Between Two Dates
Cell A2 contains January 5, 2026, and B2 contains January 30, 2026:
=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)The tested result is 20. Both dates are weekdays, so both are included.
A single Monday returns 1. A single Saturday returns 0. These checks make the endpoint rule easy to see.
Calculate Workdays for Every Row
Place the formula in C2 and fill it down:
=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)Each copied formula uses the start and end dates from its own row. Keep those cells as real dates rather than ambiguous text.
Exclude Holidays With an Array Literal
=NETWORKDAYS(DATE(2026,1,5),DATE(2026,1,30),{DATE(2026,1,19);DATE(2026,1,24)})The tested result is 19. January 19 is a Monday, so it is removed. January 24 is already a Saturday and does not reduce the count again.
Semicolons stack holiday values vertically in this en-US array literal. Locales using different formula separators may require a different literal syntax.
Exclude a Holiday Range
Listing holidays in cells is easier to maintain. If C2:C3 contains January 19 and January 24, use:
=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,C2:C3)The tested result is also 19.
Count Non-Working Days in the Same Period
Subtract working days from the inclusive calendar-day count:
=B2-A2+1-NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)The tested January 5–30 period contains 26 calendar dates and 20 weekdays, leaving 6 weekend dates.
Use Different Weekend Days
NETWORKDAYS always treats Saturday and Sunday as weekends. Use NETWORKDAYS.INTL for another weekly schedule:
=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(DATE(2026,1,1),DATE(2026,1,7),"0000110")The seven-character string represents Monday through Sunday. A 1 marks Friday and Saturday as weekends. The tested result is 5.
Avoid Date-Literal Errors
This formula does not pass two calendar dates:
=NETWORKDAYS(1/5/2026,1/30/2026)Sheets evaluates each slash expression as division. The tested result was 0, rather than the intended 20. Use DATE or cell references.
See Google’s NETWORKDAYS reference for accepted date and holiday inputs.
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