Date Range Calculator
Use our date range calculator to find the amount of time between two dates.
Days Between Start and End:
| Total Days: | |
| Business Days: | |
| Weekend Days: |
On this page:
Joe is the creator of Inch Calculator and has over 20 years of experience in engineering and construction. He holds several degrees and certifications.
How to Calculate a Date Range
A date range is the span of days between two specific dates: a start date and an end date. It’s the period of time you’re interested in, whether for a business project, a vacation, or even counting down the days until Christmas.
While calculating a range of numbers is fairly straightforward, accurately calculating date ranges can sometimes be tricky. There are a few different ways to calculate the range between two different dates.
Regardless of which method you choose, the first essential step is to identify the start and end dates in the range. These will be the starting and ending points.
Method One: Calculate the Range Manually
The first method is to grab a calendar and manually count the days between the two dates in the range. Locate the starting date in the calendar and start counting the days to the end date.
This method works well for date ranges where the start and end dates are close together, but it can become difficult and time-consuming when the date range is fairly wide, with a large number of days between the start and end dates.
Method Two: Calculate the Range Using Spreadsheet Software
You can also use spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to calculate a date range. This method works well regardless of how small or large the range is.
Both Goole Sheets and Microsoft Excel include a DAYS function, where you can calculate the range in days. To use the function, open a new spreadsheet and enter the following formula in an open cell:
DAYS(end_date, start_date)
Method Three: Calculate the Range Using an Online Calculator
The quickest and easiest method to calculate a date range is to use the date range calculator above, our day counter, or our time duration calculator. All of these calculators can quickly calculate a date range in days.
Date Inclusivity vs. Exclusivity
When calculating a date range, it’s essential to decide whether the range is inclusive or exclusive.
Inclusive includes both the start and the end date. For example, the range from January 1 to January 3 inclusive is three days.
Exclusive includes the start date but not the end date. Using the above example, the range from January 1 to January 3 exclusive is two days.
Our calculators and the DAYS function in Excel and Sheets all use the exclusive method. If you need to calculate a range inclusive of the start and end dates, then you need to add 1 to the resulting range to account for this.
You might also like our time calculator.