OmniDocCount Weekdays Only With Excel Date Formulas
Learn how to count only weekdays between two dates in Excel using NETWORKDAYS, holiday lists and custom weekends, plus how to check the result.
If you track project timelines, invoice due dates or staff schedules in a spreadsheet, you have probably needed a count of working days rather than calendar days. Subtracting one date from another gives you every day in between, including Saturdays and Sundays, which overstates the time your team actually has. Excel has built-in date formulas for this exact problem, but they are easy to misuse if you don't know which function to pick or how it treats the start and end dates.
This guide covers the formulas you need to count weekdays only, how to leave out holidays, and how to handle a weekend that isn't Saturday and Sunday. It also shows how to check the answer so you can trust it before it goes into a report or a client email. If your schedule lives in a PDF, a short section near the end explains how to move the dates into Excel first.
Which formula counts weekdays only? The short answer
Use NETWORKDAYS with a start date and an end date, such as =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2). It returns the number of Monday-to-Friday days between the two dates, counting both ends if they fall on a weekday. Add a range of holiday dates as a third argument when you need to skip public holidays or company closures.
| Your situation | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Monday-to-Friday work week | Use =NETWORKDAYS(start, end) | It skips Saturdays and Sundays automatically. |
| Public holidays or closures fall in the range | Add a holiday list as the third argument | The formula then excludes those dates from the count. |
| Weekend is different, such as Friday and Saturday | Use NETWORKDAYS.INTL with a weekend code | The standard function only knows the Saturday-Sunday weekend. |
| You need the date that is a set number of workdays away | Use WORKDAY(start, days, holidays) | It returns a deadline date instead of a count. |
Before you start
Check these points first. Most wrong answers come from one of them rather than from the formula itself.
- Confirm the dates are real date values. A cell that looks like a date but is stored as text will be ignored or cause an error. Right-align the value or apply a date format to see whether it is a true date. If it stays left-aligned, re-enter it or convert it.
- Decide whether the start date counts. NETWORKDAYS includes both the start and end dates when they are weekdays. If you want the days after a start date, begin the formula one day later, such as =NETWORKDAYS(A2+1,B2).
- List your holidays in one column. Put each closure date in its own cell, such as H2:H12. The holiday range must contain actual dates, and it should cover every year your date range touches.
- Know your weekend. If your team works a standard week, you can skip this. If not, write down which days are off so you can choose the right weekend code later.
- Pick a short test range. Choose a period you can count on a calendar in a minute, so you can verify the formula before applying it to a full project.
Counting weekdays in Excel, step by step
- Put the start dates in one column and the end dates in the next. For example, use column A for starts and column B for ends, starting in row 2. Keep each pair on the same row so the formula can read them together.
- Enter the basic formula in the first result row. In cell C2, type =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2). Excel returns the count of Monday-to-Friday days, with both end dates included when they are weekdays.
- Test it on a known range. Monday 3 March 2025 to Friday 14 March 2025 contains 10 weekdays, so the formula should return 10. If you get a different number, check the dates first.
- Add a holiday list if needed. Type the holiday dates in a column, such as H2:H12. Then change the formula to =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,$H$2:$H$12). Using absolute references with the dollar signs keeps the holiday range fixed when you copy the formula down.
- Use NETWORKDAYS.INTL for a different weekend. The syntax is =NETWORKDAYS.INTL(start, end, weekend, holidays). The weekend argument is a code, such as 1 for Saturday and Sunday or 7 for Friday and Saturday. You can also pass a seven-character string, such as "0000011", where 1 marks a non-working day and the string starts on Monday.
- Fill the formula down the column. Drag the fill handle from C2 to the last row of your data. Excel adjusts the row references for each line, so each pair of dates gets its own count.
- Use WORKDAY when you need a deadline. To find the date that falls a set number of workdays after a start date, use =WORKDAY(A2,10,$H$2:$H$12). This returns a date, not a count, so format the result cell as a date.
Check the result
Before you share the numbers, run a few quick checks. These catch the errors that show up most often with date formulas.
| Check | How to see it | If it's wrong |
|---|---|---|
| The count matches a hand count | Count the weekdays on a calendar for a short range, such as one week | Check whether the start or end date should be included, and adjust the start by one day if needed. |
| Dates are real dates | Select a date cell and see whether the value stays aligned to the right | Re-enter the date or convert the text using a date format. |
| Holidays are excluded | Compare the count with and without the holiday range | Confirm each holiday is a date value and that the range covers the right cells. |
| No error values appear | Scan the result column for #VALUE! or #NUM! | A #VALUE! usually means a text date. A #NUM! can appear with WORKDAY when the inputs are invalid. |
| Counts are not negative | Look for negative results | The end date is earlier than the start date, so swap the two cells or check the order. |
Working with dates from a PDF
Many schedules, invoices and contracts arrive as PDFs rather than spreadsheets. If you need to count weekdays from those dates, you first have to get them into Excel. In the OmniDoc desktop client, the PDF editor can export a PDF to Excel, so you can copy the dates into cells and then apply the formulas above. Scanned PDFs can be processed with OCR first, but read the text carefully because OCR can misread numbers and dates. Compare every date you move against the original document before you run the count.
❓ FAQ
1. Can I count weekdays in Excel without a holiday list?
Yes. Leave out the third argument, so the formula is =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2). It counts every Monday-to-Friday day in the range, and you can add a holiday list later if closures matter for that project.
2. Does WORKDAY count the start date?
No. WORKDAY(start, days) counts forward from the day after the start date, so a start on a Monday with a days value of 1 returns Tuesday. This differs from NETWORKDAYS, which includes both ends.
3. Why does my holiday list stop working in the next year?
The holiday range only excludes the dates it contains. If your project runs into a new year, add that year's closures to the same list, or the formula will count those days as workdays.
4. Can I count weekdays for a single month?
Yes. Put the first day of the month in the start cell and the last day in the end cell, then use NETWORKDAYS on those two cells. You can type the month-end date directly or calculate it with a date function, and check the result against a calendar.
📝 Summary
Counting only weekdays in Excel comes down to NETWORKDAYS for a standard week, a holiday range for closures and NETWORKDAYS.INTL for other weekends. Confirm your dates are real date values and test the formula on a short range before you rely on it. This approach keeps your business-day counts accurate in every project spreadsheet you build.
