Business Days Calculator

Calculate working days between dates (excludes weekends)

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Frequently Asked Questions

A business day (also called a working day) is any day that is not a weekend. In most Western countries, business days are Monday through Friday. Some industries and regions also exclude public holidays from business day counts.

A typical year has 260 or 261 business days (52 weeks × 5 days), depending on how the year starts and ends. After subtracting US federal holidays (11 days), most workers have approximately 249–250 working days per year.

By default, this calculator excludes weekends (Saturday and Sunday) but does not exclude public holidays, since holiday schedules vary by country, state, and employer. You can optionally include Saturdays as working days using the checkbox.
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Written & Reviewed by Experts
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Author

Sarah Mitchell, CPA

Certified Public Accountant • 12+ yrs payroll & workforce analytics

Specializes in time management, payroll compliance, and workforce optimization. Helped 500+ businesses streamline time-tracking.

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David Chen, MBA

Finance & Operations • MBA, Wharton

Specializes in financial modeling, regulatory compliance, and data accuracy verification across payroll and tax systems.

Updated Mar 3, 2026 50+ calculators Expert reviewed
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Business Days Calculator: Working Days, Holidays, and SLA Compliance

Business days—also called working days—are the backbone of professional scheduling. Contracts specify delivery in "10 business days," not calendar days. Legal deadlines often run on business day clocks. Payroll cycles, project timelines, and shipping estimates all depend on accurate business day calculations. Our Business Days Calculator counts the working days between any two dates, excluding weekends automatically, with an option to include Saturdays for industries that operate on a 6-day workweek.

What Counts as a Business Day?

Standard Definition: A business day is any day from Monday through Friday that is not a recognized public holiday. In a standard 5-day workweek, there are approximately 260–261 business days per year before holiday deductions. After subtracting US federal holidays, the typical working year has about 249–250 business days.

The definition can vary by context. Banks define "business days" according to Federal Reserve operating schedules. Courts use their own calendars that exclude court holidays. International contracts may specify "business days in [city]," meaning the holidays of that specific location apply. Always clarify the definition when business days appear in a contract or agreement.

Worked Examples

Example 1 — Shipping Estimate: An online retailer promises delivery in "5–7 business days" from the ship date of Wednesday, March 4. Counting forward: Thu (1), Fri (2), Mon (3), Tue (4), Wed (5)—so 5 business days = March 11. Seven business days = March 13 (Friday). If you ordered expecting "7 days," you might anticipate March 11, but the actual delivery window extends to March 13 because weekends don't count.
Example 2 — Legal Filing Deadline: A court order requires a response within 20 business days from service on November 1. Counting 20 business days forward (excluding weekends and Thanksgiving + day after): the deadline falls around December 1. Missing this by even one day can result in default judgment.
Example 3 — Project Timeline: Your client requests a website redesign with a 30-business-day deadline starting January 6. Thirty business days (excluding weekends only) brings you to approximately February 16—about 6 calendar weeks. Without the business-day distinction, you might have estimated 30 calendar days (February 5) and delivered a week early, or your client might expect it by then and consider you late.

US Federal Holidays Reference Table

The United States observes 11 federal holidays on which government offices, banks, and the postal service are closed. Many private employers also observe these days:

Holiday Date Day Observed
New Year's DayJanuary 1Fixed (observed Mon if Sun, Fri if Sat)
Martin Luther King Jr. Day3rd Monday in JanuaryAlways Monday
Presidents' Day3rd Monday in FebruaryAlways Monday
Memorial DayLast Monday in MayAlways Monday
JuneteenthJune 19Fixed (observed Mon/Fri if weekend)
Independence DayJuly 4Fixed (observed Mon/Fri if weekend)
Labor Day1st Monday in SeptemberAlways Monday
Columbus Day2nd Monday in OctoberAlways Monday
Veterans DayNovember 11Fixed (observed Mon/Fri if weekend)
Thanksgiving Day4th Thursday in NovemberAlways Thursday
Christmas DayDecember 25Fixed (observed Mon/Fri if weekend)
Private Sector Holidays: Private employers are not required to observe federal holidays. Many also give the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday), Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve as additional holidays. Some tech companies offer "floating holidays" that employees can use on any day. The average US private-sector worker receives 7–8 paid holidays per year.

SLA Calculations with Business Days

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) frequently use business days to define response and resolution times. Understanding how SLAs interact with business days is critical for both service providers and customers:

  • Response time SLA: "We will respond within 1 business day" means if you submit a ticket at 4 PM on Friday, the response is due by end of business Monday—not Saturday. If Monday is a holiday, the clock extends to Tuesday.
  • Resolution time SLA: "Issues will be resolved within 5 business days" gives the provider a full work week. A ticket opened on Wednesday would be due by the following Wednesday (5 business days later).
  • SLA business hours: Some SLAs define business hours as 9 AM–5 PM in a specific timezone. A 4-hour response SLA for a ticket submitted at 4 PM means the response is due by 12 PM the next business day (1 hour remaining + 3 hours the next morning).
Business Days to Calendar Days Conversion:
Calendar Days ≈ Business Days × 7 ÷ 5 (rough estimate)
10 business days ≈ 14 calendar days (2 weeks)
20 business days ≈ 28 calendar days (4 weeks)
30 business days ≈ 42 calendar days (6 weeks)

Shipping and Business Days

Shipping carriers define business days according to their own operating schedules:

  • USPS: Delivers Monday through Saturday (Sunday delivery for Priority Mail Express in some areas). Business day estimates typically mean Monday–Saturday for USPS.
  • UPS: Standard service operates Monday through Friday. Saturday delivery is available for an additional fee. "2 business days" means 2 weekdays.
  • FedEx: Similar to UPS—Monday through Friday for most services, with Saturday delivery as an option. FedEx also offers Sunday delivery in select markets.
  • Amazon: Amazon's "business day" delivery estimates vary. Prime's "2-day delivery" counts calendar days, not business days, and includes weekends. Other Amazon delivery estimates may use business days.

Business Days Around the World

Not all countries use the Monday-through-Friday workweek:

  • Middle East: Many countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc.) have shifted to a Monday–Friday or Sunday–Thursday workweek. The UAE moved to a 4.5-day week (Mon–Fri noon) in 2022.
  • Israel: The workweek is Sunday through Thursday, with Friday being a half-day or day off.
  • India: Most businesses operate Monday–Friday, but many government offices and banks work on alternate Saturdays.
  • Japan: Standard Monday–Friday workweek, but the culture of overwork means many employees work Saturdays as well.
Holiday Exclusions: Our calculator excludes weekends but does not automatically exclude public holidays, since these vary by country, state, and employer. For precise calculations involving holidays, manually subtract the number of holidays that fall on weekdays within your date range.

Our Business Days Calculator is free, runs entirely in your browser, and stores no data. For related tools, try our Date Difference Calculator, Days Between Dates, Work Hours Calculator, and Add/Subtract Days.