When planning projects, tracking employee leave, or managing deadlines, you often need to know how many business days fall between two dates—excluding weekends and holidays. That’s where the NETWORKDAYS function in Google Sheets becomes a total lifesaver. It helps you calculate working days with just one formula, making your planning smarter and more efficient.
Unlike simple subtraction, NETWORKDAYS gives you only the weekdays, skipping Saturdays and Sundays automatically. It’s perfect for teams, HR departments, freelancers, and anyone working with schedules. Even if you’re new to spreadsheets, you’ll find it surprisingly easy to use!
What is NETWORKDAYS in Google Sheets?
The NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays]) function calculates the number of working days between two dates. By default, it excludes weekends, and you can also specify custom holidays to skip.
Syntax:
=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays])
- start_date: The start of your date range.
- end_date: The end of your date range.
- holidays (optional): A range or list of dates to exclude from the count.
Real-Life Example: Calculating Project Duration
Let’s say you’re managing a 10-day project starting April 8, 2025, and you want to know how many working days it spans. Here’s how you’d set it up:
| Task | Start Date | End Date | Working Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website Design | 04/08/2025 | 04/17/2025 | =NETWORKDAYS(B2, C2) |
This formula returns 8, because it skips the weekend (April 12–13, 2025). If April 14 were a public holiday, you could include that as well.
Adding Holidays
Let’s say April 14 is a company holiday. You can list holidays in another column (e.g., E2:E2) and adjust the formula:
=NETWORKDAYS(B2, C2, E2:E2)
Now it will return 7 working days, excluding the holiday.
How to Use NETWORKDAYS Step-by-Step
- Enter your start date and end date in two cells (e.g., A2 and B2).
- Optionally list holidays in a separate range (e.g., D2:D5).
- Use the formula:
=NETWORKDAYS(A2, B2, D2:D5)
Benefits of NETWORKDAYS
- Automatically skips weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
- Easily includes custom holidays to reflect real schedules.
- Eliminates manual counting errors.
- Works great for payroll, HR, project planning, and school attendance tracking.
Sample Use Case Table
| Employee | Leave Start | Leave End | Public Holidays | Paid Leave Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John | 04/01/2025 | 04/10/2025 | 04/03/2025 | =NETWORKDAYS(B2, C2, D2) |
This formula will return 7 working days, as it skips weekends and April 3 (a holiday).
Quick Tips and Common Issues
- Make sure your dates are formatted properly as actual date values—not text.
- Use
ISDATE()or check formatting if the formula gives an error. - To include both Saturday and Sunday as workdays, use
NETWORKDAYS.INTLinstead.
Bonus: NETWORKDAYS vs NETWORKDAYS.INTL
If your business works weekends or has a different weekend setup, use:
=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(start_date, end_date, [weekend], [holidays])
Example: =NETWORKDAYS.INTL(A2, B2, "0000011") counts Monday–Friday as workdays, with Saturday and Sunday as weekends.
Quick Cheat Sheet: NETWORKDAYS
- Basic Formula:
=NETWORKDAYS(start, end) - With Holidays:
=NETWORKDAYS(start, end, holiday_range) - International Weekend Settings:
=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(start, end, weekend_code) - Weekend Codes:
1: Saturday/Sunday (default)11: Sunday/Monday0000000: No weekends (every day is a workday)
The NETWORKDAYS function is a powerful tool that takes the guesswork out of calculating working days. Whether you’re managing tasks, planning vacations, or handling payroll, it helps you stay accurate and efficient.
Start using NETWORKDAYS in your Google Sheets today and enjoy the confidence of precise, business-friendly date calculations—no more counting days by hand!