How to use the day counter
- Choose Days between dates to count a span, or Countdown to an event to count the days left until something happens.
- For a countdown, give the event a name (optional).
- Enter the start date (or the date to count from). It starts on today.
- Enter the end date (or the event date).
- When counting between dates, tick Include the end date if both the first and the last day should count, and Count weekdays only to leave out Saturdays and Sundays.
How days are counted
The calculator counts calendar days, the way you'd count squares on a wall calendar. The start date is day 1 of the span. Leaving the end date out matches questions like "how many days until" or "how many nights": Monday to Friday is 4. Including it matches "how many days does this cover": Monday to Friday is 5. Leap years are counted correctly, so any range that includes February 29 gets the extra day.
Worked example
The day counter opens with today as the start date and an end date 100 days later, with the end date left out:
- The answer is 100 days, which is 14 weeks and 2 days.
- Starting on Thursday, October 29, 2026, the end date is Saturday, February 6, 2027.
- In calendar terms, that's 3 months (to January 29) and 8 days.
- 14 full weeks contain 14 × 5 = 70 weekdays, and the 2 extra days (Thursday and Friday) add 2 more, so 72 weekdays and 28 weekend days.
As a countdown: from October 29, 2026 to Christmas Day, December 25, 2026, there are 57 days to go. That's 8 weeks and 1 day, or 1 month and 26 days, including 41 weekdays.
Counting days in a year
| Range (2026) | End date included? | Days | Weekdays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 to Dec 31 | Yes | 365 | 261 |
| Jan 1 to Dec 25 | Yes | 359 | 257 |
| Jan 1 to Jun 30 | Yes | 181 | 129 |
| Oct 29 to Dec 25 | No | 57 | 41 |
A common year has 52 weeks and 1 day, so it has 260 or 261 weekdays depending on where it starts. 2026 starts on a Thursday, which gives it 261. A leap year has 52 weeks and 2 days, so it can have up to 262.
Tips for countdowns
- Deadlines: if something is due "within 30 days", check whether the day of the notice counts. Many rules start counting on the next day, which matches leaving the end date out here.
- Working days: weekday counts don't remove public holidays. Subtract the holidays that fall on weekdays in your range.
- Sleeps: for children counting down to a birthday or holiday, the number of days to go is also the number of nights left.
To find the date a set number of days away, rather than the number of days between two dates, use the date calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How many days are left until Christmas?
From October 29, 2026, it's 57 days until December 25, 2026. Choose the countdown mode, leave the count-from date on today and set the event date to December 25 to get the number for the current day.
Should the count include the end date?
Include it when both the first and last day are part of the span, such as a 5-day course from Monday to Friday. Leave it out when you want the gap between two days or the number of days to wait, such as days until a flight. The difference is always exactly one day.
How do I count only business days?
Tick Count weekdays only. The calculator then counts Monday to Friday and leaves out Saturdays and Sundays. It doesn't know your country's public holidays, so subtract those yourself.
Can I count the days since a past event?
Yes. Put the past date in the event date field of the countdown, or as the start date in the count mode. The countdown then shows the days since the event, such as the days since you started a new habit. To count in years, months and days since a birth date, use the age calculator.
Related calculators
- Date Calculator — Add or subtract years, months, weeks and days from a date, or count the days and weekdays between two dates.
- Age Calculator — Your exact age in years, months and days, with totals in weeks, days and hours and the date of your next birthday.
- Time Duration Calculator — The exact time between two dates and times, in days, hours and minutes, with totals in every unit.
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