How many days are there between 1 January and 1 March?

In a non-leap year, 59 days. In a leap year it is 60, because February has 29 days.

How do I count weeks between two dates?

Divide the number of days by 7. 45 days is 6 weeks and 3 days.

Do working days include public holidays?

Weekday counts do not remove holidays automatically, since they differ by country. Subtract any that fall on a weekday.

How to Calculate the Days Between Two Dates

A reliable way to count days between dates by hand, with the inclusive versus exclusive question and working days explained.

By Editorial Team · Updated September 19, 2026 · 2 min read

Counting days between two dates is simple in principle and easy to get wrong in practice, because months have different lengths and leap years add a day. Here is a method that works every time.

Step by step

Count the days left in the start month.
Add the full months in between, using each month's real length.
Add the day number of the end date.

Example: from 15 January 2026 to 1 March 2026.

Days left in January after the 15th: 31 − 15 = 16
All of February 2026, which has 28 days: 28
Days into March: 1

Total: 16 + 28 + 1 = 45 days.

Do you count the end date?

There are two common conventions, and the difference is one day.

Exclusive counting measures the gap. From 1 January to 2 January is 1 day.
Inclusive counting includes both ends. Hotel stays, leave requests and some contracts work this way, so 1 January to 2 January is 2 days.

The example above is 45 days exclusive and 46 inclusive. State which you mean when it matters.

Leap years

February has 29 days in a leap year. A year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4, except century years, which must be divisible by 400. So 2024 and 2000 were leap years, while 1900 and 2100 are not. See why leap years exist for the reasoning.

Working days

Working days are usually Monday to Friday. Count the full weeks (each has 5), then handle the leftover days one by one.

From Saturday 19 September 2026 to Friday 25 December 2026 there are 97 days, which is 13 weeks and 6 days. That period contains 69 weekdays. Public holidays differ by country, so subtract any that fall on weekdays in your region.

Common mistakes

Using 30 days for every month.
Forgetting to decide whether the end date counts.
Ignoring holidays when counting working days.

The date difference calculator counts calendar days, weeks and working days, with an option to include the end date.

Try it yourself

How many days are there from 10 March 2026 to 25 April 2026, not counting the end date?
How many days are there from 1 February 2028 to 1 March 2028?
How many weeks and days is 46 days?

Answers: (1) 46 days (21 left in March, plus 25); (2) 29 days, because 2028 is a leap year; (3) 6 weeks and 4 days.

Frequently asked questions

How many days are there between 1 January and 1 March?: In a non-leap year, 59 days. In a leap year it is 60, because February has 29 days.
How do I count weeks between two dates?: Divide the number of days by 7. 45 days is 6 weeks and 3 days.
Do working days include public holidays?: Weekday counts do not remove holidays automatically, since they differ by country. Subtract any that fall on a weekday.

About the author

Editorial Team. The Editorial Team writes, checks and maintains every tool and guide on this site. The calculation logic behind the calculators is covered by automated tests, examples are worked out and re-checked before publishing, and pages are updated when we find a mistake or a rule changes. Corrections are welcome through the contact page.

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