The NETWORKDAYS and NETWORKDAYS.INTL functions in Excel are used to calculate the number of working days between two dates, excluding weekends and optionally, holidays. Here’s a breakdown of each function and their differences:
The NETWORKDAYS function
This function calculates the number of working days between two dates, excluding weekends (Saturday and Sunday) and optionally, specified holidays.
The Syntax of the function is like below:
=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays])
It takes 3 arguments. The first two are mandatory & the last one is an optional argument.
start_date is the start date of the period. end_date is the end date of the period. holidays argument is an optional argument where you can provide a range of dates to be excluded from the working days count.
Example:
=NETWORKDAYS("2025-02-01", "2025-02-28", {"2025-02-11", "2025-02-18"})
This formula calculates the number of working days in February 2025, excluding weekends and the specified holidays (February 11 and 18).
The NETWORKDAYS.INTL function
This function is similar to NETWORKDAYS function, but allows for custom weekend definitions and more flexibility in specifying non-working days.
The Syntax of the function is like below:
=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(start_date, end_date, [weekend], [holidays])
This function takes 4 arguments, the first two are mandatory & last two are optional. start_date is the start date of the period. end_date is the end date of the period.
weekend is optional and is a string or number that specifies which days of the week are weekends. Similar to NETWORKDAYS, the holidays is an optional argument that allows you to specify a range of dates to be excluded from the working days count.
Example:
=NETWORKDAYS.INTL("2025-02-01", "2025-02-28", "0000011", {"2025-02-11", "2025-02-18"})
In this example, the weekend is defined as Friday and Saturday (using the “0000011” string), and the formula calculates the number of working days in February 2025, excluding these weekends and the specified holidays.
Key Differences
– Weekend Customization: NETWORKDAYS.INTL function allows you to define custom weekends, whereas NETWORKDAYS function assumes weekends are Saturday and Sunday.
– Flexibility: NETWORKDAYS.INTL function provides more flexibility in specifying non-working days, making it suitable for different workweek structures.
Use Cases
– Project Management: To calculate the number of working days for project timelines.
– Payroll: To determine the number of working days in a pay period.
– Scheduling: To plan work schedules and deadlines, considering custom weekends and holidays.
🙂 Sahida