Excel WORKDAY Formula — Free Online Alternative
Updated: May 2026
Excel's WORKDAY and NETWORKDAYS functions are the go-to tools for business day calculations in spreadsheets. This page explains how they work, their limitations, and how our free online calculator replicates them — no Excel licence required.
Use the online equivalent of WORKDAY and NETWORKDAYS for free, directly in your browser.
Open the Business Days Calculator →Excel WORKDAY function
The syntax is =WORKDAY(start_date, days, [holidays]). It returns the date that is exactly N working days after (or before, if N is negative) the start date. Weekends (Saturday and Sunday) are automatically excluded. The optional third argument accepts a range of cells containing holiday dates to exclude those too.
Example: =WORKDAY("2026-01-05", 10) returns January 19, 2026, because that is 10 weekdays after January 5th, skipping two weekends.
Excel NETWORKDAYS function
The syntax is =NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays]). It counts the number of working days between two dates, inclusive of both the start and end date if they fall on a weekday. This is the direct equivalent of our "Count Days Between Dates" mode with "Include start date" enabled.
Note: NETWORKDAYS includes the start date, unlike our calculator's default (which excludes it to match payment term conventions). To replicate NETWORKDAYS exactly, check "Include start date" in the Advanced Options.
WORKDAY.INTL — custom weekends
=WORKDAY.INTL(start_date, days, weekend, [holidays]) extends WORKDAY with a configurable weekend definition. The weekend parameter accepts a number (1 = Sat+Sun, 2 = Sun+Mon, etc.) or a 7-character string of 1s and 0s indicating which days are off. Our calculator replicates this with the workweek toggle in Advanced Options: click any day to include or exclude it from the workweek.
Limitations of Excel for holiday management
The main limitation of Excel's WORKDAY function is that you must maintain the holiday list manually. This means creating a range of cells for each year's holidays, updating it when holiday calendars change, and sharing the file so collaborators use the same list. Errors creep in when the holiday range is outdated or not included in the formula.
- Easter-based holidays (Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday) move every year and require manual updating.
- Observed dates for US and UK holidays (when a holiday falls on a weekend) must be computed separately.
- Adding public holidays for multiple countries requires separate holiday ranges and careful formula management.
Our calculator generates holiday dates algorithmically for any year, eliminating manual maintenance.
Google Sheets equivalents
Google Sheets supports the same WORKDAY, WORKDAY.INTL, and NETWORKDAYS functions with identical syntax. The same holiday management limitations apply. When you need a quick calculation without opening a spreadsheet, the online calculator is faster and always uses up-to-date holiday data.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Excel WORKDAY function do?
WORKDAY(start_date, days, [holidays]) returns the date N working days after a start date. Weekends are automatically excluded. You can optionally pass a holiday range to exclude those too.
What is NETWORKDAYS?
NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays]) counts working days between two dates, inclusive of both endpoints. Enable "Include start date" in our calculator to match its behavior.
What is WORKDAY.INTL?
WORKDAY.INTL allows a custom weekend definition. Our calculator replicates this with the workweek toggle in Advanced Options.