DAYS Function in Excel: Days Between Two Dates

📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓

Date & TimeLevel: BeginnerAvailable in: Excel 2013+

In this article

1. Syntax
2. Examples
3. Example 1
4. Example 2
5. DAYS in practice
6. Where you will use it
7. Worked example
8. Mistakes people make
9. Related functions
10. Continue learning

DAYS returns the number of days between two dates. Subtracting the dates (=B2-A2) gives the same answer.

Syntax

=DAYS(end_date, start_date)

Argument	What it means
end_date, start_date	Note the order: end first.

Examples

Example 1

=DAYS(B2, A2)

Days between order and delivery.

Example 2

=DAYS(TODAY(), C2)

Invoice age in days.

DAYS in practice

Where you will use it

• Days between invoice and payment
• Days a ticket stayed open
• Days left until a deadline

Worked example

Start	End	Formula	Result
01-Sep-2026	04-Oct-2026	=DAYS(B2,A2)	33
01-Jan-2026	31-Dec-2026	=DAYS(B3,A3)	364
10-Oct-2026	04-Oct-2026	=DAYS(B4,A4)	-6

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

Mistake	What to do instead
Arguments in the wrong order	DAYS(end, start); swapped gives a negative number
Expecting working days	Use NETWORKDAYS for working days

Related functions

NETWORKDAYS · DATEDIF

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📎 Practice files for this article

• 📗
  Practice workbook: Dates & times22 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
  ⬇ XLSX · 34 KB

Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.