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Countdown Calculator

Find the exact days, weeks, and hours between two dates, count down live to Christmas, New Year's, Thanksgiving, and other holidays, or add or subtract days from any date — all in one tool, instantly.

3 modes in one tool Live countdown Free, no sign-up Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Include time of dayPrecise day + hour + minute difference; for "how many hours" questions.
Business-day modeExclude US federal holidays (and your own dates) from the weekday count.
US federal holidays to exclude (only counted if they fall Mon–Fri in the range):
Format: YYYY-MM-DD, one per line. Dates outside the selected range are ignored.
Tip: if the two dates are the same, the difference is 0. If the end date is earlier, the direction shows as "past."
Quick ranges
Popular events
Quick picks
Quick answer To find the days between two dates, subtract the start date from the end date and convert the result to days. For a countdown to a specific day — like Christmas or New Year's — subtract today's date from the target date; the days remaining update live down to the second.
—Today's date
—Day of the year
—Days until New Year's
—ISO week number
⚙️ Note: All calculations use the local (Gregorian) calendar and your device's clock. The weekday count includes Monday–Friday only; turn on Business-day mode in the "Between two dates" tab to also exclude US federal holidays and your own custom dates. Floating holidays (Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving) are calculated automatically from their weekday rule. Results are for informational purposes only — confirm exact dates on an official calendar for legal or business deadlines.

What is a countdown calculator, and how do you calculate days between dates?

A complete guide to the day difference, weekday counting, live countdowns, and adding or subtracting days from a date.

A countdown calculator answers two closely related questions: "how many days are between two dates?" and "how many days are left until a specific day?" At its core, the day difference is found by subtracting the start date from the end date and converting the result to days. This tool also expresses that same difference in weeks, months, and years, and separates it into weekdays (Monday–Friday) and weekend days. With three tabs you can measure the gap between two dates, set a live countdown to a target day, or add/subtract days from a date.

How do you calculate the number of days between two dates?

Quick answerDay difference = (end date − start date), converted to days. For example, there are 364 days between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026; counting both end dates gives 365 days. The equivalent in weeks is the day difference ÷ 7, and roughly in months it's the day difference ÷ 30.44.
  • Day difference — the exact number of days between two dates.
  • Weeks — day difference ÷ 7.
  • Months / years — calculated on the calendar; the tool also gives a "0 years, 11 months, 30 days" style breakdown.

How many weekdays are between two dates?

Quick answerWeekdays are the Monday through Friday days between two dates; Saturdays and Sundays are excluded. For example, the full year 2026 has about 261 weekdays. Turn on Business-day mode in the "Between two dates" tab to also exclude US federal holidays, or your own custom dates, from that count.

Weekday counts are useful for shipping estimates, notice periods, and simple scheduling where only working days matter. This tool steps through the range day by day so weekends are always excluded correctly; both end dates are included in the count.

How do you add or subtract days from a date?

Quick answerYou can add or subtract days, weeks, months, or years from a starting date. Enter the date in the "Add / subtract days" tab, choose the operation and amount, and the tool returns the result date along with the day of the week it falls on. For example, adding 90 days to July 19, 2026 gives October 17, 2026 (Saturday).

How many days until a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving?

Quick answerTap one of the ready-made chips in the "Countdown" tab — New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas — and the tool shows the remaining days, hours, minutes, and seconds live. The clock updates every second. Fixed-date holidays (like Christmas) use the same calendar date every year; floating holidays (like Thanksgiving) are calculated from a weekday rule.

Common date ranges (examples)

Day difference, week equivalent, and year-month-day breakdown for common ranges. Use the calculator above for your own dates.

Between two dates — day difference (both end dates excluded from the count, unless noted)
Start → EndDay differenceWeeksYears-months-days
Jan 1, 2026 → Dec 31, 2026364 days52.00y 11m 30d
Jan 1, 2026 → Jul 1, 2026181 days25.90y 6m 0d
Jan 1, 2026 → Feb 1, 202631 days4.40y 1m 0d
Jul 19, 2026 → Jul 19, 2027365 days52.11y 0m 0d
Jan 1, 2000 → Jan 1, 20269,497 days1,356.726y 0m 0d

Note: to count both end dates, add 1 to the day difference (e.g. 364 → 365).

Popular calculations

Day-of-week finder & weekend countdown

Two quick, self-contained tools: find the weekday for any date, and see how many days until the weekend.

📆Day-of-week finder
Pick any date, past or future, and instantly see what day of the week it falls on.
🎉Weekend countdown
See exactly how many days are left until the coming Saturday and Sunday.
Uses today's date automatically — just tap the button.

Reference tables & practical facts

Citable figures: the 2026 holiday dates used in this tool's countdown chips, the weekday/weekend split, and duration-unit conversions.

2026 U.S. holidays used in the countdown chips
DateDayOccasion
Jan 1, 2026ThursdayNew Year's Day
Feb 14, 2026SaturdayValentine's Day
Apr 15, 2026WednesdayTax Day *
May 25, 2026MondayMemorial Day
Jul 4, 2026SaturdayIndependence Day
Sep 7, 2026MondayLabor Day
Oct 31, 2026SaturdayHalloween
Nov 26, 2026ThursdayThanksgiving
Dec 25, 2026FridayChristmas

* Tax Day is normally April 15, but shifts to the next business day if the 15th falls on a weekend or a recognized holiday — confirm the exact date on the IRS calendar. Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving are floating holidays defined by a weekday rule; this tool calculates their exact date automatically for any year.

How weekdays are counted
DayTypeCounted as a weekday?
Monday – FridayWeekdayYes
Saturday – SundayWeekendNo

A full calendar year has 365 days (366 in a leap year) and about 261 weekdays. Turn on Business-day mode in the "Between two dates" tab to exclude US federal holidays (and your own custom dates) from the weekday total.

Duration units (approximate conversion)
UnitIn daysNote
1 week7 daysExact
1 month~30.44 daysAverage (365.25 ÷ 12)
1 year365 days366 in a leap year
1 decade~3,652.5 daysAverage, includes 2–3 leap years

Month and year breakdowns are calculated on the calendar; the "approximate month" figure is for rough comparison only.

Add this calculator to your site (embed code)

Embed the countdown calculator on your own website for free. Copy the code below into your HTML — the tool runs in a simplified view and links back to this page as its source.

The embedded tool has a fixed layout; you can adjust the height value to fit your site. No ads or personal data, runs entirely client-side.

Date & duration terms glossary

Short definitions of the core terms used in date calculations.

Day differenceThe total number of whole days between two calendar dates; found by subtracting the start date from the end date.
WeekdayAny Monday through Friday. Counted as a working day in this tool's breakdown.
Weekend daySaturday or Sunday. Excluded from the weekday count.
CountdownA live clock showing the days, hours, minutes, and seconds remaining until — or elapsed since — a target date.
Leap yearA 366-day year with 29 days in February. Occurs in years divisible by 4 (except century years not divisible by 400).
Floating holidayA holiday defined by a weekday rule rather than a fixed date, e.g. Thanksgiving (4th Thursday of November) or Memorial Day (last Monday of May).
ISO week numberThe standard numbering of a year's weeks starting from 1; each week begins on Monday.
Day of the yearThe count of days elapsed since January 1 of that year (1–365, or 1–366 in a leap year).

In-depth guides

Detailed answers to the most common date and countdown questions.

How many days are in 2026, and how many are weekdays?

The year 2026 has 365 days (it is not a leap year) and begins on Thursday, January 1. Of those, about 261 days are weekdays (Monday–Friday) and about 104 are weekend days (Saturday–Sunday). You can verify this yourself by entering January 1 – December 31, 2026 in the "Between two dates" tab above.

By default this weekday count is a pure Monday-through-Friday count. To also exclude US federal holidays or your own custom dates (like company closures), turn on Business-day mode in the "Between two dates" tab.

When is Thanksgiving in 2026, and how is a "floating" holiday calculated?

Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November every year, which makes it a "floating" holiday — its calendar date shifts from year to year. In 2026, that date is November 26. To find it, the calculator counts forward to the fourth Thursday starting from November 1 of the target year.

Fixed-date holidays like Christmas (December 25) or Independence Day (July 4) always fall on the same date. Floating holidays like Thanksgiving, Memorial Day (last Monday of May), and Labor Day (first Monday of September) are defined by a weekday rule instead, so this tool recalculates their exact date automatically whenever you tap their chip.

How do month-end additions behave when adding to a date?

Adding months or years uses calendar-month logic. If the resulting month doesn't have that day (for example, adding 1 month to January 31), the date rolls forward to the next valid day. Adding 1 month to January 31, 2026 gives March 3, 2026, because February 2026 only has 28 days. Adding days or weeks doesn't have this ambiguity — the day count is added directly.

The result always shows the day of the week, so you can immediately see how a month-end addition landed. If exact day-of-month precision matters, use the "day" unit instead of "month."

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate the number of days between two dates?
The day difference is found by subtracting the start date from the end date and converting the result to days. For example, there are 364 days between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026 (365 days if you count both end dates). The tool also shows the difference in weeks, months, and years, and splits it into weekdays and weekend days.
How many weekdays are there between two dates?
Weekdays are the Monday through Friday days between two dates; Saturdays and Sundays are excluded. For example, the full year 2026 has about 261 weekdays. Turn on Business-day mode in the Between two dates tab to also exclude US federal holidays and your own custom dates from that count.
How do you calculate business days excluding holidays?
In the "Between two dates" tab, turn on Business-day mode. Check the US federal holidays you want excluded — New Year's Day, MLK Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas — and optionally add your own company-closure dates, one per line. The tool subtracts any of those dates that fall on a weekday from the weekday count and shows the resulting business-day total.
How many days until New Year's Day?
The days remaining until New Year's Day are found by subtracting today's date from the next January 1. Tap the New Year's Day chip in the Countdown tab; the tool shows the remaining days, hours, minutes, and seconds live, updating every second.
How do you add or subtract days from a date?
Enter a starting date in the "Add / subtract days" tab, choose add or subtract, enter an amount, and pick a unit (day, week, month, or year). The tool returns the result date and the day of the week it falls on. For example, adding 90 days to July 19, 2026 gives October 17, 2026 (Saturday).
How many days until Christmas or Thanksgiving?
Tap the Christmas or Thanksgiving chip in the Countdown tab to see the live remaining time. Christmas is always December 25; Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November, so its exact date shifts by a few days each year — this tool calculates it automatically.
What US holidays are built into this tool's countdown chips?
The Countdown tab includes one-tap chips for New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Fixed-date holidays use their calendar date; floating holidays (Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving) are calculated from the applicable weekday rule.
Does the countdown update live?
Yes. The Countdown tab shows the remaining time in days, hours, minutes, and seconds, updating every second. You can copy the link and keep the tab open to use it as a live countdown clock.
How many hours are between two dates?
In the "Between two dates" tab, turn on "Include time of day," enter a start and end time, and the tool shows the difference as days + hours + minutes, plus the total in hours and minutes. For example, from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM on the same day is 8 hours 30 minutes.
Can I add a countdown to my calendar?
Yes. After calculating a result in the Countdown or Add/Subtract Days tab, tap "Add to calendar" below the result card; the tool downloads a standard .ics file. Opening it adds the date as an all-day event to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.
Does this tool store my data?
No. All calculations run entirely in your browser; the dates you enter are never sent to a server. The only way a calculation becomes shareable is if you tap "Copy link," which encodes your inputs into the page URL — sharing that link is entirely up to you.

Methodology & sources

ToolPico's Countdown Calculator is a free, independent tool. All date math runs in your browser using the local (Gregorian) calendar and your device's time zone; nothing is sent to a server. Day difference is computed by subtracting the start date from the end date; weekday/weekend counts step through each calendar day (Monday–Friday counted as weekdays, Saturday–Sunday as weekend days); the live countdown is derived from the difference between the target date and the current time, refreshed every second; and adding or subtracting days, weeks, months, or years uses standard calendar-month arithmetic. Floating US holidays (Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving) are calculated from their defined weekday rule for the current year.

Sources: U.S. federal holiday dates are calendar facts (fixed-date holidays) or derived from their statutory weekday rule (floating holidays) per 5 U.S.C. § 6103. Last updated: July 19, 2026. Results are for informational purposes only; for legal deadlines or official business-day requirements, confirm with the relevant institution's calendar.

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