As such, that might be a better function for account spreadsheets. The DAYS360 function finds the total days between dates based on a 360-day calendar, which is more widely adopted for financial years. Finding the Difference Between Two Dates using the DAYS360 Function If you encounter any errors, insert the earliest cell, listed as “B6,” in the example above. If you need to ignore years in the calculation, replace “d” with “yd,” so you get a formula listed as “ =DATEDIF(B4, C4, 'yd').” The “y” excludes years, but the “d” includes “days.”.To find the difference in days ( including years) entered in cells B6 and C6, type in “ =DATEDIF(B6, C6, 'd')” into the function bar and press “Enter.” The “d” represents the format “days.”.Select the “cell” on the spreadsheet where you want to place the function, then set it to “General” format.You can enter a start date and end date or cell references to specific dates in the function and then add the unit “days” to the end of it. The syntax includes DATEDIF(start_date, end_date, unit). If you decide to use the “DATEIF” function, you’ll need to enter it directly in the function bar. For more details, see this Excel DATEIF help page. However, DATEDIF is not listed on Excel’s Insert Function window because it only exists for Lotus 1-2-3 workbook compatibility.Īlso, the use of DATEDIF may produce incorrect results in some situations.

Click inside the “function bar,” then type in “ =DATE(2022, 5, 5)-DATE(2022, 4, 1)” and press “Enter.”įinding the Difference Between Two Dates using the DATEDIF FunctionĭATEDIF is a flexible function to calculate the total days by entering dates on the spreadsheet or in the function bar.Select a “cell” on the spreadsheet where you want to add the function, then ensure it is set to “General” format.The basic syntax for that function is “=DATE(yyyy, m, d)-DATE(yyyy, m, d).” To correctly calculate the difference, the latest date gets inserted first. Then, you can find the number of days by entering the dates in the function bar instead of spreadsheet cells. You can find the difference between any two dates using the DATE function. How to Find the Difference Between Two Dates in Excel using the DATE Function

Now, select cell “D4,” click inside the “formula bar” at the top, then type “ =C4-B4” and press “Enter.” Cell “D4” will return a value of “34.” Note: “C4” comes first because you are subtracting.

format with the month first, the day second, and the year third.

Open a “blank” Excel spreadsheet, and enter a “start” and “end” date in cells “B4” and “C4,” as in the snapshot below.Excel doesn’t include a subtract function, but you can still add subtraction formulas to your cells. How to Find the Difference Between Dates in Excel without a Functionįirst, you can find the difference between dates by subtracting them.

Excel date formula subtract days