Days between two dates
Step 1 of 3
Excel stores a date as a number of days. Mar 15, 2024 is day 45366; the cell only shows it as a date. Because dates are numbers, you can subtract them.
Click Continue when you're ready.
Already know it? Type the formula straight into C2.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ordered | Delivered | Days | |||
| 2 | Mar 4, 2024 | Mar 15, 2024 | ||||
| 3 | ||||||
| 4 | ||||||
| 5 | ||||||
| 6 | ||||||
| 7 | ||||||
| 8 |
Need help?
Why this works
Behind the scenes Mar 4, 2024 is the number 45355 and Mar 15, 2024 is 45366: Excel counts days from the start of 1900. So B2-A2 is 45366 - 45355 = 11 days. DAYS(B2,A2) gives the same.
Common mistake: Subtracting the later date from the earlier one. The days then come out negative.
The answer
- C2
=B2-A2
Subtract the earlier date from the later one, for example =B2-A2, or use =DAYS(B2,A2).
The cell is formatted as General. A date is stored as a number of days; format the cell as a date to see it as one.
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