Microsoft Excel is an incredibly powerful tool for managing and analyzing data, and one of its many useful features is the ability to calculate the difference between two dates. In this article, we will walk you through various methods for finding the duration between two dates in Excel using functions like DATEDIF, NETWORKDAYS, and more.

Method 1: Using the DATEDIF Function

1. Open Microsoft Excel and enter your data into two different cells. For example, enter the start date (2/1/2021) in cell A1 and the end date (5/1/2021) in cell A2.

2. Click on a blank cell where you want the result to appear – let’s say A3.

3. Enter the formula ‘=DATEDIF(A1, A2, “d”)’ without quotes in cell A3.

4. Press Enter, and Excel will display the number of days between the two dates in cell A3.
Note that DATEDIF offers other units to measure the difference as well, such as “m” for months and “y” for years. Replace “d” with these units in the formula to find differences in months or years instead of days.

Method 2: Using Simple Subtraction

1. With your start and end dates already entered into cells A1 and A2 as shown above, click on a blank cell – let’s say B3.

2. Enter the formula ‘=A2-A1’ without quotes in cell B3.

3. Press Enter, and Excel will show you the number of days between those two dates in cell B3.

Method 3: Using NETWORKDAYS Function to Calculate Workdays

If you would like to find out how many workdays are between two dates (excluding weekends), you can use the NETWORKDAYS function in Excel.

1. Enter your start and end dates into the cells A1 and A2 respectively.

2. Click on a blank cell, such as C3.

3. Enter the formula ‘=NETWORKDAYS(A1, A2)’ without quotes in cell C3.

4. Press Enter to display the number of workdays between the two dates in cell C3.

Note that you can exclude specific holidays from the count by providing an additional range with the list of holiday dates as a third argument in the formula.

Conclusion:

Calculating the difference between two dates in Excel is easy and versatile with various functions such as DATEDIF, simple subtraction, and NETWORKDAYS. Depending on your requirements, you can choose the most suitable method to find the duration between two dates in days, months, or years.