Difference between two dates in years, months and days
Rather than counting loose days, this gives you the difference the way you would say it out loud: "2 years, 3 months and 5 days".
Your figures
Result
- Full years
- 6
- Extra months
- 3
- Extra days
- 5
- Equals in months
- 75
- Equals in days
- 2,287
- Equals in weeks
- 326.7
What we assume
- Months are counted as calendar months, not blocks of 30 days.
- When the end day is earlier than the start day, it borrows from the real previous month, which is why February does not distort the result.
- Only complete periods count: an extra day does not appear until it has actually passed.
How it is calculated
Counting days is easy; expressing them in years and months is not, because months are not the same length. This subtracts years first, then months, then days, borrowing from the previous month when it has to.
It is the same rule used to state someone's age or their length of service. Which is why
from 31 January to 1 March 2026 is 1 month and 1
day: February counts as the month it actually was.
An example
From 15 January 2020 to 20 April 2026 is 6 years, 3 months and 5 days. That is 75 months, or 2,287 days.
Frequently asked questions
Why does it not match dividing the days by 30?
Because months have between 28 and 31 days. Dividing by 30 gives an approximation; this counts real calendar months.
Can I use it for length of service?
Yes. Put your start date and today: the result in years, months and days is the usual way to state it.
Keep calculating
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- Working days between two datesCount only the real working days between two dates: weekends come out, and public holidays too if you want them to.
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- Work hours calculatorWith your start time, finish time and break, we work out the effective day and what it adds up to over a week, a month and a year.
- Week number of the yearWhich week of the year a date falls in, under ISO 8601, which is the standard businesses use and does not always match what you would guess.
Updated on 2026-08-26. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you type is sent to a server.