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=DATEDIF()

Calculates the number of days, months, or years between two dates.

Applies To: Excel for Microsoft 365Excel for Microsoft 365 for MacExcel 2024Excel 2024 for MacExcel 2021Excel 2021 for MacExcel 2019Excel 2016Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
=DATEDIF(start_date,end_date,unit)
Hover argument names in the table for details.
Output typeNumber
Popularity70 / 100
VolatileNo
Dynamic ArrayNo
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◧ Arguments

ArgumentTypeRequiredDescription
start_date Date Required A date that represents the first, or starting date of a given period. Dates may be entered as text strings within quotation marks (for example, "2001/1/30"), as serial numbers (for example, 36921, which represents January 30, 2001, if you're using the 1900 date system), or as the results of other formulas or functions (for example, DATEVALUE("2001/1/30")).
end_date Date Required A date that represents the last, or ending, date of the period.
unit Text Required The type of information that you want returned, where:Unit****Returns"Y"The number of complete years in the period."M"The number of complete months in the period."D"The number of days in the period."MD"The difference between the days in start_date and end_date. The months and years of the dates are ignored.Important: We don't recommend using the "MD" argument, as there are known limitations with it. See the known issues section below."YM"The difference between the months in start_date and end_date. The days and years of the dates are ignored"YD"The difference between the days of start_date and end_date. The years of the dates are ignored.

▣ Examples

Example 1 =DATEDIF(A2, TODAY(), "Y")
Example 2 =DATEDIF(A2, B2, "M")

§ Remarks

  • Dates are stored as sequential serial numbers so they can be used in calculations. By default, January 1, 1900 is serial number 1, and January 1, 2008 is serial number 39448 because it is 39,447 days after January 1, 1900.
  • The DATEDIF function is useful in formulas where you need to calculate an age.
  • If the start_date is greater than the end_date, the result will be #NUM!.

✦ Tips

  • Dates are stored as sequential serial numbers so they can be used in calculations. By default, January 1, 1900 is serial number 1, and January 1, 2008 is serial number 39448 because it is 39,447 days after January 1, 1900.
  • The DATEDIF function is useful in formulas where you need to calculate an age.

⚠ Common Errors

#NUM! If the start_date is greater than the end_date, the result will be #NUM!.
Fix: Swap the two dates and check the unit

⇄ Related Functions

=TODAY() The TODAY function returns the serial number of the current date. The serial number is the date-time code used by Excel for date and time calculations. If the cell format was General before the function was entered, Excel changes the cell format to Date. If you want to view the serial number, you must change the cell format to General or Number. The TODAY function is useful when you need to have the current date displayed on a worksheet, regardless of when you open the workbook. It is also useful for calculating intervals. For example, if you know that someone was born in 1963, you might use the following formula to find that person's age as of this year's birthday: ⁠=⁠ YEAR( TODAY())-1963 This formula uses the TODAY function as an argument for the YEAR function to obtain the current year, and then subtracts 1963, returning the person's age. =DAYS() Returns the number of days between two dates. =YEAR() Returns the year corresponding to a date. The year is returned as an integer in the range 1900-9999. =YEARFRAC() YEARFRAC calculates the fraction of the year represented by the number of whole days between two dates (the start_date and the end_date). For instance, you can use YEARFRAC to identify the proportion of a whole year's benefits, or obligations to assign to a specific term.

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