Working Days Calculator
There are 261 working days in 2026 when you count Monday to Friday and ignore public holidays. Choose your dates and holiday calendar to see your own number.
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How it works
Pick a start date, an end date and the holiday calendar that applies to you. The calculator goes through every calendar day in the period and keeps the days that are neither a weekend day nor a public holiday.
- Weekend days are Saturday and Sunday, or Sunday only if you choose a Monday to Saturday week.
- Public holidays come from the official calendars listed under sources. Only holidays that fall on a working day are deducted.
- The result shows the calendar days, the weekend days, the holidays deducted and the working days. A table lists every holiday in your period, including those on weekends that did not change the result.
Holiday data covers 2026 and 2027. For other years the calculator can count weekdays only, and it refuses to guess holidays it has no data for.
Formula and worked example
Working days = calendar days − weekend days − public holidays that fall on a working day.
For the whole of 2026 with Monday to Friday and no holidays:
- Calendar days: 365
- Weekend days: 104
- Working days: 261
Now take North Rhine-Westphalia. Some of its public holidays fall on a weekend (3 October, 1 November and 26 December in 2026) and change nothing. Only holidays on working days reduce the count:
- Public holidays on working days: 8
- Working days with holidays: 253
Working days in 2026 by German state
The same calculation for each German state, for the calendar year 2026:
| State | Working days (Mon–Fri) | Holidays on weekdays | Working days (Mon–Sat) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 252 | 9 | 302 |
| Bavaria (statewide holidays) | 252 | 9 | 302 |
| Bavaria (incl. Assumption Day) | 252 | 9 | 301 |
| Berlin | 254 | 7 | 304 |
| Brandenburg | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Bremen | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Hamburg | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Hesse | 253 | 8 | 303 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Lower Saxony | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 253 | 8 | 303 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 253 | 8 | 303 |
| Saarland | 253 | 8 | 302 |
| Saxony | 253 | 8 | 302 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 253 | 8 | 302 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 254 | 7 | 303 |
| Thuringia | 254 | 7 | 303 |
Frequently asked questions
Are the start and end dates counted?
Yes. Both days are included, so one day to the same day is a period of one day. If that day is a working day, the result is 1.
Which public holidays does the calculator know?
All 16 German states, England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the US federal holidays, for 2026 and 2027. Pick "No public holidays" for any other country or year; you then get weekdays only.
What happens when a public holiday falls on a weekend?
Nothing extra is deducted. A holiday on a Saturday or Sunday does not create a replacement day off in Germany. In the UK and the US the official calendars already list the substitute or observed weekday, and the calculator uses that day.
Why do two German states give different results?
Public holidays are set by each state. Epiphany, Corpus Christi, All Saints' Day and Reformation Day apply in some states only, and Saxony has the Day of Repentance and Prayer. The table below shows the difference for 2026.
Why does Bavaria appear twice?
Assumption Day (15 August) is a holiday in Bavaria only in municipalities with a mostly Catholic population. Choose the version that matches where you work.
Can I count Saturdays as working days?
Yes. Switch the working week to Monday to Saturday. Sundays and public holidays are then the only days left out.
How is this different from a business days calculator?
It is the same idea. Business days, working days and Arbeitstage all mean the days a typical week-based employer works. Your contract or collective agreement can differ, for example for shift work.
Sources and methodology
- Baden-Württemberg: Feiertagsgesetz (FTG) § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Bayern: Feiertagsgesetz (FTG) Art. 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Berlin: Gesetz über die Sonn- und Feiertage (FeiertG BE) § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Brandenburg: Feiertagsgesetz (FTG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Bremen: Gesetz über die Sonn-, Gedenk- und Feiertage § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Hamburg: Feiertagsgesetz § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Hessen: Hessisches Feiertagsgesetz (HFeiertagsG) § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Gesetz über Sonn- und Feiertage (FTG M-V) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Niedersachsen: Niedersächsisches Gesetz über die Feiertage (NFeiertagsG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Nordrhein-Westfalen: Feiertagsgesetz NW § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Rheinland-Pfalz: Landesgesetz über den Schutz der Sonn- und Feiertage (LFtG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Saarland: Gesetz Nr. 1040 über die Sonn- und Feiertage (SFG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Sachsen: Gesetz über Sonn- und Feiertage (SächsSFG) § 1 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Sachsen-Anhalt: Gesetz über die Sonn- und Feiertage (FeiertG LSA) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Schleswig-Holstein: Gesetz über Sonn- und Feiertage (SFTG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Thüringen: Feier- und Gedenktagsgesetz (ThürFGtG) § 2 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- GOV.UK — UK bank holidays (official dataset, bank-holidays.json) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management — Federal holidays (accessed 2026-10-20)
Last updated 2026-10-20. Calculator version 1.0.0.Read how we calculate for our verification process.
Results are estimates for information only and are not financial, tax or legal advice.