Spreadsheet Practice

How to create a list of working days in Excel

Excel formula

=WORKDAY(B1-1,SEQUENCE(B2),B3:B4)

Combine WORKDAY with SEQUENCE: =WORKDAY(B1-1,SEQUENCE(B2),holidays) lists the next working days, skipping weekends and holidays.

Result on the example
a 8-row list that spills from D2 in D2
Works in
Excel 2021, 2024 and Microsoft 365
Google Sheets
Different formula, see below

See it work

The formula is already in D2. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

SEQUENCE(B2) makes the numbers 1 to 8, and WORKDAY counts that many working days from the day before the start, so the list begins on B1 itself when it is a working day. Weekends and the holidays in B3:B4 are skipped: December 25 is missing.

=WORKDAY(B1-1,SEQUENCE(B2),B3:B4)

Result{8 rows × 1 col} 46377, 46378, 46379, 46380, …

  1. B112/21/2026

    The value in B1.

  2. B1-146376

    The - operator subtracts.

  3. B28

    The value in B2.

  4. SEQUENCE(B2){8 rows × 1 col} 1, 2, 3, 4, …

    SEQUENCE: A grid of sequential numbers. Spills.

    • rowsB28
  5. B3:B42 rows × 1 col: 12/25/2026, 1/1/2027

    A range: 2 cells in one column.

  6. WORKDAY(B1-1,SEQUENCE(B2),B3:B4){8 rows × 1 col} 46377, 46378, 46379, 46380, …

    WORKDAY: Date a number of workdays away.

    • start_dateB1-146376
    • daysSEQUENCE(B2){8 rows × 1 col} 1, 2, 3, 4, …
    • holidaysB3:B42 rows × 1 col: 12/25/2026, 1/1/2027

In Google Sheets

Google Sheets needs a different formula: =ARRAYFORMULA(WORKDAY(B1-1,SEQUENCE(B2),B3:B4)). On the same data it gives the same result. Here it is running in Google Sheets mode.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

FormulaResultWhen to use it
=WORKDAY(B1-1,SEQUENCE(B2))spills 8 × 1Different resultWithout a holiday list. Includes December 25.

Common mistakes

  • Counting from B1 instead of B1-1 leaves out the first day.
  • In Google Sheets, wrap the formula in ARRAYFORMULA so WORKDAY runs on every number.

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Create a list of working days

In D2, list the number of working days in B2, starting on B1 and skipping weekends and the holidays in B3:B4.

Questions

How do I list the working days between two dates?

=WORKDAY(B1-1,SEQUENCE(NETWORKDAYS(B1,end,B3:B4)),B3:B4).

How do I show the day names too?

Wrap the list in TEXT: =TEXT(WORKDAY(B1-1,SEQUENCE(B2),B3:B4),"ddd m/d").

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.