Days Until Countdown
How many days until a date, and a live countdown to the exact moment. Past dates count up instead. Nothing is uploaded.
Only the live line below uses the time. The day count works in whole calendar days.
How to use it
- Pick the date you are counting to. It starts on today, so change it to anything.
- Set a time if the exact moment matters — an exam, a flight, a deadline. The live line ticks down to it.
- A date in the past counts up instead and tells you how long ago it was.
Two ways to count, and both are shown
Ask how many days until an exam on Friday and nobody means 3 days, 14 hours and 22 minutes. They mean three days. The big number counts whole calendar days, and it changes at midnight, which is how people actually talk.
The live line underneath does the other thing: it counts down to the exact instant you set, and it ticks over at that time rather than at midnight. Both are correct, they answer different questions, and every argument about a countdown being "wrong" is really about which of the two someone meant.
Today counts as zero
A date set to today shows nought days, and tomorrow shows one. That is the everyday reading of the words. A leave application or a notice period usually wants both the first and last day counted instead, which is a different sum — the date difference tool has a tick box for exactly that.
Working days
The working-day figure counts Monday to Friday between now and the target. As everywhere on this site, it takes no account of public holidays, because they differ by state, by year and by employer. Subtract your own.
Frequently asked questions
Does the count include today?
No. The big number is how many whole days are left, so a date tomorrow shows one and a date today shows zero. That matches the way people say it out loud. If you need both days counted, as a leave application would, use the date difference tool and tick the box there.
Why does the day count change at midnight rather than at the time I set?
Because the big number counts calendar days, which is what people mean by how many days until something. The live line below it counts down to the exact moment instead, so it ticks over at the time you set. The two are deliberately different and both are shown.
Can it count days since a date that has passed?
Yes. Pick any past date and it counts up instead of down, saying how long ago it was. It is the same arithmetic with the sign the other way round, so anniversaries and how long since I started work both work.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?
No. The arithmetic happens in JavaScript inside your own browser. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is saved - close the tab and it is gone.