MS Excel: DATEDIF Function (WS)
In Microsoft Excel, the DATEDIF function returns the difference between two date values, based on the interval specified.
Syntax
The syntax for the DATEDIF function is:
DATEDIF( start_date, end_date, interval )
start_date and end_date are the two dates to calculate the difference between.
interval is the interval of time to use to calculate the difference between date1 and date2. Below is a list of valid interval values.
| Interval | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Y | The number of complete years. |
| M | The number of complete months. |
| D | The number of days. |
| MD | The difference between the days (months and years are ignored). |
| YM | The difference between the months (days and years are ignored). |
| YD | The difference between the days (years and dates are ignored). |
Applies To
- Excel 2000
Type of Function
- Worksheet function (WS)
Worksheet Function Example
Let's take a look at an example to see how you would use the DATEDIF function in a worksheet:
Based on the spreadsheet above, the DATEDIF function would return the following:
| =DATEDIF(A1, A2, "Y") | would return 1 |
| =DATEDIF(A1, A3, "D") | would return 455 |
| =DATEDIF(A1, A3, "YD") | would return 90 |