snippetpythonTip

Calculate date difference

Submitted by: @import:30-seconds-of-code·Mar 2, 2026·

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pythondatecalculatedifference

Problem

Calculating the date difference between two dates in Python is a simple as subtracting one date from another. Then, you can use datetime.timedelta.days, combined with math.ceil() for months, to get the difference in days, months, or years.

Solution

def days_diff(start, end):
  return (end - start).days

def months_diff(start, end):
  return ceil((end - start).days / 30)

def years_diff(start, end):
  return ceil((end - start).days / 365)

from datetime import date

days_diff(date(2020, 10, 25), date(2020, 10, 28)) # 3
months_diff(date(2020, 10, 25), date(2020, 11, 25)) # 1
years_diff(date(2020, 10, 25), date(2021, 10, 25)) # 1

Code Snippets

def days_diff(start, end):
  return (end - start).days

def months_diff(start, end):
  return ceil((end - start).days / 30)

def years_diff(start, end):
  return ceil((end - start).days / 365)

from datetime import date

days_diff(date(2020, 10, 25), date(2020, 10, 28)) # 3
months_diff(date(2020, 10, 25), date(2020, 11, 25)) # 1
years_diff(date(2020, 10, 25), date(2021, 10, 25)) # 1

Context

From 30-seconds-of-code: date-difference

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