The article will provide you with 6 easy methods on how to calculate time difference between two dates in Excel. It is useful if anyone wants to measure his/her employee’s work by minutes or anything that requires measurement by the minute.
In the dataset, we have some Soldiers who were in training for some time. The dataset also contains information about the Starting date and Ending date of their training with times.
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6 Ways to Calculate Time Difference Between Two Dates in Minutes in Excel
1. Using Excel Arithmetic Operator to Calculate Time Difference Between Two Dates in Minutes
The simplest way to calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes by Excel is to make a formula with arithmetic operators of Excel. Let’s see how we can do this.
Steps:
- Make a column to store the duration of training in minutes and type the following formula in cell E5.
=1440*(D5-C5)The ‘D5-C5’ part of the formula will convert the time difference between the two dates into days. As one day is equivalent to 1440 minutes, we multiply that part of the formula by 1440.
- Press ENTER and you will see the time difference between the two dates in cells D5 and C5 by the minute.
- Use the Fill Handle to AutoFill the lower cells.
Thus you can calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes by using the arithmetic operator.
2. Applying Excel DAYS, HOUR and MINUTE Functions to Calculate Time Difference Between Two Dates in Minutes
Another way to calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes by Excel is to use DAYS, HOUR, and MINUTE Functions. Let’s go through the process below.
Steps:
- Make a column to store the duration of training in minutes and type the following formula in cell E5.
=1440*DAYS(D5,C5)+60*HOUR(D5-C5)+MINUTE(D5-C5)Formula Breakdown
- Here, DAYS(D5,C5) returns the days between the dates stored in D5 and C5. As one day is equivalent to 1440 minutes, we multiply this part of the formula by 1440.
- HOUR(D5-C5) returns the hour difference between the hours stored in D5 and C5. As one hour is equivalent to 60 minutes, we multiply this part of the formula by 60.
- MINUTE(D5-C5) returns the minute difference between the minutes stored in D5 and C5.
- After summing these formulas, we get 3230 minutes which is the time difference between 23rd and 21st April in minutes
- Press ENTER and you will see the time difference between the two dates in cell D5 and C5 by minute.
- Use the Fill Handle to AutoFill the lower cells.
Thus you can calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes by using DAYS, HOUR and MINUTE Functions.
3. Utilizing Combined Functions to Determine Time Difference Between Two Dates in Minutes in Excel
We can also use the combination of INT, HOUR, and MINUTE Functions to calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes. Let’s see how we can do this.
Steps:
- Make a column to store the duration of training in minutes and type the following formula in cell E5.
=1440*(INT(D5-C5)) + 60*(HOUR(D5-C5))+ MINUTE(D5-C5)Formula Breakdown
- Here, INT(D5-C5) returns the days between the dates stored in D5 and C5. As one day is equivalent to 1440 minutes, we multiply this part of the formula by 1440. The INT function rounds a number to its nearest integer.
- HOUR(D5-C5) returns the hour difference between the hours stored in D5 and C5. As one hour is equivalent to 60 minutes, we multiply this part of the formula by 60.
- MINUTE(D5-C5) returns the minute difference between the minutes stored in D5 and C5.
- After summing these formulas, we get 3230 minutes which is the time difference between 23rd and 21st April in minutes.
- Press ENTER and you will see the time difference between the two dates in cell D5 and C5 in minute.
- Use the Fill Handle to AutoFill the lower cells.
Thus you can calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes by using combined functions.
4. Implementing Excel TEXT Function to Calculate Time Difference Between Two Dates in Minutes
Another easy way to calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes by Excel is to make a formula with the TEXT Function. Let’s go through the process below.
Steps:
- Make a column to store the duration of training in minutes and type the following formula in cell E5.
=TEXT(D5-C5,"[mm]")Here, the TEXT Function converts the difference between the dates in D5 and C5 to minute.
- Press ENTER and you will see the time difference between the two dates in cell D5 and C5 in minute.
- Use the Fill Handle to AutoFill the lower cells.
Thus you can calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes by using the TEXT Function.
5. Using NOW Function to Determine Time Difference Between Current and Previous Dates in Minutes in Excel
If you want to calculate the time difference between today and the ending date of the training session in minutes, you can create a formula with the NOW Function. Using this function will give you an exact time difference. Let’s see how we can do this.
Steps:
- Make a column to store the duration of training in minutes and type the following formula in cell E5.
=NOW()-D5The formula will return the exact time difference between today and the day stored in cell D5 in days. We will convert it from the Number Format ribbon.
- Press ENTER and you will see the time difference between today and the date in cell D5 in days.
- Use the Fill Handle to AutoFill the lower cells.
- Now to convert the days to minutes, go to Home >> Number Format >> More Number Formats…
- Then the Format Cells window will appear, select Custom.
- Type [mm] in ‘Type:’ section.
- Click OK.
After that, you will see the exact time difference between today and the dates in the dataset in minutes.
- If you don’t want the trouble of formatting the days to minutes, you can use the following formula.
=TEXT(NOW()-D5,"[mm]")Thus you can calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes by using the NOW Function.
6. Applying TODAY Function to Calculate Time Difference Between Two Dates in Minutes
If you want to calculate the time difference between today and the ending date of the training session in minutes, you can create a formula with the TODAY Function. Using this function will give you a time difference between today and the date in the cell reference. However, the TODAY Function returns the date of today. and also, it returns the beginning time of today meaning 12:00 AM. So you won’t get the exact difference. Let’s go through the process below.
Steps:
- Make a column to store the duration of training in minutes and type the following formula in cell E5.
=TEXT(TODAY()-D5,"[mm]")Here, the TODAY()-D5 part of the formula returns the difference between the today and the date in D5 in days. The TEXT Function converts this difference to minutes.
- Press ENTER and you will see the time difference between today and the date in cell D5 by minute.
- Use the Fill Handle to AutoFill the lower cells.
Thus you can calculate the time difference between two dates in minutes by using the TODAY Function.
Practice Section
In this section, I’m giving you the dataset that we used in this article so that you can practice these methods on your own.
Conclusion
Suffice to say, you can learn all the possible ways to calculate time difference between two dates in minutes after reading this article. If you have any other ideas or any feedback regarding this article, please share them in the comment box. Your valuable feedback will help me enrich my upcoming article.
The post How to Calculate Time Difference Between Two Dates in Minutes in Excel appeared first on ExcelDemy.
