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How to generate a series of dates in Excel and Google Sheets
Topic:Data cleaning & shapingExcel & Google Sheets
=A2+SEQUENCE(B2,1,0,C2)Try it with your data
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Step by step
- 1Put your start date in A2 (enter it as a real date, e.g. 1/1/2025), the count of dates in B2 (e.g. 8), and the step in days in C2 (1 for daily, 7 for weekly).
- 2In D2 enter =A2+SEQUENCE(B2,1,0,C2). SEQUENCE generates B2 numbers starting at 0 and incrementing by C2; adding A2 shifts each to the correct date.
- 3Format D2# (Excel spill reference) or the Sheets output as dates: Ctrl+1 in Excel, Format > Number > Date in Sheets.
- 4For a monthly series that preserves the day of the month, use =EDATE(A2,SEQUENCE(B2,1,0,1)) instead of adding 30 or 31 — EDATE handles month-end arithmetic correctly.
- 5For a business-day-only series, generate a larger range and filter: =FILTER(A2+SEQUENCE(30,1,0,1),WEEKDAY(A2+SEQUENCE(30,1,0,1),2)<=5).
Tips
- SEQUENCE(n,1,0,step) starts at 0 so the first date equals the start date exactly. Starting at 1 would skip the start date.
- For monthly intervals, always prefer EDATE over adding 30 days — February and months with 31 days will misalign without it.
- In Excel pre-2021 without dynamic arrays, pre-select the output range, type the formula, and confirm with Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
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Frequently asked
How do I generate a series ending on a specific date rather than for a fixed count?
Calculate the count first: =DAYS(end_date,start_date)/step+1, place that in B2, and the SEQUENCE formula will produce the correct number of dates.
SEQUENCE is not available in my version of Excel — what should I use?
In Excel 2016 and earlier, pre-select the output cells, type =A2+ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&B2))-1, and confirm with Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
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