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Calculate Your Current Age With the Excel DATEDIF Function

When you need to know your age (or someone else's)

By Ted French Ted French Writer Former Lifewire writer Ted French is a Microsoft Certified Professional who teaches and writes about spreadsheets and spreadsheet programs. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 24, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email MS Office Excel Word Powerpoint Outlook

What to Know

Enter your birthdate in one cell of Excel and the DATEDIF formula into a different cell. Press Enter to see your current age.The DATEDIF formula contains a cell reference for the birth date and for the current date.DATEDIF calculates the number of years, months, and days between the two dates, yielding your age. This article explains how to calculate your age using Excel's DATEDIF formula. These instructions apply to Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel Online, Excel for Mac, Excel for iPad, Excel for iPhone, and Excel for Android.

Calculate an Age With the DATEDIF Function

One use for Excel's DATEDIF function is to calculate a person's current age. If you don't feel like dragging out a calendar, a simple spreadsheet formula can come to the rescue. Alternatively, use the function to compute the difference between any two dates. In the following formula, the DATEDIF function determines a person's current age in years, months and days. =DATEDIF(E1,TODAY(),"Y")&" Years, "&DATEDIF(E1,TODAY(),"YM")&" Months, "&DATEDIF(E1,TODAY),"MD")&" Days" To make the formula easier to work with, a person's birth date is entered into cell E1 of a worksheet (see the example below). The cell reference to this location is entered into the formula. If the birth date is stored in a different cell in the worksheet, the three cell references in the formula need to be changed. The formula uses DATEDIF three times to calculate first the number of years, then the number of months, and then the number of days between the two dates. The three parts of the formula are: Number of Years: DATEDIF(E1,TODAY(),"Y")&" Years, "
Number of Months: DATEDIF(E1,TODAY(),"YM")&" Months, "
Number of Days: DATEDIF(E1,TODAY(),"MD")&" Days"
Lifewire / Theresa Chiechi

Concatenate the Formula Together

The ampersand ( & ) is a concatenation symbol in Excel. One use for concatenation is to join number data and text data together when used in a single formula. For example, the ampersand joins the DATEDIF function to the text Years, Months, and Days in the three sections of the formula.

The TODAY Function

The formula also makes use of the TODAY() function to enter the current date into the DATEDIF formula. Since the TODAY() function uses the computer's serial date to find the current date, the function continually updates every time a worksheet is recalculated. Worksheets recalculate each time they are opened. The person's current age increases when the worksheet is opened unless automatic recalculation is turned off.

Example Calculate Your Current Age With DATEDIF

This example of the DATEDIF function calculates your current age: Enter your birth date into cell E1 of a blank worksheet. Enter the formula into cell E3: =DATEDIF(E1,TODAY(),"Y")&" Years, "&DATEDIF(E1,TODAY(),"YM")&" Months, "&DATEDIF(E1,TODAY(),"MD")&" Days" Press ENTER. Your current age appears in cell E3 of the worksheet. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Use the Excel DATE Function How to Use the DAY function in Excel How to Subtract Dates in Excel How to Use the Round Function in Excel How to Count Data in Selected Cells With Excel's COUNTIF Function Use the Excel RIGHT Function to Extract Characters Use Excel's EOMONTH Function to Add or Subtract Months How to Use a Dynamic Range in Excel With COUNTIF and INDIRECT Excel SUMIFS: Sum Only Values Meeting Multiple Criteria How to Calculate Weighted Averages in Excel With SUMPRODUCT How to Create an Excel Lookup Formula With Multiple Criteria How to Use the MONTH Formula in Excel How to Use the Excel TRUNC Function Count Days, Months, Years With DATEDIF Function in Excel How to Calculate Percentage in Excel How to Calculate IRR in Excel Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies