DATEDIF

Quirk found

Category: Date and time · Last tested 2026-08-06

Real, executed compatibility results for the DATEDIF function across Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc — verified by actually running it. Syntax and links to each vendor’s official documentation are below.

Support matrix

Engine	Documented	Live-tested	Verdict
Excel	Yes	Not yet	n/a
Google Sheets	Yes	Not yet	n/a
LibreOffice Calc	Yes	Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-08-06)	Quirk found

LibreOffice version history

We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when DATEDIF’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.

LibreOffice version	Verdict	Tested
24.2.0.3	Quirk found	2026-07-19
24.8.7.2	Quirk found	2026-07-19
25.2.0.3	Quirk found	2026-07-24
25.8.7.3	Quirk found	2026-08-06

Why isn't DATEDIF working in LibreOffice?

DATEDIF exists in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3, but it is not a drop-in match for Excel — our executed tests found real behavioral differences (detailed in the test results on this page). If a formula that works in Excel or Google Sheets misbehaves in LibreOffice, compare your usage against the failing cases above before assuming your data is wrong.

Discovered quirks

=DATEDIF(DATE(2024,1,10),DATE(2024,1,1),"D") on LibreOffice Calc returned #VALUE!, but the documented/expected result is #NUM!. Microsoft docs state end<start raises #NUM!; record engines' ACTUAL error code here since this is a known point of cross-engine divergence; MISMATCH vs expected: expected '#NUM!', got '#VALUE!'

Executed test cases

LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-06)

Formula	Description	Result	Expected	Verdict
=DATEDIF(DATE(2020,1,1),DATE(2023,6,15),"Y")	Whole years between two dates	3	3	Matched
=DATEDIF(DATE(2020,1,1),DATE(2023,6,15),"M")	Whole months between two dates	41	41	Matched
=DATEDIF(DATE(2024,1,1),DATE(2024,1,10),"D")	Whole days between two dates	9	9	Matched
=DATEDIF(DATE(2024,1,31),DATE(2024,3,1),"MD")	"MD" (days ignoring months and years) is documented by Microsoft as unreliable/buggy for some date combos	-1	-1 Textbook-naive expectation might be ~1, but MD has a well-known Microsoft-acknowledged bug around month-end dates; recording the ACTUAL engine output is the point of this test	Matched
=DATEDIF(DATE(2024,1,10),DATE(2024,1,1),"D")	End date before start date -> #NUM! per Microsoft's documented DATEDIF behavior	#VALUE!	#NUM! Microsoft docs state end<start raises #NUM!; record engines' ACTUAL error code here since this is a known point of cross-engine divergence	Mismatch