Get Difference Between datetime Variables in Python

To get the difference between two times using Python, subtract two dates just like you would subtract two numbers to get a datetime.timedelta object.

import datetime

datetime1 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,5,0,0,0)
datetime2 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,8,12,30,0)

difference_d2_d1 = datetime2 - datetime1

print(difference_d2_d1)

#Output:
3 days, 12:30:00

When working in Python, many times we need to create variables which represent dates and times. When creating and displaying values related to times, sometimes we need to display the difference between times in seconds, minutes, hours, or years.

We can easily show the time difference between date times.

To get the difference between two date times, you can subtract two times just like we would subtract two numbers.

After subtracting two times, we get a datetime.timedelta object.

Below is a simple example of how to get the time difference between two times in Python.

import datetime

datetime1 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,5,0,0,0)
datetime2 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,8,12,30,0)

difference_d2_d1 = datetime2 - datetime1

print(difference_d2_d1)

#Output:
3 days, 12:30:00

How to Get the Time Difference in Seconds Between Two Times in Python

We can take the example above and easily find the time difference between two times and convert it to number of seconds between the two times.

timedelta objects have many great functions, and to get the difference of two times in seconds, we can use the total_seconds() function.

Below is a simple example of how to get the time difference in seconds between two times in Python.

import datetime

datetime1 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,5,0,0,0)
datetime2 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,8,12,30,0)

difference_d2_d1 = datetime2 - datetime1

print(difference_d2_d1.total_seconds())

#Output:
304200.0

How to Get the Time Difference in Minutes Between Two Times in Python

We can take the example above and easily find the time difference between two times and convert it to minutes.

To find the difference in two times in minutes, we can divide the call to total_seconds() by 60.

Below is an example in Python of how to find the difference between two times in minutes.

import datetime

datetime1 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,5,0,0,0)
datetime2 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,8,12,30,0)

difference_d2_d1 = datetime2 - datetime1

print(difference_d2_d1.total_seconds()/60)

#Output:
5070.0

How to Get the Time Difference in Hours Between Two Times in Python

If you instead want to find the difference between two times in hours, you can divide the call to total_seconds() by 3600.

Below is an example in Python of how to find the difference between two times in hours.

import datetime

datetime1 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,5,0,0,0)
datetime2 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,8,12,30,0)

difference_d2_d1 = datetime2 - datetime1

print(difference_d2_d1.total_seconds()/3600)

#Output:
84.5

How to Get the Time Difference in Days Between Two Times in Python

We can take the example above and easily get the time difference between two times in days. To get the difference between two datetime objects in days, divide the call to total_seconds() by 86400.

Below is an example in Python of how to find the difference between two times in days.

import datetime

datetime1 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,5,0,0,0)
datetime2 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,8,12,30,0)

difference_d2_d1 = datetime2 - datetime1

print(difference_d2_d1.total_seconds()/86400)

#Output:
3.5208333333333335

To get the difference of two times in full days, we can access the ‘days’ attribute of the datetime.timedelta object.

Below is an example in Python of how to find the difference between two times in full days.

import datetime

datetime1 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,5,0,0,0)
datetime2 = datetime.datetime(2022,3,8,12,30,0)

difference_d2_d1 = datetime2 - datetime1

print(difference_d2_d1.days)

#Output:
3

Hopefully this article has been useful for you to use Python to find the time difference between two datetime objects.