Many Power Automate users encounter issues with the dateDifference() function when calculating the difference between two dates. The problem arises when the output format varies depending on the duration, causing errors in extracting Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds.

This blog provides a robust and easy-to-implement solution that works seamlessly in all scenarios, including durations less than a day. Learn how to use a single expression with conditional logic to avoid these common pitfalls and ensure your date calculations are accurate every time. This is your ultimate fix for handling dateDifference() errors!

The Flow

Compose action: named StartDate = 2024-12-10T15:58:28
Compose action: named EndDate = 2024-12-10T19:22:20
Compose action: uses dateDifference() expression. see below

Below is the expression used in the ‘Date Difference’ compose action. It dynamically handles all scenarios—when days are included and when they are not (same with hours and minutes).

dateDifference expression

Create a compose action for StartDate and EndDate

if(
   contains(
     dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), 
     '.'
   ),
   json(
     concat(
       '{"Days":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[0])),
       ',"Hours":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[0])),
       ',"Minutes":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[1])),
       ',"Seconds":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[2])),
       '}'
     )
   ),
   json(
     concat(
       '{"Days":0',
       ',"Hours":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[0])),
       ',"Minutes":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[1])),
       ',"Seconds":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[2])),
       '}'
     )
   )
)

How it works

The if() function checks if the dateDifference() result contains a . (dot).
If it does, it means the result has a days component (e.g., 1268.04:15:30), so we parse out Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds accordingly.
If it does not, it means the result is less than a day (e.g., 12:57:47.2544602), so we treat Days as 0 and parse Hours, Minutes, and Seconds directly from the string.

Result:

This will produce a JSON object like:
{ "Days": 1268, "Hours": 4, "Minutes": 15, "Seconds": 30 }
Or
{ "Days": 0, "Hours": 12, "Minutes": 57, "Seconds": 47 }

Steps to Access Each Value

If you use the fixed expression directly in a Compose action (e.g., named Date_Difference), you can reference the fields like this:

Days: outputs('Date_Difference')?['Days']
Hours: outputs('Date_Difference')?['Hours']
Minutes: outputs('Date_Difference')?['Minutes']
Seconds: outputs('Date_Difference')?['Seconds']

Use these expressions in subsequent actions (like another Compose, a Condition, or Apply to Each) to reference the specific values.

Download my Flow

You can easily copy and paste actions in Power Automate. Allowing you to copy and paste my example.

Classic designer

Step 1: Copy the code snippet

{"id":"b6b531e2-b7b5-4a9e-86bd-7e2a069529a0","brandColor":"#8C3900","connectionReferences":{},"connectorDisplayName":"Control","icon":"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMzIiIGhlaWdodD0iMzIiIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgdmlld0JveD0iMCAwIDMyIDMyIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPg0KIDxwYXRoIGQ9Im0wIDBoMzJ2MzJoLTMyeiIgZmlsbD0iIzhDMzkwMCIvPg0KIDxwYXRoIGQ9Im04IDEwaDE2djEyaC0xNnptMTUgMTF2LTEwaC0xNHYxMHptLTItOHY2aC0xMHYtNnptLTEgNXYtNGgtOHY0eiIgZmlsbD0iI2ZmZiIvPg0KPC9zdmc+DQo=","isTrigger":false,"operationName":"Get_date_difference_object","operationDefinition":{"type":"Scope","actions":{"StartDate":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"2024-12-10T15:58:28","runAfter":{}},"EndDate":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"2024-12-10T19:22:20","runAfter":{"StartDate":["Succeeded"]}},"Date_Difference":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"@if(\r\n   contains(\r\n     dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), \r\n     '.'\r\n   ),\r\n   json(\r\n     concat(\r\n       '{\"Days\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Hours\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Minutes\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[1])),\r\n       ',\"Seconds\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[2])),\r\n       '}'\r\n     )\r\n   ),\r\n   json(\r\n     concat(\r\n       '{\"Days\":0',\r\n       ',\"Hours\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Minutes\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[1])),\r\n       ',\"Seconds\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[2])),\r\n       '}'\r\n     )\r\n   )\r\n)","runAfter":{"EndDate":["Succeeded"]},"metadata":{"operationMetadataId":"03c8d578-576a-41a3-8d63-609a15ce594b"}}},"runAfter":{"Add_to_time":["Succeeded"]}}}

Step 2: In Power Automate when adding a new action click My clipboard .

Step 3: Ctrl + V

New designer

Step 1: Copy the code snippet

{"nodeId":"Get_date_difference_object-copy","serializedOperation":{"type":"Scope","actions":{"StartDate":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"2024-12-10T15:58:28"},"EndDate":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"2024-12-10T19:22:20","runAfter":{"StartDate":["Succeeded"]}},"Date_Difference":{"type":"Compose","inputs":"@if(\r\n   contains(\r\n     dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), \r\n     '.'\r\n   ),\r\n   json(\r\n     concat(\r\n       '{\"Days\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Hours\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Minutes\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[1])),\r\n       ',\"Seconds\":', string(int(split(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), '.')[1], ':')[2])),\r\n       '}'\r\n     )\r\n   ),\r\n   json(\r\n     concat(\r\n       '{\"Days\":0',\r\n       ',\"Hours\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[0])),\r\n       ',\"Minutes\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[1])),\r\n       ',\"Seconds\":', string(int(split(dateDifference(outputs('StartDate'), outputs('EndDate')), ':')[2])),\r\n       '}'\r\n     )\r\n   )\r\n)","runAfter":{"EndDate":["Succeeded"]},"metadata":{"operationMetadataId":"03c8d578-576a-41a3-8d63-609a15ce594b"}}},"runAfter":{"Add_to_time":["Succeeded"]}},"allConnectionData":{},"staticResults":{},"isScopeNode":true,"mslaNode":true}

Step 2: In Power Automate click the + to add an action. Click Paste an action

Conclusion

That’s it! pretty easy right? if you encounter any issues, comment below!

We have all been there, we need to check the difference between 2 dates, and if you ever had to implement this you would need to use some crazy mathematical equations using the ticks() expression. But now..

I’m not sure when this expression got added, but we can now use dateDifference() expression instead of using ticks().

The dateDifference() expression is a powerful tool in Power Automate and Logic Apps for calculating the difference between two dates.

Allowing to easily determine the number of days, months, or years between two dates, which can be useful in a variety of scenarios.

Syntax and Parameters

The syntax is easy with only 2 parameters:

dateDifference('<startDate>', '<endDate>')

How to Use

Below is a simple example of how to use this expression:

dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30')

This returns

"1268.04:15:30"

The result is in the format of:
Days.Hours:Minutes:Seconds

Note:: If the dates passed in have no time interval, the result shows zeros for the hours, minutes, and seconds. We can extract the different parts of the return by using some expressions inside a Compose action, which we will do next.

Extracting the Result

If you need to extract certain parts of the result into the hours, minutes, or even seconds, you can use the split() expression.
Below you will find the explanation on the extraction, as well as the exact expressions to use.

The split() function splits the output of dateDifference() at the period (‘.’) into an array with two elements: days and the rest (hours:minutes:seconds).
The [0] indexer retrieves the first element of the array, which represents the number of days.
The int() function converts the days from a string to an integer.
Replace the date time values with your dates/time

Extracting Days

To extract the days from the result we can use

int(split(dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30'), '.')[0])

This returns:

Extracting Hours

To extract the hours interval from the result we can use

int(split(split(dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30'), '.')[1], ':')[0])

This returns:

Extracting Minutes

To extract the minutes interval from the result we can use

int(split(split(dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30'), '.')[1], ':')[1])

This returns:

Extracting Seconds

To extract the seconds interval from the result we can use

int(split(split(dateDifference('2015-02-08T10:30:00', '2018-07-30T14:45:30'), '.')[1], ':')[2])

This returns:

Things to Know

There are a few things to be aware of:

Be aware of time zones, Power Automate uses UTC as a baseline for all time formats.
If pulling dates from SharePoint be aware of what time zone your site is in.
You can convert the time zones by using expressions or by using actions. Read more about converting time zones here.

Links

date Difference – Reference guide for expression functions – Azure Logic Apps | Microsoft Learn

Tag: DateDifference

Get the difference between two dates EASY

Syntax and Parameters

How to Use

Extracting the Result

Extracting Days

Extracting Hours

Extracting Minutes

Extracting Seconds

Things to Know

Links