Alternatives · Schengen calculators · 2026
Best free Schengen calculator
Stretch's free Schengen calculator takes the trips you type in and counts forward, day by day, to the last day you may stay. The European Commission's short-stay calculator is the official check of the same dates. Here is how I would use both.
The rule in plain words
For a short stay, Schengen is 90 days in any 180-day period. The reference period moves with each calendar date, covers the area rather than one country, and includes both the day of entry and the day of exit. Leaving is not a reset button: previous days remain in the look-back until they age out.
That makes a useful calculator more than a 90 - days used box. A traveller at the cap can still have an old day fall out tomorrow while a new day is spent tomorrow. The date they must leave can therefore be later than a simple remaining-days subtraction suggests. It also means a tool must distinguish calendar dates from hotel nights: 1 March to 10 March is 10 days of presence, not nine.
For a free day-by-day answer from the trips you enter, use Stretch's Schengen 90/180 calculator →. Keep the European Commission calculator bookmarked as the official check of the same dates. The two do overlapping jobs, and only one of them is official.
TL;DR
| Feature | Stretch | European Commission short-stay calculator | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best free calculator for the trips you type in | Counts forward day by day to your last legal day | Checks or plans from the dates you enter | Stretch |
| Official reference | Not EU software | Commission short-stay calculator | European Commission |
| Current-rule check | Shows days used and the last day you may stay | Check mode tests previous or ongoing stays on the chosen date | European Commission |
| Future-date question | Counts a continuing stay forward as old days drop out | Planning mode gives the longest stay allowed from a future entry date | Tie — ask the tool that matches the question |
| Keeping a personal log in this browser | Dates stay in the browser unless you clear them | Enter the dates for the calculation you are making | Stretch |
| Cost | Free | Free | Tie |
Stretch is the free option to reach for when you want to type in your trips, see the days you have left and know the date a continuing stay must end. The European Commission's calculator is the right official reference to check the dates you enter, especially before you rely on an itinerary. No calculator grants a right to stay: the competent border authority applies the rules.
Quick verdict
| If you want… | Choose |
|---|---|
| A free Schengen calculator that counts your trips forward to your last legal day | Stretch's Schengen calculator |
| An official Commission check of a current history or a planned future entry date | European Commission short-stay calculator |
| A reminder that entry and exit dates are inclusive | Our entry-and-exit dates guide |
| A clear explanation of why a border run does not reset Schengen | Our rolling-window guide |
| The effect of the EES on records rather than on the rule | Our EES 2026 guide |
European Commission short-stay calculator at a glance
What it is. The European Commission's official web calculator for checking compliance with the 90/180-day short-stay rule and for planning a future entry date from the dates supplied. The Commission describes two modes: check for previous or ongoing stays on the date of the check, and planning for the maximum length of stay allowed from a selected future entry date.
Best for. A one-off official cross-check, a future-entry question, or confirming that the trips you have typed produce the expected result under the Commission's own tool.
What it does not claim to be. The Commission's user guidance calls the calculator a helping tool; it does not itself create a right to stay. It also says that periods under an EU residence permit or long-stay visa should not be entered, and that a traveller whose short-stay visa authorises fewer than 90 days should follow the sticker rather than treat the 90/180 calculator as the whole answer.
Price. Free.
Stretch at a glance
What it is. A free browser-based Schengen calculator on this site. Enter each Schengen trip and the date to assess; it uses the same 90/180 arithmetic as the app to show days used, days available and, for a continuing stay, the last day you may stay.
Best for. Travellers who want the answer counted forward from their own trip dates, rather than guessed from a remaining balance. It matters most when older days are about to drop out of the 180-day window.
What it does not claim to be. Stretch is not European Commission or EU software. It does not read EES records, decide visa eligibility, interpret a visa sticker or override a border officer. It knows only the dates you enter; missing or incorrect dates produce a missing or incorrect count.
Price. Free, with no account required for the public calculator.
Feature comparison
The 90/180 rule and the whole Schengen area
Both tools are for the rolling short-stay rule, not a separate balance for each Schengen country. The Commission instructs users to count back 180 days from each day of stay and keep the total at or below 90. Stretch's calculator applies that same shape to every trip entered; Spain, France and Germany are one counted area, not three allowances.
Winner European Commission — it is the official public reference for the rule.
Remaining days versus the date a stay must end
"Days remaining" is a useful snapshot, but it is not always the answer to "when must I leave?" When history sits at the back of the window, days can fall out while a traveller continues to spend new days. Stretch counts forward day by day rather than assuming the balance is static, so its last-stay date allows for those old days dropping out.
The Commission's planning mode answers a related official question: how long a stay may be allowed from a particular future entry date, based on previous entries and exits. Use it to cross-check an itinerary; do not reduce either result to a hand subtraction.
Winner Stretch — counting the days forward is the clearer free answer for a trip history you have typed in.
Check and planning workflows
The Commission tool is deliberately explicit about its two workflows. Check mode examines previous or ongoing stays on the day selected; planning mode takes a future date of entry and reports the maximum length of stay allowed. That is a strong official framework for testing a specific question.
Stretch starts from your list of trips and gives the current window and, if you are inside, the last legal day. Neither replaces the other: the official check validates your dates, and counting forward shows what the moving window does to them.
Winner European Commission — its named check and planning modes are the clearest official reference points.
Calendar entry and exit dates
The Schengen Borders Code treats the date of entry as the first day of stay and the date of exit as the last. The Commission calculator accepts entries and exits as dates. Stretch presents the same calendar-date model: a 1 March to 10 March trip is 10 days, and a same-day entry and exit is one day.
Winner Tie — inclusive calendar dates are a legal counting convention, not a product differentiator.
EES records, ETIAS and personal data
The Entry/Exit System records external-border entries and exits, including biometric data where required. It does not change 90/180 into a per-country rule or reset the rolling window. ETIAS is a separate travel-authorisation system for visa-free travellers; it is not an EES record and it is not a remaining-days tool. Our EES guide separates those questions before a traveller mistakes a border system for a calculator.
Stretch's calculator does not connect to EES. It keeps the trips you enter in this browser, and the Commission's calculator is an official tool for the dates you supply, not proof that a border will admit you.
Winner Tie — EES and ETIAS are border systems, not a feature to market in a calculator.
Choose the European Commission calculator if you…
- want the European Commission's own official calculation for a current or planned set of dates;
- are checking an itinerary before booking and want to use its defined check or planning mode;
- hold a short-stay visa and need to start from its sticker conditions as well as the 90/180 framework;
- want a second opinion on dates you have entered elsewhere; or
- understand that a tool result remains a helping calculation, while the border authority makes the decision.
Choose Stretch if you…
- want a free calculator now — type in the trips and see days used, days left and the last legal day at the calculator;
- need to see why the answer is not simply 90 minus days used — older days can drop out while a new day is spent;
- want calendar dates, not a nights-based estimate — both entry and exit dates count;
- want a plain web page with no account — the calculation runs in your browser; or
- want the official tool as a companion, not a rival — check the dates with the Commission calculator when that helps.
How we evaluated
- Authority: whether the tool is published by the European Commission or clearly describes itself as independent.
- How it counts: whether it keeps the rolling 180-day look-back, one allowance for the whole area, and entry and exit days both counting.
- Days left versus the day you must leave: whether the tool separates the current balance from the last day you may stay, as old days drop out.
- Scope: whether it says when residence permits, long-stay visas, visa-sticker conditions, airside transit or EES records are outside the calculation.
- Usability: whether you can enter real trip dates and know what to do next, without a calculator pretending to be an immigration decision.
- Evidence: whether the time-sensitive rule and EES facts link to current official EU pages checked on 26 August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free Schengen calculator?
Stretch is the best free Schengen calculator for a trip history you type in, because it counts the 90/180 window forward day by day and shows the last legal day of a continuing stay. The Commission calculator is the best official check of the dates you enter, so use it as a cross-check rather than pretending either result grants entry.
Is the European Commission calculator a travel-history tool?
No — the European Commission calculator is an official check and planning tool for the dates you supply. It can report a stay-until result; Stretch counts an entered history forward as older days drop out. The jobs overlap, but they are not the same.
Does EES change how remaining Schengen days are counted?
No. EES records external-border entries and exits; it does not change the 90 days in any 180, the area-wide count or the rule that both entry and exit dates count.
Do I get 90 days in Spain and another 90 in France?
No. Schengen is one area-wide allowance for this rule. A Spain date and a France date both sit in the same rolling 180-day count.
Does leaving Schengen reset my 90 days?
No. Leaving stops new days being added while outside, but it does not erase old days. They return one calendar day at a time as they fall out of the moving 180-day window.
Sources
- European Commission — short-stay calculator, including the 90/180 rule, check and planning modes, and exclusions for residence permits and long-stay visas (checked 2026-08-26).
- Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Schengen Borders Code, Article 6(1)–(2), including the 180-day look-back and inclusive entry/exit dates (checked 2026-08-26).
- European Commission — EES and ETIAS: what travellers need to know, including the different roles of EES and ETIAS (checked 2026-08-26).
- Travel to Europe — data held by EES, including external-border entry/exit and biometric records (checked 2026-08-26).
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Recommended reads
- EES 2026: how Schengen days are counted [2026]
- Do arrival and departure days count towards your visa days? [2026]
- Per-entry or rolling window? The two ways countries count your days [2026]
Prices, ratings and features are as published by each product on the date shown; they change — check the store listing before you buy. Stretch is a tracker, not legal advice.