Weekly vs Biweekly vs Semi-Monthly Pay

Compare periods by their boundaries

• Weekly: seven consecutive days; commonly 52 paydays in a year.
• Biweekly: fourteen consecutive days; commonly 26 paydays, with some calendar schedules producing 27.
• Semi-monthly: two periods each month, normally 24 per year. The number of days in each period varies.
• Monthly: one calendar month, with 28, 29, 30 or 31 days.

Payday timing and period boundaries are set by the actual schedule and applicable requirements. A calendar year does not always contain the same number of weekly or biweekly paydays.

Why fourteen days is not half a month

For February 2028, the first half has 15 days and the second half has 14 because it is a leap year. In February 2027, the second half has 13 days. In a 31-day month, the second half has 16. A biweekly period always contains 14 days and can cross month or year boundaries.

The overtime workweek is a different boundary

A pay period controls which dates appear on a statement; it does not create a new federal overtime threshold. DOL Fact Sheet 23 describes the fixed 168-hour workweek and prohibits averaging hours across multiple workweeks.

For example, 45 hours followed by 35 hours is 80 hours over two weeks, but the first week still has five overtime hours under a weekly 40-hour rule. A semi-monthly total should not be compared with a made-up 80-hour threshold.

Choose the matching record

1. For seven days, use the weekly time card and align the rows with the workweek.
2. For two full weeks, use the biweekly calculator.
3. For the 1st–15th or 16th–last day, use the semi-monthly calculator.
4. For a full calendar month, use the monthly calculator. Check incomplete workweeks at both edges before relying on weekly overtime.

Avoid mismatched dates and unsupported pay assumptions

Copying a two-week record into a monthly report does not add the missing calendar days. Likewise, multiplying a weekly total by four does not reproduce every month. Record actual worked dates and leave genuinely unworked dates empty rather than inventing a standard schedule.

Blank downloadable formats are available in Timesheet Templates. They complement saved account templates; neither format determines tax withholding, benefit deductions or whether a worker is overtime-exempt.