How to add days to $Date in PHP?

In PHP, you can add days to a date using several methods. The most common approaches are using strtotime() with date() or the object-oriented DateTime functions.

Method 1: Using strtotime() and date()

The simplest approach uses strtotime() to parse date strings and add time intervals ?

<?php
    $date = "2019-11-11";
    echo "Displaying date...<br>";
    echo "Date = $date";
    echo "\nDisplaying updated date...<br>";
    echo date('Y-m-d', strtotime($date. ' + 20 days'));
?>

Displaying date...
Date = 2019-11-11
Displaying updated date...
2019-12-01

Method 2: Using DateTime Functions

For more object-oriented approach, use date_create(), date_add(), and date_format() functions ?

<?php
    $date = date_create("2019-11-11");
    echo "Displaying Date...";
    echo date_format($date,"Y/m/d");
    date_add($date, date_interval_create_from_date_string("25 days"));
    echo "\nDisplaying Updated Date...";
    echo "<br>".date_format($date, "Y/m/d");
?>

Displaying Date...2019/11/11
Displaying Updated Date...
2019/12/06

Method 3: Using DateTime Class

The modern approach uses the DateTime class with the add() method ?

<?php
    $date = new DateTime("2019-11-11");
    echo "Original Date: " . $date->format('Y-m-d') . "<br>";
    
    $date->add(new DateInterval('P15D')); // P15D means 15 days
    echo "After adding 15 days: " . $date->format('Y-m-d');
?>

Original Date: 2019-11-11
After adding 15 days: 2019-11-26

Comparison

Conclusion

Use strtotime() for simple date additions, while the DateTime class is recommended for modern PHP applications due to its object-oriented nature and better error handling.