---
title: SQL comparison operators
description: Comparison operators evaluate the relationship between the left and right operands and return true or false.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/clustered/reference/sql/operators/comparison/
estimated_tokens: 3861
product: InfluxDB Clustered
version: clustered
---

# SQL comparison operators

Comparison operators evaluate the relationship between the left and right operands and returns `true` or `false`.

| Operator | Meaning |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| = | Equal to |  |
| <> | Not equal to |  |
| != | Not equal to |  |
| > | Greater than |  |
| >= | Greater than or equal to |  |
| < | Less than |  |
| <= | Less than or equal to |  |
| IS DISTINCT FROM | Is distinct from |  |
| IS NOT DISTINCT FROM | Is not distinct from |  |
| ~ | Matches a regular expression |  |
| ~* | Matches a regular expression (case-insensitive) |  |
| !~ | Does not match a regular expression |  |
| !~* | Does not match a regular expression (case-insensitive) |  |

## \=

The `=` operator compares the left and right operands and, if equal, returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 123 = 123
```

| Int64(123) = Int64(123) |
| --- |
| true |

## !=, <>

The `!=` and `<>` operators compare the left and right operands and, if not equal, returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 123 != 456
```

| Int64(123) != Int64(456) |
| --- |
| true |

```sql
SELECT 123 <> 456
```

| Int64(123) != Int64(456) |
| --- |
| true |

## \>

The `>` operator compares the left and right operands and, if the left operand is greater than the right operand, returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 3 > 2
```

| Int64(3) > Int64(2) |
| --- |
| true |

## \>=

The `>=` operator compares the left and right operands and, if the left operand is greater than or equal to the right operand, returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 3 >= 2
```

| Int64(3) >= Int64(2) |
| --- |
| true |

## <

The `<` operator compares the left and right operands and, if the left operand is less than the right operand, returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 1 < 2
```

| Int641(1) < Int64(2) |
| --- |
| true |

## <=

The `<=` operator compares the left and right operands and, if the left operand is less than or equal to the right operand, returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 1 <= 2
```

| Int641(1) <= Int64(2) |
| --- |
| true |

## IS DISTINCT FROM

The `IS DISTINCT FROM` operator is a *NULL*\-safe operator that returns `true` if both operands are not equal; otherwise, it returns `false`. This operator guarantees the result of a comparison is `true` or `false` and not an empty set.

```sql
SELECT 0 IS DISTINCT FROM NULL
```

| Int64(0) IS DISTINCT FROM NULL |
| --- |
| true |

## IS NOT DISTINCT FROM

The `IS NOT DISTINCT FROM` operator is a *NULL*\-safe operator that returns `true` if both operands are equal or *NULL*; otherwise, it returns `false`. This operator negates [`IS DISTINCT FROM`](#is-distinct-from).

```sql
SELECT NULL IS NOT DISTINCT FROM NULL
```

| NULL IS NOT DISTINCT FROM NULL |
| --- |
| true |

## ~

The `~` operator compares the left string operand to the right regular expression operand and, if it matches (case-sensitive), returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 'abc' ~ 'a.*'
```

| Utf8(“abc”) ~ Utf8(“a.*”) |
| --- |
| true |

## ~\*

The `~*` operator compares the left string operand to the right regular expression operand and, if it matches (case-insensitive), returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 'Abc' ~* 'A.*'
```

| Utf8(“Abc”) ~* Utf8(“A.*”) |
| --- |
| true |

## !~

The `!~` operator compares the left string operand to the right regular expression operand and, if it does not match (case-sensitive), returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 'abc' !~ 'd.*'
```

| Utf8(“abc”) !~ Utf8(“d.*”) |
| --- |
| true |

## !~\*

The `!~*` operator compares the left string operand to the right regular expression operand and, if it does not match (case-insensitive), returns `true`. Otherwise returns `false`.

```sql
SELECT 'Abc' !~* 'a.*'
```

| Utf8(“Abc”) !~* Utf8(“a.*”) |
| --- |
| false |