Python Comparison Operators [Blog + Videos]

Comparison operators are applied to comparable objects and they return a Boolean value (True or False).

Python Comparison Operators on Integers and Floats

Python comparison operators can compare numerical values such as integers and floats in Python. The operators are: equal to ( == ), not equal to ( != ), greater than ( > ), less than ( < ), less than or equal to ( <= ), and greater than or equal to ( >= ).

Here are examples of comparing two numbers using each comparison operator:

# Greater Than
print(1 > 2.0)
# False

# Less Than
print(1 < 2.0)
# True

# Equal To
print(1 == 2.0)
# False

# Not Equal To
print(1 != 2.0)
# True

# Greater Than or Equal To
print(1 >= 2.0)
# False

# Less Than or Equal To
print(1 <= 2.0)
# True

Python Comparison Operators on Strings

Python comparison operators can compare strings in Python. The comparison ordering is given by the ord() function that returns the Unicode integer for a given character c. The operators are: equal to ( == ), not equal to ( != ), greater than ( > ), less than ( < ), less than or equal to ( <= ), and greater than or equal to ( >= ).

Here are examples of comparing the string 'aaa' with 'aab' using each comparison operator:

# Greater Than
print('aaa' > 'aab')
# False

# Less Than
print('aaa' < 'aab')
# True

# Equal To
print('aaa' == 'aab')
# False

# Not Equal To
print('aaa' != 'aab')
# True

# Greater Than or Equal To
print('aaa' >= 'aab')
# False

# Less Than or Equal To
print('aaa' <= 'aab')
# True

Let’s dive into the Python comparison operators one by one—with video tutorials for each.

Python Greater Than

The Python greater than (left>right) operator returns True when its left operand exceeds its right operand. When the left operand is smaller than or equal to the right operand, the > operator returns False. For example, 3>2 evaluates to True, but 2>3 and 3>3 both evaluate to False.

Let’s explore a couple of examples regarding the greater than operator.

Is 3 greater than 2 and 2?

>>> 3 > 2
True

What about 2 greater than 3?

>>> 2 > 3
False

Can you compare collections such as lists?

>>> [1, 2] > [99]
False
>>> [1, 2] > [0]
True
>>> [1, 2] > [1, 2, 3]
False
>>> [1, 2] > [1, 1, 3]
True

Yes!

Dive deeper into this operator in our related tutorial!

Related Tutorial: Python Greater Than

Python Less Than

The Python less than (left<right) operator returns True when its left operand is smaller than its right operand. When the left operand is greater than or equal to the right operand, the < operator returns False. For example, 2<3 evaluates to True, but 3<2 and 2<2 both evaluate to False.

Let’s explore a couple of examples regarding the less than (or smaller than) operator.

Is 3 less than 2?

>>> 3 < 2
False

What about 2 less than 3?

>>> 2 < 3
True

Can you compare collections such as lists?

>>> [1, 2] < [99]
True
>>> [1, 2] < [0]
False
>>> [1, 2] < [1, 2, 3]
True
>>> [1, 2] < [1, 1, 3]
False

Yes!

Dive deeper into this operator in our related tutorial!

Related Tutorial: Python Less Than

Python Equal To

The Python equal to (left==right) operator returns True when its left operand is equal to its right operand. Otherwise, it returns False. For example, 3==3 evaluates to True, but 3==2 evaluates to False.

Let’s explore a couple of examples regarding the equal to operator.

Is 3 equal to 2?

>>> 3 == 2
False

What about 'h' equal to 'h'?

>>> 'h' == 'h'
True

Can you compare collections such as lists, strings, tuples?

>>> [1, 2] == [1, 2]
True
>>> [1, 2] == [1, 2, 3]
False
>>> (1, 1) == (1, 1, 1)
False
>>> 'hello' == 'hello'
True

Yes!

Dive deeper into this operator in our related tutorial!

Related Tutorial: Python Equal To

Python Not Equal To

The Python not equal to (left!=right) operator returns True when its left operand is not equal to its right operand as defined by the __ne__() magic method. Otherwise, it returns False. For example, 3!=2 evaluates to True, but 3!=3 evaluates to False.

Let’s explore a couple of examples regarding the not equal to operator.

Is 3 not equal to 2?

>>> 3 != 2
True

What about 'h' not equal to 'h'?

>>> 'h' != 'h'
False

Can you compare collections such as lists, strings, tuples?

>>> [1, 2] != [1, 2]
False
>>> [1, 2] != [1, 2, 3]
True
>>> (1, 1) != (1, 1, 1)
True
>>> 'hello' != 'hello!'
True

Yes!

Dive deeper into this operator in our related tutorial!

Related Tutorial: Python Not Equal To

Python Greater Than or Equal To

The Python greater than or equal to (left>=right) operator returns True when its left operand is not exceeded by its right operand. When the left operand is smaller than the right operand, the >= operator returns False. For example, 3>=2 and 3>=3 evaluate to True, but 2>=3 evaluates to False.

Let’s explore a couple of examples regarding the greater than or equal to operator.

Is 3 greater than or equal to 2?

>>> 3 >= 2
True

What about 2 greater than or equal to 3?

>>> 2 >= 3
False

What about 2 greater than or equal to 2?

>>> 2 >= 2
True

Can you compare collections such as lists?

>>> [1, 2] >= [99]
False
>>> [1, 2] >= [0]
True
>>> [1, 2] >= [1, 2, 3]
False
>>> [1, 2] >= [1, 1, 3]
True
>>> [1, 2] >= [1, 2]
True

Yes!

Dive deeper into this operator in our related tutorial!

Related Tutorial: Python Greater Than or Equal To

Python Less Than or Equal To

The Python less than or equal to (left<=right) operator returns True when its left operand does not exceed the right operand. When the left operand is greater than the right operand, the <= operator returns False. For example, 2<=3 and 2<=2 evaluate to True, but 3<=2 and evaluates to False.

Let’s explore a couple of examples regarding the less than or equal to operator.

Is 3 less than or equal to 2?

>>> 3 <= 2
False

What about 2 less than or equal to 3?

>>> 2 <= 3
True

And 2 less than or equal to itself?

>>> 2 <= 2
True

Can you compare collections such as lists?

>>> [1, 2] <= [99]
True
>>> [1, 2] <= [0]
False
>>> [1, 2] <= [1, 2, 3]
True
>>> [1, 2] <= [1, 1, 3]
False
>>> [1, 2] <= [1, 2]
True

Yes!

Dive deeper into this operator in our related tutorial!

Related Tutorial: Python Less Than or Equal To