---
title: "Difference between INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, and FULL OUTER JOIN in SQL Server."  
description: "INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN (or LEFT OUTER JOIN), RIGHT JOIN (or RIGHT OUTER JOIN), and FULL OUTER JOIN are different types of joins"  
author: "Ravi Vishwakarma"  
published: 2024-07-03  
updated: 2024-07-03  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/blog/304465/difference-between-inner-join-left-join-right-join-and-full-outer-join-in-sql-server  
category: "SQL Server"  
tags: ["database", "sql server", "sql server 2008", "sql server 2012"]  
reading_time: 3 minutes  

---

# Difference between INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, and FULL OUTER JOIN in SQL Server.

[**SQL Server**](https://training.mindstick.com/courses/103/sql-server-upcoming5) `INNER JOIN`, `LEFT JOIN` (or `LEFT OUTER JOIN`), `RIGHT JOIN` (or `RIGHT OUTER JOIN`), and `FULL OUTER JOIN` are [**different types of joins**](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159822/what-is-the-difference-between-the-inner-join-and-left-join-in-sql-and-when-should-each-be-used) used to combine rows from multiple tables based on a related column between them. Here's a summary of each type of join and their differences:

**INNER JOIN**:

- Returns rows from both tables where there is a match based on the join condition.
- If there is no match between the tables based on the join condition, the row will not appear in the result set.

```plaintext
SELECT columns
FROM table1
INNER JOIN table2 ON table1.column = table2.column;
```

**LEFT JOIN (LEFT OUTER JOIN)**:

- Returns all rows from the left table (`table1`), and the matched rows from the right table (`table2`).
- If there is no match for a row in `table1`, the result will contain NULL values for columns from `table2`.

```plaintext
SELECT columns
FROM table1
LEFT JOIN table2 ON table1.column = table2.column;
```

**RIGHT JOIN (RIGHT OUTER JOIN)**:

- Returns all rows from the right table (`table2`), and the matched rows from the left table (`table1`).
- If there is no match for a row in `table2`, the result will contain NULL values for columns from `table1`.

```plaintext
SELECT columns
FROM table1
RIGHT JOIN table2 ON table1.column = table2.column;
```

**[FULL OUTER JOIN](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/1216/full-outer-join-on-2-data-tables-with-a-list-of-columns)**:

- Returns all rows from both tables (`table1` and `table2`), with NULL values where there is no match based on the join condition.
- If there is a match, the result will contain the matched rows from both tables.

```plaintext
SELECT columns
FROM table1
FULL OUTER JOIN table2 ON table1.column = table2.column;
```

#### Key Differences:

**Matching Behavior**:

- **INNER JOIN** only returns rows where there is a match based on the join condition.
- **LEFT JOIN** and **RIGHT JOIN** return unmatched rows from one table (left or right respectively) with NULLs for columns from the other table.
- **FULL OUTER JOIN** returns all rows from both tables, combining unmatched rows with NULLs where there is no match.

**Resulting Rows**:

- **INNER JOIN** typically returns fewer rows than either table individually, as it requires a match.
- **LEFT JOIN**, **RIGHT JOIN**, and **FULL OUTER JOIN** return at least as many rows as the left, right, or both tables, respectively.

**NULL Values**:

- **LEFT JOIN**, **RIGHT JOIN**, and **FULL OUTER JOIN** can result in NULL values for columns from the non-matching table.

These join types allow you to control how tables are combined based on relationships defined by matching columns, providing flexibility in querying and [retrieving data](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/12885/how-to-retrieving-data-from-sql-server-and-adding-it-to-arraylist) from multiple tables in SQL Server and other [relational database](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/158346/what-is-sql-server-and-how-does-it-differ-from-other-relational-database-management-systems) systems.

## Read more

[**Why do you use SQL Command and Queries in SQL Server?**](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/33942/why-do-you-use-sql-command-and-queries-in-sql-server)

[**What are SQL Views?**](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/33941/what-are-sql-views)

[**Write a query to retrieve the total number of employees in each department.**](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/33938/write-a-query-to-retrieve-the-total-number-of-employees-in-each-department)

[**write a query to n-th highest salary.**](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/33937/write-a-query-to-n-th-highest-salary)

## CURSOR AND TRIGGER IN SQL SERVER

[**Use of IN Operator in Sql Server**](https://www.mindstick.com/news/12620/use-of-in-operator-in-sql-server)

---

Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/blog/304465/difference-between-inner-join-left-join-right-join-and-full-outer-join-in-sql-server

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