What’s the difference between SMALLINT, INT, and BIGINT?

Question

Mayank kumar Verma · Answer

Difference Between SMALLINT, INT, and BIGINT These data types store integer (whole) numbers but differ in the range they can hold and the space they use. Type Storage Range (Signed) SMALLINT 2 bytes –32,768 to 32,767 INT 4 bytes –2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 BIGINT 8 bytes –9,22,33,72,036,854,775,808 to 9,22,33,72,036,854,775,807 Summary SMALLINT → Small range, less space INT → Standard integer BIGINT → Very large range Use SMALLINT for small values (e.g., age), INT for most numeric IDs, and BIGINT for very large counts (e.g., global user IDs).

Ravi Vishwakarma · Answer

Numeric Integer Data Types in SQL Server Data Type Storage Size Range (Signed) TINYINT 1 byte 0 to 255 SMALLINT 2 bytes –32,768 to 32,767 INT 4 bytes –2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 BIGINT 8 bytes –9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 Key Points TINYINT: Smallest integer type, great for status codes, flags, small counters.SMALLINT: When numbers won’t exceed &#177;32K (like age, year offsets, small lookups).INT: Most common choice; default for identity columns and primary keys.BIGINT: For very large ranges (billions/trillions of records, big transaction IDs). Best Practice Always pick the smallest type that fits the data range. Saves storage.Improves index performance.Reduces I/O costs.

Type	Storage	Range (Signed)
SMALLINT	2 bytes	–32,768 to 32,767
INT	4 bytes	–2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647
BIGINT	8 bytes	–9,22,33,72,036,854,775,808 to 9,22,33,72,036,854,775,807

Data Type	Storage Size	Range (Signed)
TINYINT	1 byte	0 to 255
SMALLINT	2 bytes	–32,768 to 32,767
INT	4 bytes	–2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647
BIGINT	8 bytes	–9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807

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What’s the difference between SMALLINT, INT, and BIGINT?

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2 Answers

Difference Between SMALLINT, INT, and BIGINT

Summary

Numeric Integer Data Types in SQL Server

Key Points

Best Practice