---
title: "What is the difference between INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, FULL JOIN?"  
description: "What is the difference between INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, FULL JOIN?"  
author: "Anubhav Sharma"  
published: 2026-03-15  
updated: 2026-04-28  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/162063/what-is-the-difference-between-inner-join-left-join-right-join-full-join  
category: "SQL Server"  
tags: ["sql server"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# What is the difference between INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, FULL JOIN?

**What is the [difference](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/157114/good-news-or-bad-news-and-the-difference-is) between [INNER JOIN](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/33572/sql-inner-join-keyword), [LEFT](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/12768/don-t-be-left-behind-with-the-new-it-revolution) JOIN, [RIGHT JOIN](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/304465/difference-between-inner-join-left-join-right-join-and-full-outer-join-in-sql-server), [FULL JOIN](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/116558/difference-between-inner-join-vs-left-join-vs-right-join-vs-full-join)?**

## Replies

### Reply by Anubhav Sharma

Here’s the **short and clear difference**:

### INNER JOIN

- Returns only the matching records from both tables.\ → Common data only

### LEFT JOIN (LEFT OUTER JOIN)

- Returns all records from left table + matching from [right](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/12766/check-whether-you-are-doing-digital-transformation-right-or-not).\ → Non-matching right = NULL

### RIGHT JOIN (RIGHT OUTER JOIN)

- Returns all records from right table + matching from left.\ → Non-matching left = NULL

### FULL JOIN (FULL OUTER JOIN)

- Returns all records from both tables.\ → Non-matching on either side = NULL

### Quick Example Idea

- INNER → intersection
- LEFT → left + match
- RIGHT → right + match
- [FULL](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/12893/experience-the-full-power-of-suitecrm) → everything


---

Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/162063/what-is-the-difference-between-inner-join-left-join-right-join-full-join

Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.