What is the difference between DECIMAL and FLOAT?

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Anubhav Sharma · Answer

Note: Use DECIMAL/NUMERIC for financial or exact values.Use FLOAT/REAL for large ranges, scientific/engineering calculations, or when tiny precision errors are acceptable.MONEY Fixed 4 decimal places, convenient for currency but less flexible than DECIMAL. DECIMAL(p, s) Definition: Stores numbers in fixed precision (exact values).p (precision): Total number of digits.s (scale): Digits to the right of the decimal point.Use case: When accuracy is critical (e.g., money, financial data, IDs). Example: DECIMAL(5,2) → max 5 digits, 2 after decimal.Can store 123.45 exactly. FLOAT / REAL Definition: Stores numbers in approximate precision (floating-point).Internally represented in binary, so exact decimal values may not be stored.Use case: Scientific, statistical, or engineering calculations where range is more important than precision. Example: FLOAT might store 123.45 as 123.45000076293945.Faster but not reliable for money or exact comparisons. MONEY / SMALLMONEY Fixed precision & scale but limited to 4 decimal places.Faster and easier for storing currency, but not as flexible as DECIMAL. Example: MONEY range ≈ -922,337,203,685,477.5808 to +922,337,203,685,477.5807.SMALLMONEY range ≈ -214,748.3648 to +214,748.3647.

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What is the difference between DECIMAL and FLOAT?

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Note:

DECIMAL(p, s)

FLOAT / REAL

MONEY / SMALLMONEY