Services
Technology Web App Development Mobile App Development Windows App Development Database Development UI/UX Development Cloud Development SEO Digital Marketing Guest Posting Content Writing Artificial Intelligence Data Science ERP Development CRM Development CMS Development LMS Development Business Listing Blockchain Technology Startup Promotion AI Tools Integration
Products
Data Converter Cleaner TUC - Unit Converter Import Export Survey Manager Tweet Controller
Developer
Article Blog Forum Interview Beginner News Startup Quiz
Users
Career
Apply Job Internship
Pricing
Login Sign Up Get a Quote

interview

Ask Question

1 Answers

ICSM Computer
ICSM Computer 04 May 2026
Report Abuse

The difference between RANK() and DENSE_RANK() is how they handle duplicate values when assigning ranks.

RANK():

  • Assigns the same rank to equal values
  • Skips the next rank(s) after a tie

Example:

SELECT name, score,
       RANK() OVER (ORDER BY score DESC) AS rank
FROM students;

Result:

Score | Rank
100 | 1
90 | 2
90 | 2
80 | 4

Here, rank 3 is skipped because two rows share rank 2.

DENSE_RANK():

  • Assigns the same rank to equal values
  • Does not skip ranks

Example:

SELECT name, score,
       DENSE_RANK() OVER (ORDER BY score DESC) AS dense_rank
FROM students;

Result:

Score | Dense Rank
100 | 1
90 | 2
90 | 2
80 | 3

Here, ranks continue without gaps.

Key difference:

  • RANK(): gaps in ranking after duplicates
  • DENSE_RANK(): no gaps in ranking

When to use:

  • Use RANK() when ranking should reflect positions with gaps (like sports rankings: 1, 2, 2, 4)
  • Use DENSE_RANK() when you want continuous ranking without gaps (1, 2, 2, 3)
advertising
Markdown for AI

A clean, structured version of this page for AI assistants and LLMs.

Open .md