Comparison operators

JavaScript course · Beginner · Lesson 9/133

Learn to compare values with ==, ===, !=, <, >, <= and >=.

Comparison operators

Comparison operators put two values side by side and return true or false based on their relationship. <, >, <=, >= check ordering; == and != check equality.

The result is a boolean. So you can assign a comparison to a variable: const canDrive = age >= 18;. canDrive now holds true or false.

Loose and strict equality

JavaScript has two forms of equality. == is loose equality: when types differ, it converts first and then compares. That is why "5" == 5 returns true.

=== is strict equality: it checks both value and type. "5" === 5 returns false because one is a string, the other a number. In everyday code, prefer === and !==; they avoid surprises.

Exercise Driving age check

Declare age with the value 18. Then declare a canDrive variable and assign it the result of age >= 18.

Show example solution

// Declare age and canDrive
let age = 18;
let canDrive = age >= 18;

Test yourself

What is the result of "5" == 5?
```
console.log("5" == 5);
```
- false
- TypeError
- true
- NaN
Show answer

true — Correct. == does type conversion; the string "5" equals the number 5.

Write the age condition

const age = 20;
const canVote = age ____ 18;
console.log(canVote);

Show answer

const age = 20;
const canVote = age >= 18;
console.log(canVote);

Match the comparison operator

==

Equal (loose)
===

Strict equal
<

Less than
>=

Greater or equal

All lessons in Beginner

1 Variables and data types

Comparison operators