Subquery Operators

Subquery operators compare values with the results of a subquery. They are used to create complex queries that reference the results of other queries.

Syntax

expression operator (subquery)

Operators

Operator	Description
`IN`	Returns true if the expression equals any value in the subquery result
`NOT IN`	Returns true if the expression does not equal any value in the subquery result
`EXISTS`	Returns true if the subquery returns at least one row
`NOT EXISTS`	Returns true if the subquery returns no rows
`ANY`	Returns true if the comparison is true for any value returned by the subquery
`ALL`	Returns true if the comparison is true for all values returned by the subquery

Examples

IN and NOT IN

-- Find customers who placed orders since the beginning of 2025
SELECT * FROM customers
WHERE customer_id IN (
  SELECT customer_id
  FROM orders
  WHERE order_date >= '2025-01-01'::DATE
);

-- Find products that have not been ordered
SELECT * FROM products
WHERE product_id NOT IN (
  SELECT product_id
  FROM order_items
);

EXISTS and NOT EXISTS

-- Find customers who have at least one order
SELECT * FROM customers c
WHERE EXISTS (
  SELECT 1
  FROM orders o
  WHERE o.customer_id = c.customer_id
);

-- Find customers who have no orders
SELECT * FROM customers c
WHERE NOT EXISTS (
  SELECT 1
  FROM orders o
  WHERE o.customer_id = c.customer_id
);

ANY and ALL

-- Find products that cost more than any product in the 'Electronics' category
SELECT * FROM products
WHERE price > ANY (
  SELECT price
  FROM products
  WHERE category = 'Electronics'
);

-- Find products that cost more than all products in the 'Books' category
SELECT * FROM products
WHERE price > ALL (
  SELECT price
  FROM products
  WHERE category = 'Books'
);