PHP Comparison Operators Explained with Examples

What Are PHP Comparison Operators?

In PHP, comparison operators are used to compare two values — numbers, strings, or variables.
These operators return a Boolean result — either true or false — depending on whether the condition is met.

Comparison operators are widely used in if statements, loops, and conditional expressions to make decisions in your code.

Equal Operator (==)

Checks if two values are equal, ignoring data type.

Example:

<?php
$a = 5;
$b = "5";

if ($a == $b) {
    echo "Values are equal!";
}
?>

Output:

 
Values are equal!

 PHP converts both to the same type before comparison.

Identical Operator (===)

Checks if both value and data type are the same.

Example:

<?php
$a = 5;
$b = "5";

if ($a === $b) {
    echo "Values and types are same!";
} else {
    echo "Values are equal but types are different!";
}
?>

Output:

 
Values are equal but types are different!

Not Equal Operators (!= or )

Checks if two values are not equal.

Example:

<?php
$x = 10;
$y = 20;

if ($x != $y) {
    echo "Values are not equal!";
}
?>

Output:

 
Values are not equal!

Not Identical Operator (!==)

Checks if values or types are not identical.

Example:

<?php
$a = 10;
$b = "10";

if ($a !== $b) {
    echo "Values or types are not identical!";
}
?>

Output:

 
Values or types are not identical!

Greater Than Operator (>)

Checks if the left value is greater than the right value.

Example:

<?php
$a = 15;
$b = 10;

if ($a > $b) {
    echo "$a is greater than $b";
}
?>

Output:

 
15 is greater than 10

Less Than Operator (<)

Checks if the left value is less than the right value.

Example:

<?php
$a = 5;
$b = 12;

if ($a < $b) {
    echo "$a is less than $b";
}
?>

Output:

 
5 is less than 12

Greater Than or Equal To (>=)

Checks if the left value is greater than or equal to the right.

Example:

<?php
$a = 10;
$b = 10;

if ($a >= $b) {
    echo "$a is greater than or equal to $b";
}
?>

Output:

 
10 is greater than or equal to 10

Less Than or Equal To (<=)

Checks if the left value is less than or equal to the right.

Example:

<?php
$a = 8;
$b = 10;

if ($a <= $b) {
    echo "$a is less than or equal to $b";
}
?>

Output:

 
8 is less than or equal to 10

Spaceship Operator ()

Introduced in PHP 7, the spaceship operator compares two values and returns:

  • 0 if both are equal

  • 1 if the left is greater

  • -1 if the right is greater

Example:

<?php
echo 10 <=> 10; // 0
echo "<br>";
echo 20 <=> 10; // 1
echo "<br>";
echo 5 <=> 15;  // -1
?>

Output:

 
0
1
-1

Real-World Example: Comparing Student Scores

<?php
$marks = 75;

if ($marks >= 90) {
    echo "Grade: A+";
} elseif ($marks >= 75) {
    echo "Grade: A";
} elseif ($marks >= 50) {
    echo "Grade: B";
} else {
    echo "Fail";
}
?>

Output:

 
Grade: A