They are the same (as is the third form, ^=).

Note, though, that they are still considered different from the point of view of the parser, that is a stored outline defined for a != won't match <> or ^=.

This is unlike PostgreSQL where the parser treats != and <> yet on parsing stage, so you cannot overload != and <> to be different operators.

Answer from Quassnoi on Stack Overflow
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Database Guide
database.guide › sql-not-equal-to-operator-for-beginners-exclamation-equals-sign
SQL Not Equal To (!=) Operator for Beginners
December 2, 2020 - Oracle (302) PostgreSQL (481) Redis (210) SQL (706) SQL Server (1,243) SQLite (301) Posted on December 2, 2020February 11, 2022 by Ian · In SQL, the not equal to operator (!=) compares the non-equality of two expressions. That is, it tests whether one expression is not equal to another expression.
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Oracle
docs.oracle.com › cd › E17952_01 › mysql-5.7-en › comparison-operators.html
12.4.2 Comparison Functions and Operators
October 25, 2025 - By default, string comparisons are not case-sensitive and use the current character set. The default is latin1 (cp1252 West European), which also works well for English. ... mysql> SELECT 1 = 0; -> 0 mysql> SELECT '0' = 0; -> 1 mysql> SELECT '0.0' = 0; -> 1 mysql> SELECT '0.01' = 0; -> 0 mysql> SELECT '.01' = 0.01; -> 1 · For row comparisons, (a, b) = (x, y) is equivalent to: ... NULL-safe equal.
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Tutorialspoint
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SQL - NOT EQUAL Operator
We can use "<>" or "!=" in the WHERE clause of a SQL statement and exclude rows that match a specific text value. In the following query, we are retrieving all the records from the CUSTOMERS table whose NAME is not 'Ramesh': ... We can use the NOT EQUAL operator with the GROUP BY clause to ...
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Ask TOM
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Using Not Equal to Condition in the SQL Select Statement
Using Not Equal to Condition in the SQL Select Statement Hi Tom, I am facing a problem - using not equal to condition in the SQL Select statement. Let me explain it in more details with the following example-if acc_type = 'Y' then IF l_type in ('LEASE','RENT') then IF rev_type = 'BASE' then IF line_amt 0 then
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TechOnTheNet
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Oracle / PLSQL: Comparison Operators
In this example, the SELECT statement above would return all rows from the customers table where the last_name is equal to Anderson. In Oracle/PLSQL, you can use the <> or != operators to test for inequality in a query. For example, we could test for inequality using the <> operator, as follows: ...
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Hightouch
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SQL Not Equal To - Syntax, Use Cases, and Examples | Hightouch
January 3, 2024 - The SQL "Not Equals To" operator, denoted as "<>", "!=", or "NOT =", is used to compare values in a database table and retrieve rows where a specific column's value does not match a given criteria.
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W3Schools
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SQL WHERE Clause
SQL Examples SQL Editor SQL Quiz SQL Exercises SQL Server SQL Syllabus SQL Study Plan SQL Bootcamp SQL Certificate SQL Training ... The WHERE clause is used to filter records. It is used to extract only those records that fulfill a specified condition. ... SELECT column1, column2, ... FROM table_name WHERE condition; Note: The WHERE clause is not only used in SELECT statements, it is also used in UPDATE, DELETE, etc.!
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › pl/sql › pl-sql-not-equal-operator
PL/SQL NOT EQUAL Operator - GeeksforGeeks
July 23, 2025 - The NOT EQUAL operator in PL/SQL is represented by != or <>. It is used to check if two expressions or values are not equal to each other.
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SQL Shack
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SQL Not Equal Operator introduction and examples
May 21, 2021 - We can use both SQL Not Equal operators <> and != to do inequality test between two expressions. Both operators give the same output. The only difference is that ‘<>’ is in line with the ISO standard while ‘!=’ does not follow ISO standard.
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Analytics Vidhya
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Understanding SQL Not Equal Operator
June 10, 2024 - It is widely recommended for consistency and compatibility across different SQL databases. ... This query selects all customers whose age is not 30. An alternative syntax for the Not Equal operator is !=. While this is also common, it doesn’t follow the ISO standard.
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DataCamp
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SQL NOT EQUAL Operator: A Beginner's Guide | DataCamp
December 10, 2024 - It can be used in the WHERE clause to specify rows to be updated based on non-equality. UPDATE employees SET salary = salary * 1.1 WHERE job_id != 'Manager'; It can be used in the WHERE clause to identify rows to delete where the condition is true. ... Let's delve deeper into the practical application of the SQL NOT EQUAL operator with expanded examples that demonstrate its versatility and power in querying databases.
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Sqlenlight
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SQL Enlight - Static code analysis and refactoring for T-SQL and Microsoft SQL Server
Professional SQL code analysis, formatting, and refactoring tool for Microsoft SQL Server. Improve code quality, detect issues early, and boost productivity.
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EDUCBA
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PL/SQL NOT EQUAL | Quick Glance on PL/SQL NOT EQUAL
March 30, 2023 - PL/SQL NOT EQUAL is the relational operator in the PL/SQL framework that helps us determine whether the two objects or values we are comparing are equal. When the values are equal, the NOT EQUAL operator returns false, and when the values or objects we are trying to compare are NOT EQUAL, then it returns the true value.
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Quora
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How to write “not equal to” in an SQL query - Quora
Answer (1 of 6): You use not equal to” to specify a condition ot two values not being queal to each other in the set of values that are the base of your selection. It is not very clear - though - what is the purpose of this question: do you want to know for what purpose you use the “not ...
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Hackr
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SQL Not Equal To | Docs With Examples
February 26, 2025 - The SQL NOT EQUAL TO operator ( or !=) filters out specific values in queries, helping users refine data selection. Learn how it works, when to use it, and how it interacts with NULL values in SQL databases.
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JanbaskTraining
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A Complete Overview Of SQL Not Equal Operator with Examples| JanBask Training
October 19, 2024 - The SQL operator for not equal is < >. This enables you to choose rows if a specific column's contents do not match the value you have entered. In some SQL versions, you can also use the!= operator as a not-equal statement.
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Codecademy
codecademy.com › docs › sql › operators › not equal to
SQL | Operators | NOT EQUAL TO | Codecademy
April 24, 2025 - The NOT EQUAL TO operator in SQL is a comparison operator used to compare two values. It returns true if the values aren’t equal and false if they are equal.
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › sql › sql-not-equal-operator
SQL NOT EQUAL Operator - GeeksforGeeks
3 weeks ago - The SQL NOT EQUAL operator compares two values and returns true if they are not equal. It’s used to filter out matching records in queries.
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Oracle
docs.oracle.com › en › database › oracle › oracle-database › 21 › sqlrf › Data-Type-Comparison-Rules.html
SQL Language Reference
June 19, 2025 - This section describes how Oracle Database compares values of each data type. A larger value is considered greater than a smaller one. All negative numbers are less than zero and all positive numbers. Thus, -1 is less than 100; -100 is less than -1. The floating-point value NaN (not a number) is greater than any other numeric value and is equal to itself.