Python Comparison Operators

Python comparison operators are one of the operator types and allow us to compare two values and return a boolean result (True or False).

Let me show you some examples.

Equal

We can check if two items are equal. Here is an example where we compare two numbers:

>>> 1 == 1

Will show this output:

True

You can also compare two strings:

>>> "router" == "switch"

Will show this output:

False

Or other items, perhaps two lists:

>>> ["R1","R2"] == ["R3","R4"]

Will show this output:

False

Not Equal

This is the same logic as the equal operator, but the other way around. Let’s compare two numbers:

>>> 5 != 4

Will show this output:

True

Or compare two strings:

>>> "Firewall" != "Switch"

Will show this output:

True

Greater Than

The greater than operator checks if a number is greater than another number. For example:

>>> 3 > 2

Will show this output:

True

The number has to be greater than, if they are equal then the output is false:

>>> 2 > 2

Will show this output:

False

Less Than

The less than operator is the same as the greater than operator, but the other way around. For example:

>>> 10 < 11

Will show this output:

True

10 is less than 11 so this equals true. 10 is not less than 10 however:

>>> 10 < 10

Will show this output:

False

Greater than or equal to

We can also use the greater than or equal to operator. For example:

>>> 5 >= 4

Will show this output:

True

5 is greater than 4 so this equals true. Another example:

>>> 5 >= 5

Will show this output:

True

5 is equal to 5 so this is true. Last one:

>>> 5 >= 6

Will show this output:

False

5 is not greater than 6 so this is false.

Less than or equal to

Or we can use the less than or equal to operator. Example:

>>> 9 <= 10

Will show this output:

True

9 is less than 10 so this is true. 9 is equal to 9 so this is also true: