SQL LIMIT

What & Why

The LIMIT clause is used to cap how many rows a query returns. LIMIT keeps exploratory queries fast and keeps result tables readable. It is especially useful after ORDER BY when the business asks for top or recent records.

See how it works

A marketer wants the 10 most expensive campaigns before deciding which ones to inspect.

SELECT
  name,
  channel,
  spend
FROM marketing.campaigns
ORDER BY spend DESC
LIMIT 10;

Syntax pattern

See explanation

SELECT column_1
FROM schema.table_name
ORDER BY column_1 DESC
LIMIT 10;

LIMIT runs after sorting, so pair it with ORDER BY for top-N questions.
Without ORDER BY, the first N rows are not a meaningful ranking.
Use small limits when exploring wide tables.

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