# LIMIT > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [cloud-data-platform-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform-full.txt) --- title: LIMIT latest-operator-version: v26.1.4 latest-console-tag: v3.7.3 latest-connect-version: 4.93.0 latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9 docname: sql/sql-clauses/limit page-component-name: cloud-data-platform page-version: master page-component-version: master page-component-title: Cloud page-relative-src-path: sql/sql-clauses/limit.adoc page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/cloud-docs/edit/main/modules/reference/pages/sql/sql-clauses/limit.adoc description: The LIMIT clause restricts the number of records returned by a SELECT statement. page-topic-type: reference page-git-created-date: "2026-05-26" page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26" --- `LIMIT` is an optional clause used with `SELECT` statements to retrieve records from one or more tables. It specifies the number of records a query returns after filtering the data. ## [](#syntax)Syntax The `LIMIT` clause has two syntax forms that produce identical results. The first is the standard PostgreSQL form: ```sql SELECT column_list FROM table_name ORDER BY sort_expression LIMIT row_count ``` The second is the ANSI SQL form (`FETCH NEXT …​ ROWS ONLY`): ```sql SELECT column_list FROM table_name ORDER BY sort_expression FETCH NEXT row_count ROWS ONLY ``` Where: - `column_list`: The columns or calculations to retrieve. - `table_name`: The tables to retrieve records from. - `ORDER BY`: An expression used to order the results, either ascending (`ASC`) or descending (`DESC`). - `LIMIT row_count`: The number of rows to return based on `row_count`. > 📝 **NOTE** > > You can list more than one table in the `FROM` clause. ### [](#special-cases)Special cases - If `row_count` is `NULL`, the query produces the same result as a query without a `LIMIT` clause. - If `row_count` is zero, the statement returns an empty set. ## [](#examples)Examples This example creates a `comporders` table and inserts values into it: ```sql CREATE TABLE comporders ( order_id int, cust_name text, prod_name text, prod_price float, status text ); INSERT INTO comporders VALUES (1002, 'Mike', 'Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5', 600, 'PAID'), (1003, 'Sean', 'Acer Aspire 3', 450, 'PAID'), (1004, 'Victor', 'Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2', 500, 'PENDING'), (1005, 'Lewis', 'Lenovo Duet 5i', 700, 'PAID'), (1006, 'David', 'Acer Swift 3', 640, 'PAID'), (1007, 'Meghan', 'Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook', 750, 'PAID'), (1008, 'Harry', 'Apple iPad Air', 449, 'PENDING'), (1009, 'Steve', 'Microsoft Surface Go 3', 680, 'PENDING'), (1010, 'Omar', 'HP Victus 16', 800,'PAID'); ``` To verify the inserted values, run: ```sql SELECT * FROM comporders; ``` The query returns: ```sql +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ | order_id | cust_name | prod_name | prod_price | status | +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ | 1002 | Mike | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 | 600 | PAID | | 1003 | Sean | Acer Aspire 3 | 450 | PAID | | 1004 | Victor | Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 | 500 | PENDING | | 1005 | Lewis | Lenovo Duet 5i | 700 | PAID | | 1006 | David | Acer Swift 3 | 640 | PAID | | 1007 | Meghan | Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook | 750 | PAID | | 1008 | Harry | Apple iPad Air | 449 | PENDING | | 1009 | Steve | Microsoft Surface Go 3 | 680 | PENDING | | 1010 | Omar | HP Victus 16 | 800 | PAID | +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ ``` ### [](#limit-with-order-by-expression)LIMIT with ORDER BY expression This example uses the `LIMIT` clause to get the first four orders sorted by `order_id`: ```sql SELECT order_id, prod_name, prod_price FROM comporders ORDER BY order_id LIMIT 4; ``` The query returns: ```sql +-----------+-------------------------------+-------------+ | order_id | prod_name | prod_price | +-----------+-------------------------------+-------------+ | 1002 | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 | 600 | | 1003 | Acer Aspire 3 | 450 | | 1004 | Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 | 500 | | 1005 | Lenovo Duet 5i | 700 | +-----------+-------------------------------+-------------+ ``` ### [](#limit-with-asc-or-desc)LIMIT with ASC or DESC You can use the `LIMIT` clause to select rows with the highest or lowest values from a table. 1. To get the five most expensive orders, sort by `prod_price` in descending order (`DESC`) and use `LIMIT` to return the first five rows: ```sql SELECT * FROM comporders ORDER BY prod_price DESC LIMIT 5; ``` The query returns: ```sql +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ | order_id | cust_name | prod_name | prod_price | status | +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ | 1010 | Omar | HP Victus 16 | 800 | PAID | | 1007 | Meghan | Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook | 750 | PAID | | 1005 | Lewis | Lenovo Duet 5i | 700 | PAID | | 1009 | Steve | Microsoft Surface Go 3 | 680 | PENDING | | 1006 | David | Acer Swift 3 | 640 | PAID | +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ ``` 2. To get the five cheapest orders, sort by `prod_price` in ascending order (`ASC`) and use `LIMIT` to return the first five rows: ```sql SELECT * FROM comporders ORDER BY prod_price ASC LIMIT 5; ``` The query returns: ```sql +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ | order_id | cust_name | prod_name | prod_price | status | +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ | 1008 | Harry | Apple iPad Air | 449 | PENDING | | 1003 | Sean | Acer Aspire 3 | 450 | PAID | | 1004 | Victor | Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 | 500 | PENDING | | 1002 | Mike | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 | 600 | PAID | | 1006 | David | Acer Swift 3 | 640 | PAID | +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ ``` ### [](#limit-with-offset)LIMIT with OFFSET In this example, the `LIMIT` and `OFFSET` clauses get five orders: ```sql SELECT * FROM comporders LIMIT 5 OFFSET 2; ``` The query returns: ```sql +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ | order_id | cust_name | prod_name | prod_price | status | +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ | 1004 | Victor | Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 | 500 | PENDING | | 1005 | Lewis | Lenovo Duet 5i | 700 | PAID | | 1006 | David | Acer Swift 3 | 640 | PAID | | 1007 | Meghan | Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook | 750 | PAID | | 1008 | Harry | Apple iPad Air | 449 | PENDING | +-----------+------------+----------------------------------+-------------+----------+ ``` In this result: - Orders with `order_id` 1002 and 1003 are not displayed because the `OFFSET` value is `2`, so the first two rows are skipped. - Orders with `order_id` 1009 and 1010 are not displayed because the `LIMIT` value is `5`, so only five rows are returned.