SQL WHERE: filter the rows you want

In Excel, you'd reach for

fxThe filter dropdown (Data > Filter)

WHERE keeps only the rows that pass your test, like ticking boxes in Excel's filter dropdown, except you describe what you want instead of clicking.

=, <> (not equal), >, <= for comparisons
BETWEEN '2026-03-01' AND '2026-03-31' for ranges (both ends included)
IN ('India', 'Canada') for "any of these"
LIKE '%@gmail.com' for text patterns (% = anything)
IS NULL / IS NOT NULL for blanks. = NULL never matches anything.

SQL order of execution: FROM, WHERE, GROUP BY, HAVING, SELECT, ORDER BY, LIMIT, with the Excel equivalent of each step — The order SQL runs a query in, with the Excel step each one is like. Download · Save to Pinterest

Syntax

SELECT columns
FROM table
WHERE condition AND other_condition;

Try itEdit the query, then Run

id	opened_at	priority	agent
34	2026-03-07 12:00	urgent	Emma
104	2026-04-17 03:00	urgent	Diego
320	2026-06-11 14:00	urgent	Bruno
465	2026-06-27 01:00	urgent	Emma

4 rows

Mixing AND with OR? Use brackets so it does what you mean: WHERE region = 'Europe' AND (quantity > 3 OR product_id = 2).

Your turn

Find orders from the Europe or Latin America regions with a quantity above 4. Show id, region and quantity.

This page on one card

SQL WHERE: filter the rows you want: the Excel way (The filter dropdown (Data > Filter)) and the SQL query, side by side — SQL WHERE: filter the rows you want, on one card: the Excel way and the SQL. Download · Save to Pinterest

The practice data (7 tables)

customers: one row per customer
subscriptions: one row per paid plan
events: one row per thing someone did
orders: one row per order
products: a lookup table
campaigns: one row per channel per month
tickets: one row per support ticket

See every column and sample rows