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Semantic Version Comparator
Compares two semantic versions and says which is newer, what level of change it is, and whether caret and tilde ranges are satisfied.
Developer
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Enter your figures and press Calculate.
In short
Semantic Version Comparator is a free online tool on inputtesthub.com that compares two semantic versions and says which is newer, what level of change it is, and whether caret and tilde ranges are satisfied. It needs no account, no download and no payment, and there is no daily usage limit. Everything is processed inside your own browser, so the data you paste is never uploaded to a server.
How to use the Semantic Version Comparator
- Enter your figures in the input fields.
- The result updates as you type, together with the full working.
- Check the breakdown table to see exactly how the number was reached.
About the Semantic Version Comparator
The Semantic Version Comparator compares two semantic versions and says which is newer, what level of change it is, and whether caret and tilde ranges are satisfied. It runs as plain JavaScript inside the page, which means there is no upload step, no queue and no size limit imposed by a server — the only limit is your own device.
What people use it for
- Settling whether 1.10.0 is newer than 1.9.0 — it is.
- Checking whether an installed version satisfies a caret range.
- Understanding why a release candidate was never picked up.
Details
| 1.10.0 > 1.9.0 | Numeric, not alphabetical |
|---|---|
| 1.0.0-alpha < 1.0.0 | A pre-release comes first |
| rc.9 < rc.10 | Numeric parts compare numerically |
| ^1.2.3 | Up to but not including 2.0.0 |
| ^0.2.3 | Only 0.2.x — not 0.3.0 |
The maths behind it
This tool uses compare major, then minor, then patch numerically. A version carrying a pre-release is lower than the same version without one, and within a pre-release each dot-separated part is compared in turn. Every intermediate value is shown on screen, so the result can be checked by hand.
Build metadata after a + is ignored entirely when comparing, so 1.0.0+build.1 and 1.0.0+build.99 are the same version. Two builds differing only in metadata cannot be ordered, which is exactly what the specification intends.
Where this tool stops
It implements semver 2.0.0. Schemes that only look like semver — Ubuntu dates, calendar versioning, four-part Windows versions — will not parse, and that is deliberate rather than a gap.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1.10.0 newer than 1.9.0?
Yes. Semver compares each part as a number, so 10 is greater than 9. Sorting versions as plain strings gives the opposite answer, and it is the single most common version-ordering bug there is.
What is the difference between ^ and ~?
Caret allows everything up to the next major release; tilde allows only patch updates within the current minor. So ^1.2.3 accepts 1.9.0 while ~1.2.3 stops at 1.2.x. Below 1.0.0 caret becomes much stricter — ^0.2.3 will not take 0.3.0, because in a zero-major version the minor number is where breaking changes are allowed to live.
Is the Semantic Version Comparator free, or is there a paid tier?
It is free, with no account, no trial and no daily cap. Every developer tool on inputtesthub.com works the same way: open the page and use it.
Is the Semantic Version Comparator safe to use with private information?
No. The Semantic Version Comparator runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is transmitted, logged or stored, which you can verify yourself in the Network tab of your browser's developer tools.
What is the equation behind the Semantic Version Comparator?
It uses compare major, then minor, then patch numerically. A version carrying a pre-release is lower than the same version without one, and within a pre-release each dot-separated part is compared in turn. The full working is printed under the result, so you can follow every step rather than trusting a black box.
What does a typical result look like?
Enter 1.4.2 against 1.10.0-rc.2 and the Semantic Version Comparator returns 1.4.2 is older, at minor level, and the release candidate satisfies ^1.4.2 but not ~1.4.2.
Who is the Semantic Version Comparator for?
The most common reasons people reach for it: settling whether 1.10.0 is newer than 1.9.0 — it is. Checking whether an installed version satisfies a caret range. Understanding why a release candidate was never picked up. It is built for exactly those cases rather than being a general-purpose tool with this bolted on.
What are the limits of the Semantic Version Comparator?
It implements semver 2.0.0. Schemes that only look like semver — Ubuntu dates, calendar versioning, four-part Windows versions — will not parse, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. Knowing where a tool stops being trustworthy matters more than the cases where it works.
What are the reference figures here?
1.10.0 > 1.9.0 is Numeric, not alphabetical. 1.0.0-alpha < 1.0.0 is A pre-release comes first. rc.9 < rc.10 is Numeric parts compare numerically. These are printed on the page itself, so you do not have to take them on trust.
How precise is the result?
The calculation runs in double precision and the result is shown to ten significant figures, so converting a value and converting it back returns the original. What is displayed is rounded for readability; what is copied is not.
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