Compare Fractions Calculator for Comparing and Ordering Fractions

Compare Fractions Calculator Sign

This comparing fractions calculator will compare one entered fraction or mixed number with a second entered fraction or mixed number, and let you know which is bigger.

Plus, unlike other online fraction calculators, this calculator will show its work and give a detailed step-by-step explanation as to how it arrived at the answer (by finding a common denominator).

Finally, if you would like to arrange a list of fractions and mixed numbers in ascending or descending order, please visit the Ordering Fractions Calculator.

Also, be sure to check out my other online math calculators for help with fractions, including Adding and Subtracting, Multiplying, Dividing, and Reducing.

Read more ...

Also on this page:

Compare Fractions Calculator

Compare and order fractions, including whole and mixed numbers.

Special Instructions

Learn More

Selected Data Record:

A Data Record is a set of calculator entries that are stored in your web browser's Local Storage. If a Data Record is currently selected in the "Data" tab, this line will list the name you gave to that data record. If no data record is selected, or you have no entries stored for this calculator, the line will display "None".

DataData recordData recordSelected data record: None
Example comparisons:

Common comparisons:

To see an example of how the Comparing Fractions Calculator works, select a popular fraction comparison question from the drop-down menu. To clear the comparison fields to enter your own comparison, select "Select" or click the "Reset" button.

1st Entry

1st entry:

If the entry is a whole number only, leave the numerator and denominator blank. If the entry is a mixed number, enter a positive integer for the whole number, the numerator, and denominator. If the entry is a fraction only, leave the whole number field blank.

2nd Entry

2nd entry:

If the entry is a whole number only, leave the numerator and denominator blank. If the entry is a mixed number, enter a positive integer for the whole number, the numerator, and denominator. If the entry is a fraction only, leave the whole number field blank.

Greatest:Greatest:Greater of fractions:Greater of fractions:

Greater of fractions:

This is the greater of the two entries. After determining which entry is greater, the compare fractions calculator will show its work and give a detailed explanation of each step it took to arrive at the answer.

If you would like to save the current entries and results to the device you are using, tap or click on the Data tab and then tap or click on the Save button. If you upgrade your Basic, Local Storage subscription to the Cloud Storage acess level, you can save multiple sets of entries for this calculator to the secure online database, which makes them accessable from any device.

Related Calculators

algebra calculator

Help and Tools

Learn

How to compare fractions.

How Do You Compare Fractions?

The answer to that question depends on whether you are comparing fractions with the same denominators or if you are comparing fractions with different denominators.

Comparing Fractions with Same Denominators

Comparing fractions with the same denominators (bottom number) is easy. All you do is compare the numerators to see which fraction is greater, like this:

Comparison with Same Denominators

4>3
55

Comparing Fractions with Different Denominators

Comparing fractions with different denominators requires a little more work (unless you use the compare fractions calculator on this page), because in order to compare the fractions you must first turn their different denominators into the same denominators. You do that by finding the least common multiple (LCM) of the denominators.

To illustrate how you use LCM to turn different denominators into same denominators, let's suppose you want to compare the fraction 2/3 to the fraction 3/4 to see which is greater.

The first step is to find the lowest number that both 3 and 4 will divide into evenly (the LCM). According to my calculations, the LCM of the two denominators (3 & 4) is 12.

Once we have found the LCM for the two denominators, the next step is to multiply the top and bottom of each fraction by the number of times each fraction's denominator goes into the LCM.

Since 3 goes into 12 a total of 4 times, you would multiply the top and bottom of 2/3 by 4, which results in 8/12.

Next, since 4 goes into 12 a total of 3 times, you would multiply the top and bottom of 3/4 by 3, which results in 9/12.

Finally, since both denominators are now the same, you compare the numerators (8 and 9) to determine which fraction is greater. Since 9 is greater than 8, 9/12 is greater than 8/12 -- therefore 3/4 is greater than 2/3. Here is how our example of comparing fractions with different denominators might appear on paper:

Comparing Fractions with Different Denominators

Step #1: 2x 4Vs3x 3=8Vs9 
3x 44x 31212


Step #2: 8<9 
1212

So for like denominators you simply compare the numerators and for unlike denominators you multiply the top and bottom by the least common multiple of each denominator, and then compare the numerators.

Which Fraction is Bigger Calculator

Isbigger than?
Answer: Yes, 3/4 is bigger than 1/2. You can confirm this by converting both fractions to decimals.
3/4=0.75
1/2=0.5

The decimal 0.75 is bigger than 0.5, so 3/4 is bigger than 1/2.

Greater Than Less Than Fractions Calculator

The following calculator will generate a list of fractions greater than or less than the selected fraction between 1/1 and 20/20.

Fractions
1/1 2/2 3/3 4/4 4/5 5/5 5/6 6/6 6/7 7/7 7/8 8/8 7/9 8/9 9/9 8/10 9/10 10/10 9/11 10/11 11/11 10/12 11/12 12/12 10/13 11/13 12/13 13/13 11/14 12/14 13/14 14/14 12/15 13/15 14/15 15/15 13/16 14/16 15/16 16/16 13/17 14/17 15/17 16/17 17/17 14/18 15/18 16/18 17/18 18/18 15/19 16/19 17/19 18/19 19/19 16/20 17/20 18/20 19/20 20/20
Back to CalculatorBack to CalculatorBack to Compare Fractions CalculatorBack up to Compare Fractions Calculator

Adjust Calculator Width:

Move the slider to left and right to adjust the calculator width. Note that the Help and Tools panel will be hidden when the calculator is too wide to fit both on the screen. Moving the slider to the left will bring the instructions and tools panel back into view.

Also note that some calculators will reformat to accommodate the screen size as you make the calculator wider or narrower. If the calculator is narrow, columns of entry rows will be converted to a vertical entry form, whereas a wider calculator will display columns of entry rows, and the entry fields will be smaller in size ... since they will not need to be "thumb friendly".

Show/Hide Popup Keypads:

Select Show or Hide to show or hide the popup keypad icons located next to numeric entry fields. These are generally only needed for mobile devices that don't have decimal points in their numeric keypads. So if you are on a desktop, you may find the calculator to be more user-friendly and less cluttered without them.

Stick/Unstick Tools:

Select Stick or Unstick to stick or unstick the help and tools panel. Selecting "Stick" will keep the panel in view while scrolling the calculator vertically. If you find that annoying, select "Unstick" to keep the panel in a stationary position.

If the tools panel becomes "Unstuck" on its own, try clicking "Unstick" and then "Stick" to re-stick the panel.