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Semantic Version Comparator

Q: Why is 1.0.0-beta.11 higher than 1.0.0-beta.2?

Numeric pre-release identifiers are compared as numbers (11 > 2), not as strings; 1.0.0-beta.2 < 1.0.0-beta.11 < 1.0.0-rc.1 < 1.0.0.

Q: Do 1.0.0+build.1 and 1.0.0+build.2 differ?

Not in precedence: build metadata is ignored when ordering, so they compare as equal (result 0, difference 'equal').

Q: Why does ^0.2.3 not accept 0.3.0?

Below 1.0.0 the minor version is treated as the breaking level, so ^0.2.3 means >=0.2.3 <0.3.0 in npm and Cargo.

Parses two Semantic Versioning 2.0.0 strings, orders them by the specification's precedence rules (numeric core, then pre-release identifiers; build metadata ignored) and reports whether the second version satisfies the npm-style ^ (caret) and ~ (tilde) ranges of the first.

When to use

You need to know which of two versions is newer, whether 1.0.0-rc.1 precedes 1.0.0, or whether a dependency range such as ^1.2.3 would accept a candidate version.

Do not use when: The versions are not SemVer (calendar versions, four-part Windows versions, Python PEP 440 with .post/.dev) or you need to resolve full range expressions with || and comparators.

Formula

Precedence: compare major, minor, patch numerically; a version with a pre-release tag is lower than the same version without; pre-release identifiers are compared left to right (numeric < alphanumeric, numeric by value, alphanumeric by ASCII, shorter list lower); build metadata is ignored

SemVer 2.0.0 items 9–11. Caret and tilde follow node-semver: ^1.2.3 = >=1.2.3 <2.0.0, ^0.2.3 = >=0.2.3 <0.3.0, ^0.0.3 = >=0.0.3 <0.0.4, ~1.2.3 = >=1.2.3 <1.3.0; a pre-release B only satisfies a range when A is a pre-release of the same major.minor.patch.

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Unit	Required	Description
`version_a`	string		yes	First version, e.g. 1.0.0-alpha or v2.3.4+build.5 (leading v allowed).
`version_b`	string		yes	Second version to compare against A.

Outputs

Output	Type	Description
`comparison`	string	A < B, A = B or A > B written with the actual version strings.
`result`	integer	−1 when A precedes B, 0 when they have equal precedence, 1 when A is higher.
`difference`	string	Which part decides the order: major, minor, patch, prerelease, or equal (build metadata only, or identical).
`parsed_a`	object	major, minor, patch, prerelease and build of version A.
`parsed_b`	object	major, minor, patch, prerelease and build of version B.
`is_prerelease_a`	boolean	true when A carries a pre-release tag.
`is_prerelease_b`	boolean	true when B carries a pre-release tag.
`satisfies_caret`	boolean	Whether ^A (compatible with A: same major, or same minor when major is 0) accepts B.
`satisfies_tilde`	boolean	Whether ~A (patch-level changes only: ≥ A and < next minor) accepts B.
`caret_range`	string	The caret range of A written as >=A <upper.
`tilde_range`	string	The tilde range of A written as >=A <upper.

Example

1.0.0-alpha vs 1.0.0: {"version_a":"1.0.0-alpha","version_b":"1.0.0"} → {"result":-1,"comparison":"1.0.0-alpha < 1.0.0","difference":"prerelease","is_prerelease_a":true,"is_prerelease_b":false,"satisfies_caret":true,"satisfies_tilde":true,"parsed_a":{"major":1,"minor":0,"patch":0,"prerelease":"alpha","build":""}}

1.10.0 vs 1.9.9: {"version_a":"1.10.0","version_b":"1.9.9"} → {"result":1,"comparison":"1.10.0 > 1.9.9","difference":"minor","satisfies_caret":false,"satisfies_tilde":false,"caret_range":">=1.10.0 <2.0.0","tilde_range":">=1.10.0 <1.11.0"}

GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/semver-compare?version_a=1.0.0-alpha&version_b=1.0.0

Machine access

API: GET https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/semver-compare (query parameters) or POST with a JSON body {"inputs": {...}}
Schema: https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/semver-compare · Markdown: https://tttkmbb.com/developer/semver-compare.md · JSON definition: https://tttkmbb.com/developer/semver-compare.json
MCP: server https://tttkmbb.com/mcp, tool run_calculator with calculator_id="semver-compare"
OpenAPI operationId: compare_semver_versions
Freshness: static. Authentication: none. Rate limit: fair use (see rate limits).

Sources

Semantic Versioning 2.0.0 (semver.org) (standard)
node-semver – Ranges, caret and tilde semantics (npm) (reference)

FAQ

Why is 1.0.0-beta.11 higher than 1.0.0-beta.2?

Numeric pre-release identifiers are compared as numbers (11 > 2), not as strings; 1.0.0-beta.2 < 1.0.0-beta.11 < 1.0.0-rc.1 < 1.0.0.

Do 1.0.0+build.1 and 1.0.0+build.2 differ?

Not in precedence: build metadata is ignored when ordering, so they compare as equal (result 0, difference 'equal').

Why does ^0.2.3 not accept 0.3.0?

Below 1.0.0 the minor version is treated as the breaking level, so ^0.2.3 means >=0.2.3 <0.3.0 in npm and Cargo.

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