Returns a random fractional number from 0 (inclusive) to 1 (exclusive).
RANDOM()
RANDOM(<min>, <max>)
Every call gives a new number, and every row gets its own. Multiply it and drop the fractional part to get a random integer in the range you need; PostgreSQL 17 and newer also have a ready-made form, RANDOM(1, 6). Often used to pick random rows or shuffle them.
employees
| name | department | salary | bonus | phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emma | backend | 1200 | 300 | +44 7700 900123 |
| Liam | backend | 1000 | NULL | NULL |
| Olivia | frontend | 1350 | 150 | +44 7700 900456 |
| Noah | frontend | 950 | NULL | +44 7700 900789 |
| Sophia | design | 1200 | 200 | NULL |
These tables already exist in the sandbox — the examples below use them. Want to try this in your own database? Copy the SQL.
| random_number |
|---|
| 0.8767955776954344 |
The result is different every time — press “Run” a few times.
| dice | dice_pg17 |
|---|---|
| 3 | 4 |
| name |
|---|
| Noah |
ROUND(RANDOM() * 6) gives an uneven distribution: 0 and 6 come up half as often as the other numbers. For an integer, use FLOOR(RANDOM() * 6) + 1.
ORDER BY RANDOM() goes through and sorts the whole table. On millions of rows that's slow — for large tables there's TABLESAMPLE.
RANDOM isn't suitable for passwords, tokens or anything that has to be unpredictable. For a random identifier, use gen_random_uuid().