# Compare Fractions

Enter your fractions, using a slash (/) symbol as the separator, and compare fractions to find which is greater than, less than, or if they are equal.

 Compare these Fractions ?

## Solution

$$23is less than3423<34$$

## Find the Larger Fraction By Converting to Decimal

The first way to compare fractions is to convert them to decimal. Simply divide the numerator of each fraction by the denominator and then compare the decimal values. Use our fraction to decimal calculator to get the decimal value for your fraction. Also see our decimal equivalents chart to see the decimal equivalents for common fractions.

## Compare Fractions By Finding the Common Denominator

The second way to compare fractions is to find the greatest common denominator and make the denominators of each fraction equal. Start by finding the lowest common denominator(also referred to as the least common denominator), which is the smallest number that each denominator divides equally into. For example, the lowest common denominator of 6 and 9 would be 18. 6 × 3 = 18 and 9 × 3 = 18. Note that the number that was multiplied by the denominator to get the lowest common denominator is the multiple. Multiply each numerator by the multiple to get the equivalent fraction with the lowest common denominator. You can also use our lowest common denominator calculator to find the common denominator for your fractions. Also see our equivalent fraction chart to see equivalents for common fractions. Finally, compare the numerators to find which fraction is largest or smallest. The fraction with the larger numerator is the larger number.

## Comparing Fractions With the Same Numerator

When fractions have the same numerator they can be compared by comparing the denominators. When the numerators are the same, the fraction with the smaller denominator is larger. Saying this a different way, the larger the denominator the smaller the number is.