Difference between EXISTS and IN in SQL?

Question

What is the difference between the EXISTS and IN clause in SQL?

When should we use EXISTS, and when should we use IN

Answer 1

IN:

• Works on List result set
• Doesn’t work on subqueries resulting in Virtual tables with multiple columns
• Compares every value in the result list
• Performance is comparatively SLOW for larger result set of subquery

EXISTS:

• Works on Virtual tables
• Is used with co-related queries
• Exits comparison when match is found
• Performance is comparatively FAST for larger result set of subquery