MySQL TIMEDIFF() Function

In MySQL, the TIMEDIFF() function returns the difference between two time values.

`TIMEDIFF()` Syntax

Here is the syntax of MySQL TIMEDIFF() function:

TIMEDIFF(time1, time2)

Parameters

time1: Required. A time or datetime expression.
time2: Required. Another time or datetime expression.

Return value

The MySQL TIMEDIFF() function function returns the difference between two time values, it returns a time value in HH:MM:SS format.

If the specified expression is not a valid time or datetime, the TIMEDIFF() function will return NULL.

If the argument is NULL, the TIMEDIFF() function will return NULL.

`TIMEDIFF()` Examples

Here are some examples of the TIMEDIFF() function.

Difference between two time values

SELECT
    TIMEDIFF('12:12:12', '12:10:10'),
    TIMEDIFF('12:12:12', '10:10:10');

+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+
| TIMEDIFF('12:12:12', '12:10:10') | TIMEDIFF('12:12:12', '10:10:10') |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+
| 00:02:02                         | 02:02:02                         |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+

Difference between two datetime values

SELECT TIMEDIFF('2022-02-28 12:12:12', '2022-02-21 10:10:10');

+--------------------------------------------------------+
| TIMEDIFF('2022-02-28 12:12:12', '2022-02-21 10:10:10') |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| 170:02:02                                              |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

Difference between a time and now

SELECT TIMEDIFF(NOW(), '2022-02-28 10:10:10');

+----------------------------------------+
| TIMEDIFF(NOW(), '2022-02-28 10:10:10') |
+----------------------------------------+
| 838:59:59                              |
+----------------------------------------+

Here, we use the NOW() function to get the current moment. You can also use CURDATE(), CURRENT_DATE(), SYSDATE().

TIMEDIFF() Syntax