---
title: Float Data Types reference
meta:
    description: Floating point numbers for various precisions.
---

# Float

Floating-point data types are used to store numbers with fractional components. Tinybird supports `Float32`, `Float64`, and `BFloat16` for different precision requirements.

{% callout type="info" %}
For calculations requiring high precision, especially with financial or business data, consider using the [Decimal](../data-types/decimal) type instead. Floating-point numbers can introduce rounding errors and may not always provide exact results.
{% /callout %}

Equivalent types:

-   `Float32`: `float`.
-   `Float64`: `double`.

Float types have the following aliases:

-   `Float32`: `FLOAT`, `REAL`, `SINGLE`.
-   `Float64`: `DOUBLE`, `DOUBLE PRECISION`.

## Using floating-point numbers

-   Computations with floating-point numbers might produce a rounding error.

```sql
SELECT 1 - 0.9
```

Result:

```result
┌───────minus(1, 0.9)─┐
│ 0.09999999999999998 │
└─────────────────────┘
```

-   The result of the calculation depends on the calculation method (the processor type and architecture of the computer system).
-   Floating-point calculations might result in numbers such as infinity (`Inf`) and “not-a-number” (`NaN`). This should be taken into account when processing the results of calculations.
-   When parsing floating-point numbers from text, the result might not be the nearest machine-representable number.

## NaN and Inf

Tinybird supports special floating-point values that represent infinity and undefined results.

-   `Inf`: Represents positive infinity.

```sql
SELECT 0.5 / 0
```

Result:

```result
┌─divide(0.5, 0)─┐
│            inf │
└────────────────┘
```

-   `-Inf`: Represents negative infinity.

```sql
SELECT -0.5 / 0
```

Result:

```result
┌─divide(-0.5, 0)─┐
│            -inf │
└─────────────────┘
```

-   `NaN`: Represents "Not a Number," indicating an undefined or unrepresentable result.

```sql
SELECT 0 / 0
```

Result:

```result
┌─divide(0, 0)─┐
│          nan │
└──────────────┘
```

See the rules for `NaN` sorting in the section ORDER BY clause.

## BFloat16

`BFloat16` is a 16-bit floating-point data type characterized by an 8-bit exponent, a sign bit, and a 7-bit mantissa.

This type is particularly useful for machine learning and AI applications where reduced precision can offer performance benefits.

Tinybird supports conversions between `Float32` and `BFloat16`. Most other operations are not directly supported for `BFloat16`.