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Comparing Numbers Worksheets

These comparing numbers worksheets are generated rather than scanned, which means you can print a different sheet every day of the week without paying for a subscription or running out of practice. The current sheet starts with problems like 95 □ 21 (write >, < or =) and 20 □ 63 (write >, < or =), and the answers (> and <) are printed on the key so marking takes about a minute.

📄 COMPARING NUMBERS WORKSHEETS — A NEW SHEET EVERY TIME YOU PRESS THE BUTTON
🎲 New set of problems

‘New set of problems’ opens the generator in its own tab. There you can change the problem count and turn the answer key on or off. ‘Print or save as PDF’ opens the print dialog — choose Save as PDF in the printer list to keep the file. The sheet fits US Letter and A4, and the answer key prints on its own page.

What you are practising here

Comparing numbers looks trivial until the digits are close. A problem like 95 □ 21 (write >, < or =) resolves to > only if the child reads the places in order rather than judging by the leftmost digit alone.

The reliable method is to compare digit by digit from the left and stop at the first difference — that is exactly how a computer does it, and it settles 95 □ 21 (write >, < or =) without any guessing.

The greater-than and less-than symbols carry their own difficulty, quite separate from the comparison itself. Many children know which number is bigger and still write the symbol the wrong way round.

The sheet uses two-digit numbers, including pairs that are equal, so the child cannot assume every line needs a greater-than or a less-than — 63 □ 55 (write >, < or =) is a fair example of it.

These comparing numbers worksheets are commonly aligned with the number comparison expectations for this grade, and the skill appears in most curricula somewhere around this point.

What the problems look like

These six come from the sheet loaded on this page. Press the button and the numbers change, but the shape stays the same (two-digit numbers).
#ProblemAnswerWhat to check
195 □ 21 (write >, < or =)>Watch for: writing the symbol backwards
220 □ 63 (write >, < or =)<Check: rushing the close pairs
391 □ 31 (write >, < or =)>Look at: stopping at the first digit
432 □ 76 (write >, < or =)<Ask about: missing the equals case
563 □ 55 (write >, < or =)>Watch for: comparing by length instead of by value
679 □ 88 (write >, < or =)<Check: reading grouping commas as decimal points

Start with one worked example

Try 91 □ 31 (write >, < or =) together before letting the child start alone. The answer to 91 □ 31 (write >, < or =) is >, and talking through how it was reached takes about a minute and saves several minutes of guessing later in the sheet.

Here is one worked through. 20 □ 63 (write >, < or =) gives <. If your child arrives somewhere other than < on 20 □ 63 (write >, < or =), look at the working rather than the answer: nearly every wrong result comes from a skipped step, not an unknown fact.

Three things that go wrong here

A 10-minute routine that works

  1. Read the first two problems out loud together before starting the clock. It costs fifteen seconds and removes most of the 'I did not understand the question' errors.
  2. Write the finish time and the score at the top of every sheet. Two weeks of those two numbers tells you more about progress on comparing two-digit numbers than any single test result.
  3. Keep the session to about 10 minutes. A child working at this level who is still counting on fingers will need longer than that on a line like 95 □ 21 (write >, < or =), and that is fine: the timer is a measurement, never a punishment.
  4. Do not raise the number of problems until the accuracy is steady. Going from 20 correct-but-slow problems to more problems only multiplies the same mistake.
  5. Mark it together straight away while the working is still fresh, so a slip like the one behind 91 □ 31 (write >, < or =) can be talked through instead of guessed at.

Marking the sheet

The answer key is generated with the worksheet, not written by hand, so it always matches the sheet in front of you — 95 □ 21 (write >, < or =) is listed as >, 20 □ 63 (write >, < or =) as <, and so on down the page.

The key prints on its own page by default. Uncheck the answer-key box before printing if you would rather keep it back and mark the sheet yourself.

Printing on US Letter or A4

The sheet is laid out to fit one page on both US Letter and A4. Leave the browser scaling at 100% and turn headers and footers off, and the 20 problems land inside the margins on either paper size.

For a class set, print one sheet, press the new-worksheet button and print again. Each child gets different numbers on the same skill, so nobody can copy the answer to 95 □ 21 (write >, < or =) from a neighbour.

Frequently asked questions

Are these worksheets really free?
Yes, completely. The page is supported by advertising, not by subscriptions, so there is no limit on how many comparing numbers worksheets you print.
Should equals appear on a comparison sheet?
Yes. Leaving it out teaches children that a comparison always produces an inequality, which is not true and causes trouble later in algebra.
How do I stop the symbols being written backwards?
Have the child say the sentence out loud — 'this one is bigger than that one' — before writing anything. The symbol then follows the words rather than a memorised picture.
How many different sheets can I make?
As many as you want. The numbers are randomised each time, so printing five sheets in a row gives five different sets of 20 problems on the same skill.

When these become easy, move along the related links below rather than adding more problems to the same sheet.

More worksheets like this

→ Free Comparing Numbers Worksheets

Free printable math worksheets from a working math academy director in Korea. Problems come from our own code, not from a published workbook. Every sheet prints on US Letter or A4 with its answer key. All worksheets · Worksheet generator · Korean site
Last updated: 2026-09-13