How to compare two dates

Short answer

The < and > operators compare dates as numbers of milliseconds:

const start = new Date(2025, 0, 10);
const end = new Date(2025, 1, 1);
 
console.log(start < end);

Output:

true

Equality

To check equality, compare the numbers from getTime():

const a = new Date(2025, 4, 1);
const b = new Date(2025, 4, 1);
 
console.log(a.getTime() === b.getTime());

Output:

true

The same day

To ignore the time, compare the year, the month and the day:

const sameDay = (a, b) =>
  a.getFullYear() === b.getFullYear() && a.getMonth() === b.getMonth() && a.getDate() === b.getDate();
 
console.log(sameDay(new Date(2025, 4, 1, 9, 0), new Date(2025, 4, 1, 18, 30)));

Output:

true

Is the date in the past

Compare with the current moment:

const deadline = new Date(2020, 0, 1);
 
console.log(deadline < new Date() ? 'expired' : 'active');

Output:

expired

Common mistake

=== compares date objects by reference, so two equal dates are not equal:

const a = new Date(2025, 4, 1);
const b = new Date(2025, 4, 1);
 
console.log(a === b);

Output:

false

Thanks for reading!

Short answer

Equality

The same day

Is the date in the past

Common mistake

Functions used in this recipe

Thanks for reading!