How to Limit Rows in SQL Server (TOP and OFFSET FETCH)
Last updated July 25, 2026 · By the SaturnSQL team
SELECT TOP (n) limits the result to n rows; add ORDER BY to make which rows deterministic. For pagination use OFFSET ... FETCH, which requires an ORDER BY clause.
SELECT TOP (10) *
FROM orders
ORDER BY created_at DESC;Pagination with OFFSET FETCH
SELECT id, customer_id, amount
FROM orders
ORDER BY id
OFFSET 20 ROWS FETCH NEXT 10 ROWS ONLY;OFFSET still reads and discards the skipped rows, so deep pages get slow. Keyset pagination (WHERE id > @last_seen_id ORDER BY id, with TOP) stays fast at any depth.
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