MySQL AND with OR Condition

Last updated: October 19, 2026Oct 19, 2026

Real filters often mix AND and OR: laptops or phones under ₹30,000. How MySQL groups these operators decides which rows you get, and one missing pair of parentheses is one of the most common bugs in SQL. This tutorial shows exactly how mixed conditions are evaluated.

1. Operator Precedence

Table: products (7 rows)

2. The Classic Mistake

Goal: laptops or phones costing under ₹30,000. Written without parentheses:

SELECT name, category, price FROM products
WHERE category = 'Laptop' OR category = 'Phone' AND price < 30000;

Result: 5 rows

Zen Laptop 14 (₹58,000) and Edge Laptop (₹72,000) slipped in, because MySQL read it as Laptop OR (Phone AND < 30000). With parentheses:

SELECT name, category, price FROM products
WHERE (category = 'Laptop' OR category = 'Phone') AND price < 30000;

Result: 3 rows

3. Evaluating Step by Step

Let's evaluate both versions for the Zen Laptop 14 row (category Laptop, price 58000):

SELECT TRUE OR FALSE AND FALSE AS no_parens, (TRUE OR FALSE) AND FALSE AS with_parens;

Result: 1 row

4. Useful Patterns

Alternatives sharing a common filter:

SELECT name, brand, price FROM products
WHERE in_stock = TRUE
  AND (brand = 'Novo' OR brand = 'Pixa');

Result: 3 rows

Different rules per category (OR of AND-groups):

SELECT name, category, price, rating
FROM products
WHERE (category = 'Laptop' AND price < 60000 AND rating >= 4)
   OR (category = 'Phone'  AND price < 30000)
   OR (category = 'Tablet' AND in_stock = TRUE);

Result: 4 rows

Simplify repeated ORs on one column with IN:

SELECT name FROM products WHERE category IN ('Laptop', 'Phone') AND price < 30000;

Result: 3 rows

5. NULLs in Mixed Conditions

Edge Laptop's rating is NULL. In A OR (B AND rating >= 4) the NULL only matters if A is false:

SELECT name, rating FROM products WHERE brand = 'Edge' OR (category = 'Laptop' AND rating >= 4);

Result: 2 rows

SELECT name, rating FROM products WHERE category = 'Laptop' AND (rating >= 4 OR price > 70000);

Result: 2 rows

Edge Laptop appears in both: the first through brand = 'Edge', the second through price > 70000 (TRUE OR NULL is TRUE).

6. Adding NOT

NOT binds tighter than AND and OR, so it applies only to the condition right after it unless you add parentheses:

SELECT name FROM products WHERE NOT category = 'Phone' AND price < 30000;

NOT applies to category only

SELECT name FROM products WHERE NOT (category = 'Phone' AND price < 30000);

NOT applies to the whole group

7. Writing Readable Conditions

• Put each AND/OR group on its own line, with the operator at the start of the line.
• Use parentheses around every OR group.
• Replace long OR chains on one column with IN.
• If a WHERE clause grows very large, consider a lookup table or a CASE expression.
• Test edge cases: boundary prices, NULLs, and rows that should be excluded.

8. Practice Exercises

SELECT name, price, rating FROM products
WHERE in_stock = TRUE AND (rating >= 4.5 OR price < 10000);

SELECT name, brand, in_stock FROM products
WHERE (brand = 'Zentek' AND category = 'Laptop')
   OR (category = 'Phone' AND in_stock = FALSE);

9. Summary

• Precedence: comparisons, then NOT, then AND, then OR.
• A OR B AND C means A OR (B AND C).
• Always use parentheses when mixing AND and OR.
• TRUE OR NULL is TRUE and FALSE AND NULL is FALSE; other NULL combinations stay NULL.