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SQL Beginner Challenge 19: Limiting Results with LIMIT

Difficulty: Beginner
Estimated time: 10–15 minutes
SQL concepts: LIMIT, controlling result size
Goal: Return only a specific number of rows from a query.

The Scenario

A product manager asks:

“Can you show me only the 3 cheapest products?”

When working with large datasets, you rarely want all rows.
LIMIT lets you cap how many results are returned.

Database Table

`products`

column_name	type	description
product_id	INTEGER	Unique product ID
name	TEXT	Product name
category	TEXT	Product category
price	DECIMAL	Product price

Sample Data

product_id	name	category	price
101	Wireless Mouse	Accessories	24.99
102	Mechanical Keyboard	Accessories	89.00
103	27-inch Monitor	Displays	229.99
104	USB-C Hub	Accessories	34.50
105	Laptop Stand	Workspace	39.99
106	Webcam	Accessories	59.99

Your Task

Write a SQL query that returns:

name
price

…but only the 3 cheapest products.

Expected Output

name	price
Wireless Mouse	24.99
USB-C Hub	34.50
Laptop Stand	39.99

Constraints

Use ORDER BY
Use LIMIT
Do not use SELECT *

Hint (Optional)

To get the cheapest items:

Sort by price (ascending)
Limit the number of rows returned

Order matters.

SELECT name, price FROM products ORDER BY price ASC LIMIT 3;

Explanation

ORDER BY price ASC sorts from cheapest to most expensive
LIMIT 3 returns only the first three rows
Without sorting first, LIMIT alone gives unpredictable results

Common Mistakes

Using LIMIT without ORDER BY
Assuming LIMIT always returns the same rows
Putting LIMIT before ORDER BY

Optional Extension (Mini Bonus)

Try:

Show the 5 most expensive products
Combine LIMIT with WHERE
Add OFFSET to skip rows

Next Challenge

Beginner Challenge #20: Skipping Rows with OFFSET

🔗 View reference solution on GitHub
(After you’ve tried the challenge)

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