Data types

Snowflake provides support for the majority of fundamental SQL data types, with specific restrictions, across various SQL constructs including columns, local variables, expressions, and parameters.

Boolean Data Type

BigQuery	Snowflake	Notes
BOOL/BOOLEAN	BOOLEAN

Bytes Data Type

BigQuery	Snowflake	Notes
BYTES	BINARY	BYTES data type is not supported in Snowflake. BINARY is used instead. For more information, please refer to the BYTES data type documentation.

Datetime Data Types

BigQuery	Snowflake	Notes
DATE	DATE
DATETIME	DATETIME	DATETIME is an alias for TIMESTAMP_NTZ in Snowflake.
TIMESTAMP	TIMESTAMP_TZ	TIMESTAMP data type is converted to TIMESTAMP_TZ. For more information, please refer to the TIMESTAMP data type documentation.
TIME	TIME

Geography Data Type

BigQuery	Snowflake	Notes
GEOGRAPHY	GEOGRAPHY

Interval Data Type

BigQuery	Snowflake	Notes
INTERVAL	VARCHAR(30)	INTERVAL data type is not supported in Snowflake. VARCHAR is used instead. For more information, please refer to the INTERVAL data type documentation.

Json Data Type

BigQuery	Snowflake	Notes
JSON	VARIANT	JSON data type is not supported in Snowflake. VARIANT is used instead. For more information, please refer to the JSON data type documentation.

Numeric Data Types

BigQuery	Snowflake	Notes
INT64	INT	INT is an alias for the NUMBER data type in Snowflake. The maximum precision and scale is NUMBER(38,37).
INT	INT	INT is an alias for the NUMBER data type in Snowflake. The maximum precision and scale is NUMBER(38,37).
SMALLINT	SMALLINT	SMALLINT is an alias for the NUMBER data type in Snowflake. The maximum precision and scale is NUMBER(38,37).
INTEGER	INTEGER	INTEGER is an alias for the NUMBER data type in Snowflake. The maximum precision and scale is NUMBER(38,37).
BIGINT	BIGINT	BIGINT is an alias for the NUMBER data type in Snowflake. The maximum precision and scale is NUMBER(38,37).
TINYINT	TINYINT	TINYINT is an alias for the NUMBER data type in Snowflake. The maximum precision and scale is NUMBER(38,37).
BYTEINT	BYTEINT	BYTEINT is an alias for the NUMBER data type in Snowflake. The maximum precision and scale is NUMBER(38,37).
NUMERIC	NUMERIC	NUMERIC is an alias for the NUMBER data type in Snowflake. The maximum precision and scale is NUMBER(38,37).
DECIMAL	DECIMAL	DECIMAL is an alias for the NUMBER data type in Snowflake. The maximum precision and scale is NUMBER(38,37).
BIGNUMERIC	NUMERIC​	Snowflake does not support the BIGNUMERIC data type. Use NUMERIC instead. BIGNUMERIC's precision 76,76 exceeds Snowflake's limit (38), resulting in truncation or rounding, which can introduce significant inaccuracies.
BIGDECIMAL	DECIMAL	Snowflake does not support the BIGDECIMAL data type. Use NUMERIC instead. BIGDECIMAL's precision 76,76 exceeds Snowflake's limit (38), resulting in truncation or rounding, which can introduce significant inaccuracies.
FLOAT64	FLOAT

String Data Types

BigQuery	Snowflake	Notes
STRING	STRING	STRING is an alias for the VARCHAR data type in Snowflake. VARCHAR holds Unicode UTF-8 characters.