## Syntax
```mermaid
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flowchart LR
Start((START)) --> MONTHS_BETWEEN[MONTHS_BETWEEN]:::quoted
MONTHS_BETWEEN --> End((END))
```
## Purpose
The `MONTHS_BETWEEN` SQL functions gets the number of months between two dates. The fractional part is determined using a 30-day month length.
Parameters:
- Date 1 (`datetime`): first date.
- Date 2 (`datetime`): second date.
Returns: A `decimal` with the number of months and fractional part. Negative when date 2 is before date 1. Positive otherwise.
## Examples
The following example retrieves the number of months between January 1, 2017 and January 16, 2017:
```sql
select months_between(to_date('20170101', 'YYYYMMDD'), to_date('20170116', 'YYYYMMDD'))
-------------------
0.5
```
The following example retrieves the number of months between January 16, 2017 and January 1, 2017; the second date is before the first date:
```sql
select months_between(to_date('20170116', 'YYYYMMDD'), to_date('20170101', 'YYYYMMDD'))
-------------------
-0.5
```