# Floating-point types
<a name="Numeric_types-floating-point-types"></a>

Use the REAL and DOUBLE PRECISION data types to store numeric values with *variable precision*. These types are *inexact* types, meaning that some values are stored as approximations, such that storing and returning a specific value may result in slight discrepancies. If you require exact storage and calculations (such as for monetary amounts), use the DECIMAL data type.

REAL represents the single-precision floating point format, according to the IEEE Standard 754 for Floating-Point Arithmetic. It has a precision of about 6 digits, and a range of around 1E-37 to 1E\$137. You can also specify this data type as FLOAT4.

DOUBLE PRECISION represents the double-precision floating point format, according to the IEEE Standard 754 for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic. It has a precision of about 15 digits, and a range of around 1E-307 to 1E\$1308. You can also specify this data type as FLOAT or FLOAT8.