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Go Comparing Pointers
Last Updated : July 17, 2025
In Go, pointers can be compared using the equality operators == and !=. This comparison checks whether two pointers point to the same memory address, not whether the values they point to are equal.
Comparing Pointers for Equality
Two pointers are considered equal if they point to the same memory location.
Example
The following example demonstrates how pointer comparisons work in Go by checking if two pointers refer to the same memory address:
package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
a := 10
b := 10
p1 := &a
p2 := &a
p3 := &b
fmt.Println("p1 == p2:", p1 == p2) // true
fmt.Println("p1 == p3:", p1 == p3) // false
}
When executed, this program outputs:
p1 == p2: true
p1 == p3: false
Even though a and b have the same value, their addresses are different, so p1 == p3 is false.
Comparing Pointers to nil
You can compare a pointer to nil to check whether it has been assigned an address or not.
Example
The following example demonstrates how to check if a pointer is nil in Go before using it:
package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
var ptr *int
if ptr == nil {
fmt.Println("Pointer is nil")
} else {
fmt.Println("Pointer is not nil")
}
}
Output:
Pointer is nil
Pointer Comparison vs Value Comparison
If you want to compare the values pointed to by two pointers, you must dereference them first using the * operator.
Example
The following example demonstrates the difference between comparing pointer addresses and the values they point to:
package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
x := 42
y := 42
px := &x
py := &y
fmt.Println("px == py:", px == py) // false
fmt.Println("*px == *py:", *px == *py) // true
}
Output:
px == py: false
*px == *py: true
px and py point to different variables with the same value, so their pointers are not equal but the values are.
Comparing Struct Pointers
Same rules apply when working with pointers to structs—comparison is based on memory address.
Example
The following example demonstrates how pointer equality works with struct instances in Go, showing that even identical data does not imply equal pointer addresses:
package main
import "fmt"
type Student struct {
name string
}
func main() {
s1 := Student{name: "Amit"}
s2 := Student{name: "Amit"}
p1 := &s1
p2 := &s1
p3 := &s2
fmt.Println("p1 == p2:", p1 == p2) // true
fmt.Println("p1 == p3:", p1 == p3) // false
}
Output:
p1 == p2: true
p1 == p3: false
Exercise
Choose the correct answers for the following questions about comparing pointers in Go.
- What does the
== operator do when used between two pointers?
- How do you compare the actual values stored at two pointers?
- What is the result of comparing an uninitialized pointer with
nil?
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