1 Oct 2024 Gustavo du Mortier CTE vs. Temporary Table: What’s the Difference? SQL offers you two options to handle complex queries efficiently: CTEs and temporary tables. Read on to weigh the pros and cons of CTEs vs. temp tables. In SQL (Structured Query Language), a common table expression (CTE) lets you define a subquery and assign a name to it so that it can be used within a main query. A temporary table is a database table that you create explicitly, like any other table – but with the particularity that it disappears when you close the database connection in which it was created. Read more