---
title: "Compare Dates"
slug: "compare-dates"
description: "Mapp Engage functions that compare dates, calculate ages and durations, and check time periods in personalization rules and selections."
status: "update"
updated: 2026-11-04T12:15:46Z
published: 2026-11-04T12:15:46Z
canonical: "docs.mapp.com/compare-dates"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mapp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Compare Dates

These functions provide tools for comparing two date values. Many of these functions process and return the information as a Boolean value which can be used to create personalization rules or selection criteria.

Several examples use `ecm:toDate` to convert a string into a date. See [Extract and Format Dates and Times](/v1/docs/extract-and-format-dates-and-times).

---

## Function Overview

| Function | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `ecm:equal` | Determines whether two specified dates are equal. |
| `ecm:greater` | Determines whether a specified date is greater than a reference date. |
| `ecm:greaterEqual` | Determines whether a specified date is equal to or greater than a reference date. |
| `ecm:less` | Determines whether a specified date is less than a reference date. |
| `ecm:lessEqual` | Determines whether a specified date is equal to or less than a reference date. |
| `ecm:notEqual` | Determines whether a specified date is not equal to a reference date. |
| `ecm:age` | Returns the number of years between two dates. |
| `ecm:between` | Determines whether a specified date is between a start and an end date. |
| `ecx:durationBetween` | Calculates the difference between two dates in a specified unit. |
| `ecx:isInTimePeriod` | Verifies whether the current time is within one of the periods given as a parameter. |

---

## ecm:equal

The function `ecm:equal` determines whether two specified dates are equal. The comparison is exact to the millisecond. The value returned is a Boolean data type.

### Example

A selection sends a welcome message to contacts on the day they signed up for a newsletter. The sign-up date is stored in the custom attribute `WelcomeDate`.

The function `ecm:trunc` resets the time component of both the current date and the attribute value to zero. The function `ecm:equal` can then compare the two dates, because the time component no longer affects the result. The expression is constructed as follows:

```plaintext
${ecm:equal(ecm:trunc(user.CustomAttribute['WelcomeDate'], 'time'), ecm:trunc(date.Today, 'time'))}
```

### Structure

`ecm:equal(date, date)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `date` | Specifies the target date. |
| `date` | The date value used for the comparison. |

---

## ecm:greater

The function `ecm:greater` determines whether a specified date is greater than a reference date. The comparison is exact to the millisecond. The value returned is a Boolean data type.

### Example

The message is scheduled for sendout on April 5, 2011. Content is displayed to recipients born after April 5, 1981. These recipients are younger than 30 on the day of the sendout.

The content is inserted into the message with an InsertIf statement, which is constructed as follows:

```plaintext
<%InsertIf expression="${ecm:greater(user['DateOfBirth'], ecm:toDate('1981-04-05', ecm:timeZone('Europe/Berlin')))}"%>Text<%/InsertIf%>
```

### Structure

`ecm:greater(date, date)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `date` | Specifies the target date. |
| `date` | The date value used for the comparison. |

---

## ecm:greaterEqual

The function `ecm:greaterEqual` determines whether a specified date is equal or greater than a reference date. The comparison is exact to the millisecond. The value returned is a Boolean data type.

### Example

The message is scheduled for sendout on April 5, 2011. Content is displayed to recipients born on or after April 5, 1981. These recipients are younger than 30 or turn 30 on the day of the sendout.

The content is inserted into the message with an InsertIf statement, which is constructed as follows:

```plaintext
<%InsertIf expression="${ecm:greaterEqual(user['DateOfBirth'], ecm:toDate('1981-04-05', ecm:timeZone('Europe/Berlin')))}"%>Text<%/InsertIf%>
```

### Structure

`ecm:greaterEqual(date, date)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `date` | Specifies the target date. |
| `date` | The date value used for the comparison. |

---

## ecm:less

The function `ecm:less` determines whether a specified date is less than a reference date. The comparison is exact to the millisecond. The value returned is a Boolean data type.

### Example

The message is scheduled for sendout on April 5, 2011. Content is displayed to recipients born before April 5, 1956. These recipients are at least 55 years old on the day of the sendout. Recipients who turn 55 on that day are not included.

The content is inserted into the message with an InsertIf statement, which is constructed as follows:

```plaintext
<%InsertIf expression="${ecm:less(user['DateOfBirth'], ecm:toDate('1956-04-05', ecm:timeZone('Europe/Berlin')))}"%>Text<%/InsertIf%>
```

### Structure

`ecm:less(date, date)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `date` | Specifies the target date. |
| `date` | The date value used for the comparison. |

---

## ecm:lessEqual

The function `ecm:lessEqual` determines whether a specified date is equal to or less than a reference date. The comparison is exact to the millisecond. The value returned is a Boolean data type.

### Example

The message is scheduled for sendout on April 5, 2011. Content is displayed to recipients born on or before April 5, 1956. These recipients are at least 55 years old on the day of the sendout.

The content is inserted into the message with an InsertIf statement, which is constructed as follows:

```plaintext
<%InsertIf expression="${ecm:lessEqual(user['DateOfBirth'], ecm:toDate('1956-04-05', ecm:timeZone('Europe/Berlin')))}"%>Text<%/InsertIf%>
```

### Structure

`ecm:lessEqual(date, date)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `date` | Specifies the target date. |
| `date` | The date value used for the comparison. |

---

## ecm:notEqual

The function `ecm:notEqual` determines whether a specified date is not equal to a reference date. The comparison includes millisecond values. The value returned is a Boolean data type.

### Example

The following expression is true for all recipients who were not born on January 1, 1986:

```plaintext
${ecm:notEqual(user['DateOfBirth'], ecm:toDate('1986-01-01', ecm:timeZone('Europe/Berlin')))}
```

### Structure

`ecm:notEqual(date, date)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `date` | Specifies the target date. |
| `date` | The date value used for the comparison. |

---

## ecm:age

The function `ecm:age` returns the number of years between two dates. The value returned is a long data type.

### Example

Content is displayed to recipients who are 20 years or older at the time of message sendout. The function `ecm:age` compares the date of birth stored in a user attribute to the current date and returns a long number. This number is evaluated (using the mathematical operator greater than or equal) to return a Boolean value. If a Boolean value true is returned, the personalization is inserted into the message with an InsertIf statement. The InsertIf is constructed as follows:

```plaintext
<%InsertIf expression="${ecm:age(user['DateOfBirth'], date.Today) >= 20}"%>Text<%/InsertIf%>
```

### Structure

`ecm:age(date, date)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `date` | Specifies the target date. |
| `date` | The date value used for the comparison. |

---

## ecm:between

The function `ecm:between` determines whether a specified date is between a start and an end date. The value returned is a Boolean data type.

### Example

A selection verifies whether a recipient is younger than 18. The function `ecm:between` checks whether the date of birth stored as a user attribute is between the date 18 years in the past and today's date. The additional function `ecm:addInterval` subtracts 18 years from today's date. The function is constructed as follows:

```plaintext
${ecm:between(user['DateOfBirth'], ecm:addInterval(date.Today, '-18Y'), date.Today)}
```

### Structure

`ecm:between(date, date, date)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `date` | Specifies the target date. |
| `date` | The value used as a start date. |
| `date` | The value used as an end date. |

---

## ecx:durationBetween

The function `ecx:durationBetween` calculates the difference between two dates in a specified unit. The value returned is a string data type.

### Example

Calculate the number of days between a recipient's date of birth, which is stored as an attribute value, and the current date. The function is constructed as follows:

```plaintext
${ecx:durationBetween(user['DateOfBirth'], date.Today, 'days')}
```

### Structure

`ecx:durationBetween(date, date, string)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `date` | The value used as a start date. |
| `date` | The value used as an end date. |
| `string` | Specifies the unit of time used to calculate the duration. Possible units include 'seconds', 'minutes', 'hours', 'days', 'weeks', 'months' and 'years'. |

---

## ecx:isInTimePeriod

The function `ecx:isInTimePeriod` verifies whether the current time is within one of the periods given as a parameter. The value returned is a Boolean data type.

### Example

Message sendout is restricted to between 16:00 and 22:30 in the Europe/London time zone. The following function returns a true value if the current time is within a period of 6 hours and 30 minutes after 16:00:

```plaintext
${ecx:isInTimePeriod('16:00PT6H30M', 'Europe/London')}
```

### Structure

`ecx:isInTimePeriod(string, string)`

### Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `string` | Specifies the time period used for comparison. Must be given in ISO 8601 format and only contain the local time part, for example, 18:00PT8H is equal to a period of 8 hours starting at 18:00. |
| `string` | The time zone used as local time. If no time zone is given, 'Europe/Berlin' will be used as default. |