Comparisons s1.compare(s2) returns an int < 0 if s1 < s2 > 0 if s1 > s2 = 0 if s1 equal to s2 Can also use <, <=, ==, >=, >, != eg. s1 == s2 Don't do "abc" == "abc" Will compile, but doesn't make sense std::string("abc") == std::string("abc")