Differences Between ISNULL and COALESCE Functions

The ISNULL function replaces NULL with the specified replacement value.

ISNULL ( check_expression, replacement_value )

The COALESCE function returns the first non-NULL expression among its arguments.

COALESCE ( expression_1, expression_2 [, … expression_n] )

Here's a list of differences between the ISNULL function and the COALESCE function:

ISNULL	COALESCE
Takes only 2 parameters.	Takes a variable number of parameters.
A proprietary T-SQL function.	ANSI SQL standard.
Data type returned is the data type of the first parameter.	Data type returned is the expression with the highest data type precedence. If all expressions are non-nullable, the result is typed as non-nullable.
Built-in function implemented in the database engine.	Translates to a CASE expression: COALESCE (exp_1, exp_2, ... exp_n) Translates to CASE WHEN exp_1 IS NOT NULL THEN exp_1 WHEN exp_2 IS NOT NULL THEN exp_2 ... ELSE exp_n END
If the data types of both parameters are not determined, the data type returned is int. ISNULL(NULL, NULL) – Returns int	At least one of the NULL values must be a typed NULL. If the data types of all parameters are not determined, the COALESCE function will throw an error: COALESCE(NULL, NULL) – Throws an error COALESCE(CAST(NULL AS INT), NULL) – Returns int