Isolation Levels in SQL Server: Read Committed, Snapshot, Serializable
Jul 21, 2025 am 12:35 AMThe three main SQL Server isolation levels — Read Committed, Snapshot, and Serializable — differ in concurrency and consistency. 1. Read Committed prevents dirty reads but allows non-repeatable and phantom reads, offers balanced performance, and can use RCSI to reduce blocking. 2. Snapshot uses row versioning to allow non-blocking reads and provides consistent data views, but increases tempdb overhead. 3. Serializable prevents all read phenomena through range locks, ensuring maximum consistency at the cost of higher blocking, making it ideal for critical operations requiring data integrity. Choosing the right level depends on workload needs: RCSI for OLTP, Snapshot for high concurrency, and Serializable for strict consistency scenarios.
When working with SQL Server, understanding isolation levels is key to managing how transactions interact with each other and how data consistency is maintained. Among the commonly used ones are Read Committed, Snapshot, and Serializable — each has its own behavior and trade-offs in terms of concurrency and consistency.

Read Committed: The Default Level That Balances Safety and Performance
This is the default isolation level in SQL Server, and it’s widely used because it strikes a decent balance between performance and data integrity.
Under Read Committed:

- A transaction cannot read uncommitted changes from other transactions (no dirty reads).
- However, it may experience non-repeatable reads and phantom reads, depending on whether locks are held long enough or if the database uses row versioning.
- In the standard configuration, shared locks are held only while reading data, then released — which means another transaction can modify that data right after.
If you're using this level and want to avoid blocking, you might enable Read Committed Snapshot Isolation (RCSI). This allows readers not to block writers and vice versa by using versioned rows in tempdb instead of locking.
Snapshot: Versioning for Better Concurrency
Snapshot isolation is all about avoiding blocking without compromising consistency. It uses row versioning stored in tempdb to give each transaction a consistent view of the database as of when the transaction started.

Key points:
- Readers don’t block writers, and writers don’t block readers.
- Each transaction sees a snapshot of the data as it existed at the start of the transaction.
- You need to explicitly set this level using
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL SNAPSHOT
and make sure the database allows it (ALLOW_SNAPSHOT_ISOLATION ON
).
One thing to be aware of is the potential overhead on tempdb. If your system has heavy update activity, tempdb usage can spike because every change generates a new version of the row.
Serializable: Maximum Consistency, Minimum Concurrency
Serializable is the strictest isolation level. It prevents:
- Dirty reads
- Non-repeatable reads
- Phantom reads
How does it do that?
- It places range locks on the data being queried, preventing other transactions from inserting or updating data in that range during the transaction.
- While this ensures full consistency, it also leads to more blocking and reduced concurrency.
This level is best suited for situations where data integrity absolutely must be preserved, even at the cost of performance. For example, financial systems doing end-of-day reconciliations often use this level to ensure no overlapping updates slip through.
In practice:
- Use Read Committed (especially with RCSI) for most OLTP workloads.
- Go for Snapshot when you need high concurrency and can handle the tempdb overhead.
- Reserve Serializable for critical operations where absolute data consistency is non-negotiable.
Each isolation level serves a purpose, and choosing the right one depends on your application’s needs.
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