Sorting and Limiting Data in Aggregation

 MongoDB, a powerful NoSQL database, is known for handling large volumes of semi-structured data. As applications grow, so does the need for efficient data querying and reporting. One of the most important tools in MongoDB’s querying arsenal is the aggregation pipeline — a flexible framework that allows for filtering, grouping, sorting, and limiting documents in a highly optimized way.

In this blog, we focus on how to sort and limit data during aggregation — a common need when you're trying to retrieve “Top N” results, like the highest spenders, most-viewed products, or top-rated reviews.

The MongoDB aggregation pipeline is a multi-stage framework that processes data through stages like:
- $match: Filters documents
- $group: Aggregates data
- $sort: Orders results
- $limit: Restricts the number of documents returned

Using $sort and $limit after aggregation allows you to control how much data you retrieve and in what order, making it perfect for dashboards and analytics queries.

 Steps to Sort and Limit Data in Aggregation

Consider a collection named `orders`:

{
  "_id": ObjectId("..."),
  "customer": "John",
  "amount": 500,
  "status": "completed"
}

{
  $group: {
    _id: "$customer",
    totalAmount: { $sum: "$amount" }
  }
}

{
  $sort: { totalAmount: -1 }
}

{
  $limit: 5
}

 Aggregation Pipeline

db.orders.aggregate([
  {
    $group: {
      _id: "$customer",
      totalAmount: { $sum: "$amount" }
    }
  },
  {
    $sort: { totalAmount: -1 }
  },
  {
    $limit: 5
  }
])

 Output

 

🚀 Future Scope

Sorting and limiting in MongoDB aggregation is just the start. You can combine it with:
- $project to reshape results
- $facet for multi-dimensional analysis
- $lookup for joins
- Indexes to optimize sort performance

With MongoDB 5.x and above, aggregation has become even more powerful with support for window functions and $setWindowFields, giving even finer control over sorting and limiting grouped results.

---

ASHISH KASAUDHAN

University: Shree Balaji University, Pune

School: School of Computer Studies

Course: BCA (Bachelor of Computer Applications)

Interests: NoSQL, MongoDB, and related technologies

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