---
title: "What is the Difference Between findAndModify and updateOne in MongoDB?"  
description: "What is the Difference Between findAndModify and updateOne in MongoDB?"  
author: "Amrith Chandran"  
published: 2026-09-01  
updated: 2026-09-01  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/117129/what-is-the-difference-between-findandmodify-and-updateone-in-mongodb  
category: "MongoDB"  
tags: ["mongodb", "crud", "database-queries", "NoSQL"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# What is the Difference Between findAndModify and updateOne in MongoDB?

I need to update documents in my MongoDB collection, but I'm confused about when to use `findAndModify` versus `updateOne`. What are the primary differences between these two operations, and which one is better for atomic updates?

## Comparison Breakdown

Both methods perform atomic operations on a single document, but they differ in what they return and how they behave:

- **Return Value:** `findAndModify` returns the modified or pre-modified document, whereas `updateOne` returns a write result object with modification statistics.
- **Performance:** `updateOne` is generally faster and lighter when you do not need the original or updated document payload back.
- **Modern Drivers:** Modern drivers wrap `findAndModify` under helper methods like `findOneAndUpdate`.

### Example: Returning Updated Document with findOneAndUpdate

```
db.counters.findOneAndUpdate(
    { _id: "orderId" },
    { $inc: { seq: 1 } },
    { returnDocument: "after" }
);
```


---

Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/117129/what-is-the-difference-between-findandmodify-and-updateone-in-mongodb

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