Aggregates

The query builder also provides a variety of aggregate methods such as count, max, min, avg, and sum. You may call any of these methods after constructing your query:

$users = DB::table('users')->count();

$price = DB::table('orders')->max('price');

You may combine these methods with other clauses:

$price = DB::table('orders')
                ->where('finalized', 1)
                ->avg('price');

Determining If Records Exist

Instead of using the count method to determine if any records exist that match your query's constraints, you may use the exists and doesntExist methods:

return DB::table('orders')->where('finalized', 1)->exists();

return DB::table('orders')->where('finalized', 1)->doesntExist();