🦞 American lobster vs Giant Pacific octopus 🐙
The giant Pacific octopus is about twice as long as the American lobster. They are about the same.
| Row | 🦞 American lobster | 🐙 Giant Pacific octopus |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight They are about the same. | 44 lb20 kg1 | 31 to 51 lb14 to 23 kg2 |
| Lives The American lobster usually lives about 25 times as long as the giant Pacific octopus. | 100 years100 years1 | 3 to 5 years3 to 5 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | crabs, clams, mussels, sea urchins and small fish | crabs, clams, shrimp and fish |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | the cold, rocky seafloor off the Atlantic coast of North America, from Canada to North Carolina | the cold North Pacific, from California to Japan |
Which one? American lobster or giant Pacific octopus
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the American lobster or the giant Pacific octopus yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
Compare two more
Getting the animals ready…
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/american-lobster-vs-giant-pacific-octopus
- 🦞 All about the American lobster
- 🐙 All about the giant Pacific octopus
- ⚖️ Compare Two
- 🐾 All the animals
Where these numbers come from
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species fact sheet, American lobster, checked 30 October 2026.