🐙 Giant Pacific octopus vs Giant squid 🦑
The giant squid is about 6 times as long as the giant Pacific octopus. The giant squid weighs about 50 times as much as the giant Pacific octopus.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐙 Giant Pacific octopus | 🦑 Giant squid |
|---|---|---|
| Size The giant squid is about 6 times as long as the giant Pacific octopus. | 5.9 to 7.9 ft1.8 to 2.4 m1 | 35 to 45 ft11 to 14 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The giant squid weighs about 50 times as much as the giant Pacific octopus. | 31 to 51 lb14 to 23 kg1 | 2,000 lb907 kg2 |
| Lives We don't have a checked number for the giant squid yet. | 3 to 5 years3 to 5 years1 | no checked number yet |
| Eats Both eat meat. | crabs, clams, shrimp and fish | deep-sea fish and some other deep-sea animals |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | the cold North Pacific, from California to Japan | the deep sea, far below the surface |
Which one? Giant Pacific octopus or giant squid
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the giant Pacific octopus or the giant squid 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.
9 things to know about Giant Pacific octopus vs Giant squid
- The giant Pacific octopus: The biggest octopus: soft, clever, and able to change color in a blink.
- The giant squid: A huge animal of the deep sea with long arms and feeding tentacles.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are bugs.
- The giant squid is about 6 times as long as the giant Pacific octopus: 2 against 1.
- The giant squid weighs about 50 times as much as the giant Pacific octopus. That is 1 for the giant Pacific octopus and 2 for the giant squid.
- Both eat meat. The giant Pacific octopus eats crabs, clams, shrimp and fish; the giant squid eats deep-sea fish and some other deep-sea animals.
- The giant Pacific octopus lives in the cold North Pacific, from California to Japan. The giant squid lives in the deep sea, far below the surface. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The giant Pacific octopus: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The giant squid: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐙 Giant Pacific octopus
- It has three hearts.
- Each sucker can taste what it touches.
- It can squeeze through any gap bigger than its beak.
🦑 Giant squid
- A giant squid is as long as a bus, with its tentacles.
- It lives deep in the sea.
- It has no backbone.
Questions kids ask about Giant Pacific octopus and Giant squid
Which is bigger, giant Pacific octopus or giant squid?
The giant squid is about 6 times as long as the giant Pacific octopus: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, giant Pacific octopus or giant squid?
The giant squid weighs about 50 times as much as the giant Pacific octopus. That is 1 for the giant Pacific octopus and 2 for the giant squid.
What do giant Pacific octopus and giant squid eat?
Both eat meat. The giant Pacific octopus eats crabs, clams, shrimp and fish; the giant squid eats deep-sea fish and some other deep-sea animals.
Where do giant Pacific octopus and giant squid live?
The giant Pacific octopus lives in the cold North Pacific, from California to Japan. The giant squid lives in the deep sea, far below the surface. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do giant Pacific octopuses eat giant squid?
The giant Pacific octopus eats crabs, clams, shrimp and fish. Giant squid are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the giant squid is about 6 times as long as the giant Pacific octopus.
Do giant squid eat giant Pacific octopuses?
The giant squid eats deep-sea fish and some other deep-sea animals. Giant Pacific octopuses are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Who would win, giant Pacific octopus or giant squid?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/giant-pacific-octopus-vs-giant-squid
Where these numbers come from
- NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, checked 30 October 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Architeuthis dux (giant squid), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.