🐙 Giant Pacific octopus vs Great white shark 🦈
The great white shark is about 3 times as long as the giant Pacific octopus. The great white shark weighs about 100 times as much as the giant Pacific octopus.
| Row | 🐙 Giant Pacific octopus | 🦈 Great white shark |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the giant Pacific octopus yet. | no checked number yet | 35 mph56 km/h1 |
| Weight The great white shark weighs about 100 times as much as the giant Pacific octopus. | 31 to 51 lb14 to 23 kg2 | 2 tons1.8 tonnes3 |
| Lives The great white shark usually lives about 15 times as long as the giant Pacific octopus. | 3 to 5 years3 to 5 years2 | 30 to 70 years30 to 70 years3 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | crabs, clams, shrimp and fish | seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | the cold North Pacific, from California to Japan | cool coastal seas around the world |
Which one? Giant Pacific octopus or great white shark
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for 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…
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The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/giant-pacific-octopus-vs-great-white-shark
- 🐙 All about the giant Pacific octopus
- 🦈 All about the great white shark
- ⚖️ Compare Two
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Where these numbers come from
- NOAA Science On a Sphere, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.