🦈 Great white shark vs Ocean sunfish 🐡
The great white shark is about 3 times as long as the ocean sunfish. The great white shark is about 3 times as fast as the ocean sunfish. The ocean sunfish is a bit heavier than the great white shark.
| Row | 🦈 Great white shark | 🐡 Ocean sunfish |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed The great white shark is about 3 times as fast as the ocean sunfish. | 35 mph56 km/h1 | 14 mph22 km/h2 |
| Weight The ocean sunfish is a bit heavier than the great white shark. | 2 tons1.8 tonnes3 | 2.5 tons2.3 tonnes4 |
| Lives We don't have a checked number for the ocean sunfish yet. | 30 to 70 years30 to 70 years3 | no checked number yet |
| Eats Both eat meat. | seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales | jellyfish, small fish and squid |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | cool coastal seas around the world | warm and mild seas all over the world |
Which one? Great white shark or ocean sunfish
🏁 Who would win the race?
The great white shark gets to the tree first. Over a short dash it is about 3 times as fast as the ocean sunfish.
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/great-white-shark-vs-ocean-sunfish
Where these numbers come from
- NOAA Science On a Sphere, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Acadia National Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries, Olympic Coast, checked 30 October 2026.