🦈 Great white shark vs Saltwater crocodile 🐊
The great white shark and the saltwater crocodile are about the same size.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦈 Great white shark | 🐊 Saltwater crocodile |
|---|---|---|
| Size They are about the same size. | 20 ft6.1 m1 | 20 ft6.1 m2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the saltwater crocodile yet. | 35 mph56 km/h3 | no checked number yet |
| Weight We don't have a checked number for the saltwater crocodile yet. | 2 tons1.8 tonnes1 | no checked number yet |
| Lives We don't have a checked number for the saltwater crocodile yet. | 30 to 70 years30 to 70 years1 | no checked number yet |
| Eats Both eat meat. | seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales | fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | cool coastal seas around the world | rivers, swamps and coasts from India to northern Australia |
Which one? Great white shark or saltwater crocodile
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the saltwater crocodile 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. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
8 things to know about Great white shark vs Saltwater crocodile
- The great white shark: The biggest fish that hunts, with rows of spare teeth waiting.
- The saltwater crocodile: The biggest reptile alive, at home in rivers and even the sea.
- They are different kinds of animal. The great white shark is a fish, so it breathes with gills; the saltwater crocodile is a reptile, so it has scaly skin.
- The great white shark and the saltwater crocodile are about the same size: 1 against 2.
- Both eat meat. The great white shark eats seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales; the saltwater crocodile eats fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water.
- The great white shark lives in cool coastal seas around the world. The saltwater crocodile lives in rivers, swamps and coasts from India to northern Australia. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The great white shark: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 4
- The saltwater crocodile: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 5
Wow facts
🦈 Great white shark
- A great white keeps growing new teeth its whole life.
- It can feel the tiny electric signals of other animals.
- Its body stays warmer than the water around it.
🐊 Saltwater crocodile
- A mother carries her babies gently in her mouth.
- It can float with only its eyes and nose above water.
- It can swim out to sea, between islands.
Questions kids ask about Great white shark and Saltwater crocodile
Which is bigger, great white shark or saltwater crocodile?
The great white shark and the saltwater crocodile are about the same size: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, great white shark or saltwater crocodile?
We only have a checked weight for the great white shark: 1. Scientists are still working out the other.
What do great white shark and saltwater crocodile eat?
Both eat meat. The great white shark eats seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales; the saltwater crocodile eats fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water.
Where do great white shark and saltwater crocodile live?
The great white shark lives in cool coastal seas around the world. The saltwater crocodile lives in rivers, swamps and coasts from India to northern Australia. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do great white sharks eat saltwater crocodiles?
The great white shark eats seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales. Saltwater crocodiles are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Do saltwater crocodiles eat great white sharks?
The saltwater crocodile eats fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water. Great white sharks are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Who would win, great white shark or saltwater crocodile?
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/great-white-shark-vs-saltwater-crocodile
Where these numbers come from
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service rule, Federal Register 24 June 1996 (govinfo.gov), checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Science On a Sphere, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.