🦈 Great white shark vs Tiger shark 🦈
The great white shark is about one and a half times as long as the tiger shark. The great white shark weighs about 4 times as much as the tiger shark.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦈 Great white shark | 🦈 Tiger shark |
|---|---|---|
| Size The great white shark is about one and a half times as long as the tiger shark. | 20 ft6.1 m1 | 11 to 14 ft3.3 to 4.3 m2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the tiger shark yet. | 35 mph56 km/h3 | no checked number yet |
| Weight The great white shark weighs about 4 times as much as the tiger shark. | 2 tons1.8 tonnes1 | 849 to 1,400 lb385 to 635 kg2 |
| Lives The great white shark usually lives about twice as long as the tiger shark. | 30 to 70 years30 to 70 years1 | 27 years27 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales | sea turtles, birds, snakes, crabs, shellfish and dugongs |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | cool coastal seas around the world | warm salt water, from shallow reefs to deep water |
Which one? Great white shark or tiger shark
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the tiger shark 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.
10 things to know about Great white shark vs Tiger shark
- The great white shark: The biggest fish that hunts, with rows of spare teeth waiting.
- The tiger shark: A big striped shark that eats many kinds of sea animals.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are fish.
- The great white shark is about one and a half times as long as the tiger shark: 1 against 2.
- The great white shark weighs about 4 times as much as the tiger shark. That is 1 for the great white shark and 2 for the tiger shark.
- The great white shark usually lives about twice as long as the tiger shark. Usual lifespans: 1 for the great white shark and 2 for the tiger shark.
- Both eat meat. The great white shark eats seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales; the tiger shark eats sea turtles, birds, snakes, crabs, shellfish and dugongs.
- The great white shark lives in cool coastal seas around the world. The tiger shark lives in warm salt water, from shallow reefs to deep water. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The great white shark: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 4
- The tiger shark: doing fine, for now (Near Threatened 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.
🦈 Tiger shark
- A tiger shark eats many kinds of sea animals.
- It lives from shallow reefs to deep water.
- It moves slowly and quietly.
Questions kids ask about Great white shark and Tiger shark
Which is bigger, great white shark or tiger shark?
The great white shark is about one and a half times as long as the tiger shark: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, great white shark or tiger shark?
The great white shark weighs about 4 times as much as the tiger shark. That is 1 for the great white shark and 2 for the tiger shark.
Which lives longer, great white shark or tiger shark?
The great white shark usually lives about twice as long as the tiger shark. Usual lifespans: 1 for the great white shark and 2 for the tiger shark.
What do great white shark and tiger shark eat?
Both eat meat. The great white shark eats seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales; the tiger shark eats sea turtles, birds, snakes, crabs, shellfish and dugongs.
Where do great white shark and tiger shark live?
The great white shark lives in cool coastal seas around the world. The tiger shark lives in warm salt water, from shallow reefs to deep water. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do great white sharks eat tiger sharks?
The great white shark eats seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales. Tiger sharks are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Do tiger sharks eat great white sharks?
The tiger shark eats sea turtles, birds, snakes, crabs, shellfish and dugongs. Great white sharks are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the great white shark is about one and a half times as long as the tiger shark.
Who would win, great white shark or tiger shark?
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-tiger-shark
Where these numbers come from
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Galeocerdo cuvier (tiger shark), checked 10 November 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 10 November 2026.