🦈 Great white shark vs Whale shark 🦈
The whale shark is about twice as long as the great white shark. The whale shark weighs about 20 times as much as the great white shark.
| Row | 🦈 Great white shark | 🦈 Whale shark |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the whale shark yet. | 35 mph56 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight The whale shark weighs about 20 times as much as the great white shark. | 2 tons1.8 tonnes2 | 40 tons36 tonnes3 |
| Lives The whale shark usually lives about one and a half times as long as the great white shark. | 30 to 70 years30 to 70 years2 | 60 to 100 years60 to 100 years3 |
| Eats The great white shark eats meat; the whale shark eats tiny floating sea life. | seals, sea lions, fish and dead whales | plankton, krill and tiny fish |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | cool coastal seas around the world | warm seas around the world |
Which one? Great white shark or whale shark
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the whale 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.
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-whale-shark
Where these numbers come from
- NOAA Science On a Sphere, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA National Ocean Service, checked 30 October 2026.