🐋 Humpback whale vs Sperm whale 🐋
The humpback whale and the sperm whale are about the same size. They are about the same.
| Row | 🐋 Humpback whale | 🐋 Sperm whale |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the sperm whale yet. | 16 mph26 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight They are about the same. | 25 to 35 tons23 to 32 tonnes2 | 15 to 45 tons14 to 41 tonnes3 |
| Lives The humpback whale usually lives about one and a half times as long as the sperm whale. | 80 to 90 years80 to 90 years4 | 60 years60 years3 |
| Eats The humpback whale eats tiny floating sea life; the sperm whale eats meat. | krill and small fish | squid, octopus and fish |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | every ocean, traveling between cold feeding waters and warm waters where calves are born | deep waters of oceans around the world |
Which one? Humpback whale or sperm whale
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the sperm whale 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/humpback-whale-vs-sperm-whale
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords National Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.