🐋 Humpback whale vs Whale shark 🦈
The humpback whale is a bit bigger than the whale shark. The whale shark is a bit heavier than the humpback whale.
| Row | 🐋 Humpback whale | 🦈 Whale shark |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the whale shark yet. | 16 mph26 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight The whale shark is a bit heavier than the humpback whale. | 25 to 35 tons23 to 32 tonnes2 | 40 tons36 tonnes3 |
| Lives They are about the same. | 80 to 90 years80 to 90 years4 | 60 to 100 years60 to 100 years3 |
| Eats Both eat tiny floating sea life. | krill and small fish | plankton, krill and tiny 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 | warm seas around the world |
Which one? Humpback whale 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…
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/humpback-whale-vs-whale-shark
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords National Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA National Ocean Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.