Size Parade

Shark size comparison

Megalodon, the whale shark and the great white, to scale next to a person. Megalodon's size is an estimate, so the range is shown.

Shark size comparison: the tool

Made with the free height and size comparison tool

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    Reported heights, each with its source: league, tour and government pages, or the source Wikidata cites. Fan-site guesses are left out. How we pick them.

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      Differences

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        Great white shark swimming underwater
        Photo: Photo: Elias Levy, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), via Wikimedia Commons

        The sizes

        • Megalodon: 24.3 m (80 ft) long, about 14 times an average US man's height (175 cm).
        • Whale shark: 20.0 m (66 ft) long, about 11 times an average US man's height (175 cm).
        • Great white shark: 6.1 m (20 ft) long, about 3.5 times an average US man's height (175 cm).

        To picture it

        • Megalodon (24.3 m (80 ft)) is as long as about 14 average US men (175.3 cm) lying head to toe or 4.9 Toyota Camrys (4.9 m (16 ft)) end to end.
        • Whale shark (20.0 m (66 ft)) is as long as about 11 average US men (175.3 cm) lying head to toe or 4.1 Toyota Camrys (4.9 m (16 ft)) end to end.
        • Great white shark (6.1 m (20 ft)) is as long as about 3 average US men (175.3 cm) lying head to toe.
        WhatSizeSource
        Megalodon
        Fossil estimate. A 2025 study puts the maximum at up to 24.3 m; older tooth-based estimates gave a maximum of 15 to 18 m.        		24.3 m (80 ft) long
        range 15.0 m (49 ft) to 24.3 m (80 ft)        		Natural History Museum, London, Western Australian Museum
        Whale shark
        Maximum size thought to be about 20 m; both sexes mature by about 9 m.        		20.0 m (66 ft) long
        range 9.0 m (30 ft) to 20.0 m (66 ft)        		Florida Museum of Natural History
        Great white shark
        Adults grow up to about 20 ft; the same page also gives up to 21 ft.        		6.1 m (20 ft) long
        range 6.1 m (20 ft) to 6.4 m (21 ft)        		NOAA Fisheries

        Add anything else from the animal size comparison list on the right, or yourself. More on the animal size comparison page.

        Drawings are to scale on the measured dimension. The other proportions of each silhouette are approximate.

        Questions

        How much bigger is the megalodon than the whale shark?

        The megalodon is 24.3 m (80 ft) long and the whale shark is 20.0 m (66 ft), so about 1.2 times as long. Figures from the sources listed below.

        How many times bigger is the largest one here than the smallest?

        The megalodon (24.3 m (80 ft)) is about 4.0 times the length of the great white shark (6.1 m (20 ft)).

        Which is the biggest on this page?

        Megalodon, at 24.3 m (80 ft) long, from Natural History Museum, London.

        How big is the megalodon?

        Sources give 15.0 m (49 ft) to 24.3 m (80 ft). The board uses 24.3 m (80 ft). Fossil estimate. A 2025 study puts the maximum at up to 24.3 m; older tooth-based estimates gave a maximum of 15 to 18 m.

        How big is the whale shark?

        Sources give 9.0 m (30 ft) to 20.0 m (66 ft). The board uses 20.0 m (66 ft). Maximum size thought to be about 20 m; both sexes mature by about 9 m.

        Sources

        1. Natural History Museum, London: Megalodon: the truth about the largest shark that ever lived (checked 2026-10-02)
        2. Western Australian Museum: Megalodon larger than previously thought. New research estimates up to 24 metres (checked 2026-10-02)
        3. Florida Museum of Natural History: Rhincodon typus (whale shark) (checked 2026-10-02)
        4. NOAA Fisheries: White Shark (checked 2026-10-02)

        Last checked: 5 October 2026