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Shark Size Comparison

The whale shark is the biggest shark alive at about 39 ft (12 m) long. A great white shark is about 15 ft (4.6 m), 2.7 times the height of an adult man, and the extinct megalodon was about 3.5 times longer than a great white.

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How big is each shark?

This shark size comparison chart lists 9 entries from the largest to the smallest:

Shark	Size	Record	vs 5 ft 7 in man
Megalodon	52 ft (16 m) long	—	9.4×
Whale shark	39 ft (12 m) long	62 ft (18.8 m)	7×
Basking shark	26 ft (8 m) long	39 ft (12 m)	4.7×
Great white shark	15 ft (4.6 m) long	20 ft (6.1 m)	2.7×
Great hammerhead	13 ft (4 m) long	20 ft (6.1 m)	2.3×
Tiger shark	12 ft (3.7 m) long	18 ft (5.5 m)	2.2×
Bull shark	7 ft 10 in (240 cm) long	—	1.4×
Average man (world)	5 ft 7 in (171 cm)	—	reference
Dwarf lanternshark	7.9 in (20 cm) long	—	0.12×

What is the biggest shark?

The whale shark is the biggest living shark, commonly about 39 ft (12 m) long, with reports up to 62 ft (18.8 m). The extinct megalodon was bigger still, at about 52 ft (16 m).

How big is a great white shark compared to a human?

A great white shark is about 2.7 times as long as an adult man is tall: 15 ft (4.6 m) against 5 ft 7 in (171 cm).

How big was megalodon compared to a great white shark?

Megalodon was about 3.5 times longer than a great white (52 ft (16 m) vs 15 ft (4.6 m)), and about 68 great whites would fit inside one by volume.

What is the smallest shark?

The dwarf lanternshark is one of the smallest sharks, at about 7.9 in (20 cm). It glows in the dark.

Shark Size Comparison chart

Free to use with a link back to Height.compare.

Where do these numbers come from?

Sizes are typical adult or reported values, rounded for readability. Read how we measure and compare sizes.

NCD-RisC (2020), height of adults born 1996

Silhouettes from PhyloPic: Megalodon by Russell Engelman; Whale shark by Christoph Schomburg; Basking shark by Stephen O'Connor; Great white shark by Steven Traver; Great hammerhead by Andy Wilson; Tiger shark by Jimmy Bernot; Bull shark by John Hlavin; Dwarf lanternshark by Matthew Speight. See credits.