---
title: "leopard vs tiger — size, speed and bite force"
description: "leopard and tiger compared on mass, length, speed, bite force and lifespan — every measure side by side, with why the numbers cannot settle an encounter."
url: https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-tiger/
site: "At One Place"
---

# leopard vs tiger

**leopard vs tiger: tiger leads on 5 of 6 measures**

Measured comparison — not a prediction

The most widespread big cat, and the one that routinely hauls kills heavier than itself into trees. The largest living cat, with Amur and Bengal tigers the heaviest subspecies. On the measurements below, tiger leads on more of them — but they do not all point the same way, and the ones that disagree are the interesting part.

## The measurements

|  | leopard | tiger |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mass | 28–90 kg | 100–310 kg |
| Length | 0.9–1.9 m | 1.7–2.3 m |
| Height | 0.55–0.8 m | 0.8–1.1 m |
| Top speed | 58 km/h | 50–65 km/h |
| Bite force | 310 psi | 1,050 psi |
| Lifespan | 10–21 yr | 8–26 yr |

## Where each one leads

- Mass: tiger is 4.0× heavier.
- Length: tiger is 1.4× longer.
- Height: tiger is 1.4× taller.
- Top speed: tiger is 1.1× faster.
- Bite force: tiger is 3.4× a stronger bite.
- Lifespan: leopard is 1.1× a longer life.

## What this does and does not tell you

These are measured averages with real ranges behind them, and every figure links to its own page. What they cannot do is settle an encounter. Outcomes between animals turn on circumstance — who initiates, whether either is hungry, defending young, injured or cornered, and what the terrain favours. Size and bite force are not decisive on their own, and most of these pairs never meet in the wild in any case, because their ranges do not overlap.

> Every figure here is an average with a substantial spread. Individual animals vary enormously — a large individual of the smaller species routinely exceeds a small individual of the larger one.

## Common questions

### Is a leopard bigger than a tiger?

tiger is heavier — 100–310 kg against 28–90 kg.

### Who would win, a leopard or a tiger?

That is not something measurements can settle. The comparison above shows which animal leads on each measure, but an actual encounter depends on circumstance, motivation, health and terrain — and most pairs like this never meet in the wild.

## Related pages

- [How much does a leopard weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/leopard/)
- [How much does a tiger weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/tiger/)
- [lion vs tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/lion-vs-tiger/)
- [tiger vs wolverine](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-wolverine/)
- [tiger vs white rhinoceros](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-white-rhinoceros/)
- [tiger vs white-tailed deer](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-white-tailed-deer/)
- [tiger vs wild boar](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-wild-boar/)
- [tiger vs walrus](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-walrus/)
- [tiger vs tiger shark](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-tiger-shark/)
- [tiger vs whale shark](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-whale-shark/)
- [leopard vs lion](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-lion/)
- [leopard vs snow leopard](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-snow-leopard/)
- [leopard vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-polar-bear/)
- [leopard vs red fox](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-red-fox/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Smithsonian Institution (https://naturalhistory.si.edu/)