---
title: "polar bear vs tiger — size, speed and bite force"
description: "polar bear 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/polar-bear-vs-tiger/
site: "At One Place"
---

# polar bear vs tiger

**polar bear vs tiger: polar bear leads on 5 of 6 measures**

Measured comparison — not a prediction

The largest living land carnivore, classified as a marine mammal because it hunts from sea ice. The largest living cat, with Amur and Bengal tigers the heaviest subspecies. On the measurements below, polar bear 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

|  | polar bear | tiger |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mass | 150–700 kg | 100–310 kg |
| Length | 1.8–3 m | 1.7–2.3 m |
| Height | 1–1.6 m | 0.8–1.1 m |
| Top speed | 40 km/h | 50–65 km/h |
| Bite force | 1,200 psi | 1,050 psi |
| Lifespan | 20–32 yr | 8–26 yr |

## Where each one leads

- Mass: polar bear is 2.0× heavier.
- Length: polar bear is 1.2× longer.
- Height: polar bear is 1.3× taller.
- Top speed: tiger is 1.6× faster.
- Bite force: polar bear is 1.1× a stronger bite.
- Lifespan: polar bear is 2.3× 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 polar bear bigger than a tiger?

polar bear is heavier — 150–700 kg against 100–310 kg.

### Who would win, a polar bear 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 polar bear weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/polar-bear/)
- [How much does a tiger weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/tiger/)
- [lion vs tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/lion-vs-tiger/)
- [lion vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/lion-vs-polar-bear/)
- [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 tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-tiger/)
- [leopard vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-polar-bear/)
- [jaguar vs tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/jaguar-vs-tiger/)

## Sources

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