Head to head
Cheetah vs Leopard
Cheetahs and leopards share the African savanna and a spotted coat, and safari-goers mix them up daily. They are built for opposite jobs: the cheetah for a single explosive sprint, the leopard for strength, stealth, and versatility.
| Cheetah | Leopard | |
|---|---|---|
| Coat pattern | Solid round black spots | Rosettes — broken rings |
| Face | Black "tear marks" from eye to mouth | No tear marks |
| Build | Slender, small-headed, long-legged | Muscular, barrel-chested, powerful |
| Top speed | 93–114 km/h | ~58 km/h |
| Claws | Semi-retractable — grip like running spikes | Fully retractable |
| When it hunts | Daytime, to avoid bigger predators | Mostly night |
| Climbing | Poor | Excellent — hauls kills into trees |
| Defending a kill | Cannot — abandons kills to lions and hyenas | Dominant — steals from cheetahs and kills their cubs |
| Vocalisation | Purrs, chirps like a bird | Rasping "sawing" call; cannot roar either |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (~6,500 wild) | Vulnerable |
Cheetah vs Leopard: common questions
What is the difference between a cheetah and a leopard?
A cheetah has solid round spots, black tear-mark lines on its face, a slim greyhound-like body, and is built purely for speed. A leopard has rosettes, no tear marks, a stocky muscular body, and is built for strength, stealth, and climbing.
Would a leopard beat a cheetah in a fight?
Easily. A leopard is far stronger and more heavily built, and cheetahs are physically fragile and avoid confrontation. Leopards routinely displace cheetahs from kills and kill their cubs; the reverse does not happen.
Which is faster, a cheetah or a leopard?
The cheetah, by a wide margin. It can hit around 100 km/h in a sprint, the fastest of any land animal. A leopard tops out near 58 km/h but is far more powerful.