Ben Nevis vs Burj Khalifa
Ben Nevis (1,345 m) is 1.62× the size of Burj Khalifa (828 m).
Burj Khalifa is 62% of the height of Ben Nevis. The gap between them is 517 m (1,696 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Nevis | 1,345 m | 4,413 ft | elevation |
| Burj Khalifa | 828 m | 2,717 ft | height |
What the scale shows
Ben Nevis (1,345 m) is 1.62× the size of Burj Khalifa (828 m). The gap between them is 517 m (1,696 ft). One is among the mountains and the other among the buildings & towers, so the figures are standing in for different kinds of size — read the basis below.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 62% of the frame while the larger one runs to the top. The two are close enough that the difference is easy to see side by side.
Read the rest — 8 more sections
What each figure means
The figure for Ben Nevis is its elevation (summit elevation above sea level). The figure for Burj Khalifa is its height (architectural height).
Crossing them
At a jet's 900 km/h, Ben Nevis's 1,345 m would take 5.4 seconds and Burj Khalifa's 828 m would take 3.3 seconds.
In people: Ben Nevis is 791 adults of 1.7 m tall, Burj Khalifa is 487.1. By size Ben Nevis is 10th of the 10 mountains on this site, while Burj Khalifa is 1st of the 23 buildings & towers.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. Ben Nevis is given as an elevation, summit elevation above sea level. The Burj Khalifa is given as a height, architectural height. One is a elevation and the other is a height, so the drawing stands them side by side by convention: everything is stood upright on a single baseline so one scale can hold. That is a fair way to compare overall extent, not a claim that the two are oriented the same way in real life.
Elevation is measured from mean sea level to the summit, not from the base of the mountain. Surveys are revised, so a figure here can differ from an older atlas by a few metres. Building heights depend on the rule used: architectural height counts spires but not antennas, tip height counts everything. The basis is named with each figure.
Where the pair sits among all the sizes here
Across all 86 things on this site, Ben Nevis is number 26 from the top and the Burj Khalifa is number 27. No other item falls between them, so in this collection they are direct neighbours.
Because the collection spans 13 mm up to 1,392,700 km, a ratio of 107,130,769,231× from smallest to largest, the position of a pair says a lot: both sit in the upper third of the list.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 1.62× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, Ben Nevis would have about 2.64× the surface or footprint of the Burj Khalifa, and about 4.29× the volume. These two are not the same shape, so treat the figures as an upper bound for an imaginary scaled copy, not as a measurement of either one.
The drawing above shows length only. The Burj Khalifa is drawn 62% as tall as Ben Nevis, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 37.9%, which is why the smaller one looks even slighter than the numbers alone suggest.
Time to cross each one
A sprinter holding about 10 m/s covers Ben Nevis in 2.2 minutes and the Burj Khalifa in 83 seconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 3.9 seconds for the larger and 2.4 seconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 5.4 seconds and 3.3 seconds.
These times assume a straight line and constant speed, which no real crossing has, but they turn a number in metres into something the body understands. At any fixed speed the travel times keep the same 1.62× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
Ben Nevis measures 1,345 m, which is 4,413 ft or 1,470.9 yards. The Burj Khalifa measures 828 m, which is 2,717 ft.
The difference between them is 517 m (1,696 ft). In kilometres the smaller one is 0.83 against 1.35, so the 1.62× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, Ben Nevis or the Burj Khalifa?
Ben Nevis is bigger. At 1,345 m it is 1.62× the size of the Burj Khalifa, which is 828 m.
How many times does the Burj Khalifa fit along Ben Nevis?
Less than twice: the Burj Khalifa is 62% of the size of Ben Nevis, so one fits with 517 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
No. Ben Nevis is a elevation (summit elevation above sea level) and the Burj Khalifa is a height (architectural height), so read the comparison as overall extent.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, Ben Nevis is about 791 people tall and the Burj Khalifa is about 487.1. The gap of 517 m is 304 people.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each item has its own page that names the measurement and links to the Wikipedia article it was taken from. Some figures are rounded, and animals vary from one individual to the next, so treat them as representative values rather than records for every case.
How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.