Shanghai Tower vs Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower
Shanghai Tower (632 m) is 1.05× the size of Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower (601 m).
Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is 95% of the height of Shanghai Tower. The gap between them is 31 m (102 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Tower | 632 m | 2,073 ft | height |
| Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower | 601 m | 1,972 ft | height |
What the scale shows
Shanghai Tower (632 m) is 1.05× the size of Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower (601 m). The gap between them is 31 m (102 ft). Both are buildings & towers, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 95% 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 Shanghai Tower is its height (architectural height). The figure for Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is its height (architectural height).
Crossing them
Walking pace is 1.4 m/s, so crossing Shanghai Tower's 632 m takes 7.5 minutes and Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower's 601 m takes 7.2 minutes.
In people: Shanghai Tower is 372 adults of 1.7 m tall, Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is 353.5. By size Shanghai Tower is 3rd of the 23 buildings & towers on this site and Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is 4th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. The Shanghai Tower is given as a height, architectural height. The Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is given as a height, architectural height. Both are height figures, so putting them on one baseline is a like-for-like comparison, although the exact individual or convention still matters.
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, the Shanghai Tower is number 29 from the top and the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is number 30. 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: the pair sits in the middle of the range rather than at an extreme.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 1.05× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, the Shanghai Tower would have about 1.11× the surface or footprint of the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower, and about 1.16× 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 Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is drawn 95% as tall as the Shanghai Tower, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 90.4%, 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 the Shanghai Tower in 63 seconds and the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower in 60 seconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 1.8 seconds for the larger and 1.8 seconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 2.5 seconds and 2.4 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 1.05× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
The Shanghai Tower measures 632 m, which is 2,073 ft or 691.2 yards. The Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower measures 601 m, which is 1,972 ft.
The difference between them is 31 m (102 ft). In metres the smaller one is 601 against 632, so the 1.05× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, the Shanghai Tower or the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower?
The Shanghai Tower is bigger. At 632 m it is 1.05× the size of the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower, which is 601 m.
How many times does the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower fit along the Shanghai Tower?
Less than twice: the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is 95% of the size of the Shanghai Tower, so one fits with 31 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are height figures. The Shanghai Tower is architectural height; the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is architectural height.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, the Shanghai Tower is about 372 people tall and the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is about 353.5. The gap of 31 m is 18 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.