When is this page useful?
When reading the weight of products, loads or large measurements, reference comparisons help you quickly understand the real scale.
Are the values exact?
The values are approximate averages, intended for illustration and quick comparison rather than final scientific measurement.
Reference values used
House cat 4 kg, adult human 70 kg, motorcycle 200 kg, riding horse 500 kg, passenger car 1,500 kg, adult African elephant 6,000 kg and adult blue whale 150,000 kg. Real animals and vehicles vary widely around these averages; an elephant bull can weigh much more than a cow.
Worked example
A 1-tonne load (1,000 kg) is about 14 adults (1,000 / 70 ≈ 14.3), two riding horses or two-thirds of a passenger car (1,000 / 1,500 ≈ 0.67). A 40-tonne lorry weighs roughly as much as 27 cars or about a quarter of a blue whale.
Mass, not weight on a scale
Values are masses in kilograms. A bathroom scale shows mass by assuming Earth's gravity; on the Moon the same 70 kg person would read about one-sixth of the force but still have a mass of 70 kg.