In compare and contrast essays, writers show the similarities and differences between two things. They combine descriptive writing with analysis, making connections and showing dissimilarities. Remind students that in this type of writing, they’re not necessarily trying to sway the reader to one opinion or another—they’re just presenting and analyzing facts. These compare and contrast essay topics will give them plenty of practice.
Jump to:
- School and Work Essay Topics
- Friends and Family Essay Topics
- Life and Health Essay Topics
- Entertainment Essay Topics
- History and Politics Essay Topics
- Just for Fun Essay Topics
School and Work Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- Going to college vs. starting work full-time
- Public and private schools
- Charter schools and traditional public schools
- Online school and in-person school
- Block scheduling vs. traditional scheduling
- Any two schools or colleges
- Working your way through college as you go or taking out student loans
- Elementary school and high school
- Single gender vs. coed schools
- Learning to read vs. learning to write
- The importance of any two school subjects
- Recess vs. physical education class
- Group work and individual work
- First day of school vs. last day of school
- High school and college
- Volunteering and paid work
- Quitting vs. getting fired
- Traditional job vs. starting a small business
- Employee and manager
- Work-life balance in U.S. vs. Europe
Friends and Family Compare and Contrast Topics
- Friendship vs. romantic love
- You and your best friend
- Online friends vs. IRL friends
- Old friends and new friends
- Best friend vs. group of friends
- Your teacher vs. your parent/guardian
- Only child vs. having siblings
- Parents and grandparents
- Siblings and cousins
- Nuclear family vs. extended family
- Adoptive families vs. biological families
- Single-parent families and two-parent families
- Parents vs. aunts and uncles
- Oldest child and youngest child
- Big family vs. small family
Life and Health Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- Car ownership and public transportation
- Learning to ride a bike vs. learning to drive a car
- Cooking at home and dining out
- Wearing glasses vs. having braces
- Nature vs. nurture
- Anxiety and depression
- Introverts vs. extroverts
- Summer and winter
- Fall and spring
- City life vs. country life
- Vegetarian and vegan
- Mondays and Fridays
- Mornings vs. evenings
- Giving vs. receiving gifts
- Phone calls and texting
- Electric cars vs. gas-powered cars
- Shopping online and shopping in person
- Cardio vs. strength training
- Traditional medicine and alternative medicine
- Mental health vs. physical health
Entertainment Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- Xbox vs. PlayStation
- iPhone vs. Android
- Laptop vs. tablet
- Instagram vs. X
- YouTube and TikTok
- Traditional camera vs. phone camera
- Football vs. soccer
- Baseball vs. basketball
- Horse racing vs. NASCAR
- Team sports and individual sports
- Ping-Pong vs. tennis
- Sprint vs. marathon
- A movie based on a book and the book it was based on
- Reading and watching TV
- E-books vs. paper books
- Poetry and rap music
- DC vs. Marvel
- Netflix and YouTube
- Opera music and pop music
- Rock music and hip-hop
- Going to a play vs. going to a movie
- Reality TV and documentaries
- Playing a video game and watching a movie
- Video games and board games
- Playing sports vs. watching sports
History and Politics Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- Two political candidates in a current race
- Capitalism vs. communism
- Socialism vs. communism
- Monarchy/dictatorship and democracy
- Spanish flu pandemic vs. COVID-19 pandemic
- World War I and World War II
- American pioneers vs. first space explorers
- Gen X vs. Gen Z
- Gen Z vs. Gen Alpha
- Any two historic eras
- Any two U.S. states
- Abraham Lincoln vs. Barack Obama (or any other two presidents)
- Queen Elizabeth I vs. Queen Elizabeth II
- Hitler and Stalin
- The first airplane flight vs. the first manned spaceflight
- Civil Rights Movement vs. Women’s Suffrage Movement
- United States vs. China
- United Nations and the League of Nations
- Cold War vs. the War on Terror
- Roman Empire vs. British Empire
- American president vs. U.K. prime minister
- Fox News vs. CNN
- Legislative branch and executive branch and/or judicial branch
- Equality and equity
- Elected politicians vs. lobbyists
- Republicans and Democrats
- Conservatism vs. liberalism
- Presidential systems and parliamentarian systems
- Direct democracy vs. representative democracy
- Federal government and state government
Just for Fun Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- Dogs vs. cats as pets
- Paper books or e-books
- Hot dogs vs. tacos
- Big Mac vs. Whopper
- Coke vs. Pepsi
- Frozen yogurt and ice cream
- Hurricane vs. tornado
- Birthday as a kid and birthday as an adult
- Going barefoot vs. wearing shoes
- Mountain vacation vs. beach vacation
- Appetizers and desserts
- Pants vs. skirts
- Chocolate shake vs. hot chocolate
- Any two superheroes or villains
- Christmas vs. birthdays
What are some of your favorite compare and contrast essay topics? Come share your prompts in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.
Plus, check out our free printable compare and contrast graphic organizer bundle.
