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 Life Essay Topics
- Entertainment Essay Topics
- History and Politics Essay Topics
- Just for Fun Essay Topics
School and Life Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- Public and private schools
- Online school and in-person school
- Any two schools or colleges
- Going to college vs. starting work full-time
- Working your way through college as you go or taking out student loans
- Parents and grandparents
- Elementary school and high school
- Learning to read vs. learning to write
- The importance of any two school subjects
- Wearing glasses vs. having braces
- You and your best friend
- Friendship vs. romantic love
- Group work and individual work
- Only child vs. having siblings
- Nature vs. nurture
- Anxiety and depression
- Old friends and new friends
- Your teacher vs. your parent/guardian
- Car ownership and public transportation
- Learning to ride a bike vs. learning to drive a car
Entertainment Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- iPhone vs. Android
- Instagram vs. Twitter (or choose any other two social media platforms)
- Xbox vs. PlayStation
- Any two sports, like American football vs. soccer
- Cooking at home and dining out
- A movie based on a book and the book it was based on
- Reading and watching TV
- Opera music and pop music (or any two music genres)
- Vegetarian and vegan
- Giving and receiving gifts
- Going to a play vs. going to a movie
- Playing a video game and watching a movie
- Horse racing vs. NASCAR
- Laptop vs. tablet
- Sprint vs. marathon
- Poetry and rap music
- Ping-Pong vs. tennis
- DC vs. Marvel
- Netflix and YouTube
- Shopping online and shopping in person
History and Politics Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- Capitalism vs. communism
- Socialism vs. communism
- Monarchy/dictatorship and democracy
- Two political candidates in a current race
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- 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
- Abraham Lincoln vs. Barack Obama (or any other two presidents)
- Any two U.S. states
- Any two historic eras
- Queen Elizabeth I vs. Queen Elizabeth II
- Republicans and Democrats
- Hitler and Stalin
- The first airplane flight vs. the first manned spaceflight
- 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
Just for Fun Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
- Dogs vs. cats as pets
- Paper books or e-books
- Hot dogs vs. tacos
- Summer and winter
- Fall and spring
- Big Mac vs. Whopper
- Coke vs. Pepsi
- Chocolate shake vs. hot chocolate
- Any two superheroes or villains
- Mondays and Fridays
- Mornings vs. evenings
- First day of school vs. last day of school
- Christmas vs. birthdays
- Hurricane vs. tornado
- Birthday as a kid and birthday as an adult
- Going barefoot vs. wearing shoes
- Appetizers and desserts
- Phone calls and texting
- Pants vs. skirts
- Electric cars vs. gas-powered cars
What are some of your favorite compare and contrast essay topics? Come share your prompts on the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.
Plus, check out The Big List of Essay Topics for High School (100+ Ideas!)
