Crab vs lobster is two ten-legged cousins built for different dinners. Lobster meat is mild, sweet and firm, concentrated in the tail and two claws, so you get a few big, clean pieces. Crab meat is sweeter, more delicate and brinier, spread through the body, legs and claws, so you crack and pick for smaller bites.
Order lobster for a plated dinner where one impressive portion matters. Order crab for a hands-on feast, a boil, or picked meat in cakes and dips.
Crab vs lobster at a glance
| Crab | Lobster | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxonomy | Order Decapoda; true crabs are brachyurans, “short-tailed,” with the abdomen tucked under the body | Order Decapoda; American lobster Homarus americanus keeps a long, muscular abdomen (the tail) |
| Body plan | Wide shell, four pairs of walking legs, one pair of claws | Long body, big tail, crusher and ripper claws; spiny lobster has no large claws |
| Where the meat is | Body, legs and claws; king and snow crab mostly legs | Tail and claws, plus knuckles |
| Flavor | Sweeter, delicate, briny (blue crab “sweet, low fat”; snow crab “sweet, delicate”; king crab “rich, sweet”) | “Mild and sweet” (NOAA) |
| Texture | Flaky lumps or fibrous leg strands | “Firm and somewhat fibrous”; tail firmer than claw |
| Dock price (2024, NOAA) | Blue $1.92/lb, Dungeness $4.02/lb, king about $12/lb, stone crab claws $19/lb | American lobster $6.35/lb; spiny lobster $7.83/lb |
| Best cooking | Steam or boil whole; reheat pre-cooked legs; crack and pick | Steam or boil whole; broil or grill split tails |
| Per 100 g cooked (USDA) | Blue crab: 83 kcal, 17.9 g protein, 0.7 g fat, 395 mg sodium, 97 mg cholesterol | Northern lobster: 89 kcal, 19.0 g protein, 0.9 g fat, 486 mg sodium, 146 mg cholesterol |
| Mercury (FDA mean) | Crab (blue, king, snow): 0.065 ppm | American lobster 0.107 ppm; spiny 0.093 ppm |
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Are crab and lobster related?
Yes, closely. Both are decapod crustaceans; ADF&G calls Dungeness a decapod “related to shrimp, lobster, and other crabs.” The split is the body plan. True crabs are brachyurans, which ADF&G explains means “short-tailed”: the abdomen is folded under the wide shell, and the legs and claws carry the meat. A lobster keeps its abdomen as a long, muscular tail, the main piece on the plate.
The American lobster has “a big-toothed crusher claw for pulverizing shells” and “a finer-edged ripper claw,” per NOAA; Florida’s spiny lobster has neither, only spines, horns and long antennae. See spiny lobster vs Maine lobster and crawfish vs lobster.
Does lobster taste like crab?
No. They share a sweet, oceanic base, but the bite differs. NOAA describes American lobster as “mild and sweet,” with meat that is “firm and somewhat fibrous” and a tail firmer than the claws. The claws are the closest lobster gets to crab: softer and sweeter than the tail.
Crab is sweeter and lighter across the board, with more brine. Florida’s agriculture department calls blue crab “delicate texture, sweet meat, low fat”; NOAA describes snow crab as “sweet, delicate, and flaky” and red king crab as having a “distinctive rich, sweet flavor and delicate texture.” The one crab that genuinely crosses over is Florida stone crab, whose “firm, sweet meat tastes similar to lobster.” For more, see what lobster tastes like and what crab tastes like.
Where is the meat, and how much work is it?
Lobster is the easy one: the tail comes out in a single piece, each claw gives one lump, and spiny lobster has no big claws, so the tail is the meal.
Crab yield depends on species. Florida Sea Grant puts blue crab at about 14 percent meat by live weight, with an experienced picker getting 2¼ ounces from each pound of live crab. The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission puts Dungeness at about 25 percent, or half a pound of meat from a 2-pound crab. Snow and king crab sidestep the problem by selling only legs.
Which is healthier, crab or lobster?
Both are lean and high in protein. USDA data per 100 grams cooked shows northern lobster at 89 calories, 19.0 g protein, 0.9 g fat, 486 mg sodium and 146 mg cholesterol, with 73 µg selenium and 1.55 mg copper. Blue crab comes in at 83 calories, 17.9 g protein, 0.7 g fat, 395 mg sodium and 97 mg cholesterol, with 91 mg calcium. Dungeness adds 10.4 µg of vitamin B12 per 100 g, about seven times lobster’s 1.4 µg, and 5.5 mg zinc against lobster’s 4.1 mg.
So crab is the pick for B12 and lower cholesterol, Dungeness and king crab beat lobster on zinc, and lobster wins on selenium and copper. On sodium, lobster has more than blue or Dungeness crab but far less than king crab (1,070 mg) or snow crab (691 mg). Mercury is low in both: the FDA mean is 0.065 ppm for crab and 0.107 ppm for American lobster. NOAA also relays the FDA’s advice to skip the tomalley, the green material inside a lobster.
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Crab vs lobster price
At the dock, lobster sits in the middle of the crab range. NOAA’s 2024 landings statistics put American lobster at 113.5 million pounds worth $720 million, about $6.35 a pound, and Florida spiny lobster at $7.83. Blue crab was $1.92 a pound live, Dungeness $4.02, Alaska king crab about $12 (8 million pounds, $96 million) and Florida stone crab claws about $19.
Per meal the gap narrows: a whole lobster or a 2-pound Dungeness feeds one person, while blue crab needs three or four crabs. Restaurants price lobster by the animal or tail and crab legs by the pound, so plate cost depends on portion more than species; check current prices.
How do you cook crab and lobster?
Lobster: steam or boil whole. Florida’s agriculture department says to simmer a whole spiny lobster 12 to 15 minutes in boiling salted water; tails take 5 to 10 minutes. Split tails broil or grill well with butter.
Crab: boil or steam live crabs, then clean and crack. Dungeness takes 18 to 20 minutes once the water returns to a boil, per the Oregon commission; blue crab 12 to 15 minutes in seasoned water, per Florida Sea Grant. Snow and king crab legs are sold cooked and frozen, so a few minutes of steaming reheats them; stone crab claws are boiled at harvest and served cold with mustard.
Which is more sustainable?
Both are U.S.-managed with weak spots. NOAA calls U.S. wild-caught American lobster “a smart seafood choice,” though its 2025 assessment finds the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank stock subject to overfishing and the Southern New England stock depleted. Alaska snow crab is overfished and rebuilding after closures in 2022 and 2023, Bristol Bay red king crab is not overfished, and the Chesapeake Bay Program says blue crab has not been overfished since female-focused management began in 2008. Florida stone crab is a claws-only fishery that returns the live crab to the water.
Florida’s version: spiny lobster vs stone crab
Spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) lands mostly in Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward counties, with a commercial season from August through March and “coarse texture, white meat with sweet distinct flavor.” Stone crab season runs October 15 through May 1, only the claws are taken, and the meat is the lobster-like one. Read our Florida spiny lobster guide and stone crab vs blue crab.
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Which should you order?
- Date night or a plated dinner: lobster. A whole lobster or broiled tail is one clean portion, no bib required.
- Seafood boil or a crowd: crab. Snow crab clusters or blue crab by the dozen hold up in the pot; our seafood boil guide has the timing.
- Crab cakes, dips, stuffing: blue crab lump; see blue crab vs snow crab.
- A showpiece: king crab legs, covered in snow crab vs king crab.
- Florida in winter: stone crab claws, which taste like lobster and cost like it.
In Orlando, Fish On Fire’s Gulf grouper and peel & eat shrimp are the house seafood if you want the coastal dinner without the shell cracking.
Bottom line
Lobster is mild, sweet and firm, with the meat in the tail and claws; crab is sweeter, softer and brinier, with the meat spread through body and legs. Lobster is the better single-plate dinner, crab the better feast and the better source of B12. Price depends more on form than species: whole animals are the value, picked crab meat and king crab legs the premium.
More crab guides
More lobster guides
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