Tuna vs Salmon: Nutrition, Mercury, Taste & Which Is Healthier

Tuna vs salmon is a lean-versus-rich choice: salmon is the oily fish, with 13.4 g fat and about 2 g of omega-3 EPA+DHA per 100 g (farmed Atlantic, USDA) and almost no mercury (FDA mean 0.022 ppm); fresh tuna is the lean one, with 24.4 g protein and 0.49 g fat per 100 g (yellowfin) but 6 to 30 times salmon’s mercury depending on species. For most people, salmon is the healthier weekly default; tuna wins on protein per calorie.

Pick salmon if your goal is heart health, omega-3 or feeding kids and pregnant family members several times a week. Pick tuna if you want maximum protein for minimum calories, a steak-like texture on the grill, or a cheap can for lunch.

Tuna vs salmon at a glance

	Tuna (yellowfin, fresh)	Salmon (Atlantic, farmed)
Flavor	Mild, meaty, clean	“Buttery, rich taste” (NOAA)
Texture	Firm, steaky, large flakes	Firm, fatty, flakes into soft layers
Color	Bright red raw; grayish-tan cooked	Reddish-orange or pink, raw and cooked
Nutrition per 100 g raw (USDA)	109 kcal, 24.4 g protein, 0.49 g fat	208 kcal, 20.4 g protein, 13.4 g fat
Omega-3 EPA+DHA per 100 g	0.10 g	1.96 g
Vitamin D, B12	1.7 µg D, 2.08 µg B12	11 µg D, 3.23 µg B12
Mercury (FDA mean)	0.354 ppm; Good Choice, 1 serving a week	0.022 ppm; Best Choice, 2 to 3 servings a week
Price	Varies; canned light is the cheapest fish protein, bluefin the dearest	Varies; farmed Atlantic fillets are a mid-priced staple
Best cooking	Sear rare, grill, poke, sushi	Roast, pan-sear, grill, smoke, sushi
Sustainability (Seafood Watch 2024)	US troll/pole: Best Choice; FAD purse seine: Avoid	Alaska wild: MSC-certified; farmed net pens: mostly Avoid to Good Alternative

Which is healthier, tuna or salmon?

Salmon, for most goals. Harvard’s Nutrition Source summarizes the evidence: eating one to two 3-ounce servings of fatty fish a week is linked to a 36 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease. Salmon is a fatty fish; fresh tuna is not. USDA puts farmed Atlantic salmon at 0.862 g EPA plus 1.1 g DHA per 100 g raw, about 1.96 g combined; wild Atlantic salmon at 1.44 g; and raw yellowfin at 0.10 g, roughly one-twentieth.

Tuna’s case is protein density. Yellowfin delivers 24.4 g protein for 109 calories, about 22 g per 100 calories; farmed salmon delivers 20.4 g for 208 calories, under 10 g per 100 calories. Salmon wins vitamin D (11 µg versus 1.7 µg) and vitamin B12. The fattier tunas narrow the omega-3 gap: USDA lists bluefin at 1.17 g EPA+DHA and canned albacore at 0.86 g, as covered in albacore vs tuna.

Tuna vs salmon mercury

Salmon is one of the lowest-mercury fish sold; tuna ranges from low to avoid. FDA’s monitoring data show fresh or frozen salmon at a mean of 0.022 ppm and canned salmon at 0.014 ppm. Tuna: canned light 0.126 ppm, canned albacore 0.350, fresh yellowfin 0.354, fresh bigeye 0.689.

FDA’s eating-fish advice sorts them accordingly. Salmon and canned light tuna are Best Choices: 2 to 3 four-ounce servings a week for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Albacore and yellowfin are Good Choices: 1 serving a week instead. Bigeye is a Choice to Avoid. Harvard’s guidance matches, naming “canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish” among low-mercury fish and capping albacore at one serving a week in pregnancy.

Tuna vs salmon protein and calories

Per 100 g raw, USDA data:

Yellowfin tuna: 109 kcal, 24.4 g protein, 0.49 g fat.
Canned light tuna in water (drained): 86 kcal, 19.4 g protein, 0.96 g fat.
Canned white (albacore) tuna in water: 128 kcal, 23.6 g protein, 2.97 g fat.
Wild Atlantic salmon: 142 kcal, 19.8 g protein, 6.34 g fat.
Farmed Atlantic salmon: 208 kcal, 20.4 g protein, 13.4 g fat.

A 6-ounce (170 g) yellowfin steak is about 185 calories and 41 g protein; the same farmed salmon fillet is about 355 calories and 35 g protein. If you are counting calories, tuna is the cheaper protein; if you are counting omega-3, those extra salmon calories are mostly the point.

Tuna vs salmon taste and texture

Tuna eats like a steak; salmon eats like a rich, flaky fillet. NOAA describes yellowfin as mild and meaty, firm and moist with large flakes, bright red raw and grayish-tan when cooked. It is at its best seared rare, when the center stays red and soft. Cooked through, it turns dry, which is why tuna steaks are served pink.

NOAA describes farmed Atlantic salmon as having a “buttery, rich taste” and a “firm and fatty” texture, with reddish-orange or pink flesh. The fat keeps it moist through roasting and grilling and gives it a forgiving, flaky bite. Read what tuna tastes like and what salmon tastes like for the species-by-species detail.

Tuna vs salmon sushi

Both are sushi staples, and they play opposite roles. Tuna is the lean, clean, deep-red nigiri (akami) at the center of traditional sushi, with the fatty bluefin belly cuts, chutoro and otoro, as the luxury tier, explained in bluefin vs yellowfin tuna. Yellowfin is the everyday raw tuna in US sushi bars and poke shops.

Salmon sushi is a newer, Western-driven favorite with a soft, buttery texture that melts rather than chews. NOAA notes that only farm-raised Atlantic salmon reaches US markets, so the raw salmon on a US sushi menu is almost always farmed Atlantic. For the wild Pacific species, see sockeye vs Atlantic salmon.

Canned tuna vs canned salmon

Canned tuna is leaner, cheaper and higher in mercury; canned salmon is oilier and nearly mercury-free. USDA lists canned light tuna in water at 86 kcal, 19.4 g protein, 0.22 g EPA+DHA and 247 mg sodium per 100 g, and canned albacore at 128 kcal, 23.6 g protein and 0.86 g EPA+DHA. FDA puts canned salmon at 0.014 ppm mercury, the lowest figure in this comparison, against 0.126 ppm for canned light and 0.350 ppm for canned albacore.

For tuna salad, sandwiches and casseroles, canned tuna is the standard; for salmon cakes and omega-3 on a budget, canned salmon (often pink or sockeye) is the better buy.

Price and sustainability

Canned light tuna is the cheapest fish protein in the store and bluefin the dearest; salmon fillets and yellowfin steaks are mid-priced. Sustainability depends on the source more than the species. Seafood Watch’s February 2024 list rates US troll and pole-and-line yellowfin and albacore as Best Choices, longline and FAD purse-seine tuna as Avoid, and all bluefin as Avoid. For salmon, Alaska’s wild fisheries are MSC-certified, Maine net-pen Atlantic salmon is a Good Alternative, most Norwegian, Chilean and Scottish net pens are rated Avoid, and salmon from indoor recirculating farms with wastewater treatment is a Best Choice. Look for “pole and line,” MSC, ASC or a farm origin on the label.

Which should you choose?

Heart health and omega-3: salmon, two servings a week.
Pregnancy, breastfeeding, young children: salmon or canned light tuna (Best Choices); albacore and yellowfin once a week at most.
Cutting calories, building muscle: yellowfin steak or canned light tuna for the most protein per calorie.
Grilling and searing: tuna. Yellowfin stays firm and mild with a rare center. At Fish On Fire, the sesame-crusted “Ahi Tuna” and the two-steak “Tuna Duo” on the menu are seared yellowfin; for other grill-friendly steaks, see marlin vs swordfish and what swordfish tastes like.
Roasting, baking, smoking: salmon. Its fat keeps it moist where tuna dries out.
Cheapest lunch: canned light tuna, with canned salmon as the low-mercury, high-omega-3 alternative.

Bottom line

Salmon is the richer fish: ten to twenty times the omega-3 of lean tuna, far more vitamin D, and so little mercury that FDA puts it in the eat-often column. Tuna is the leaner, higher-protein fish with a steak texture, but its mercury climbs from canned light (fine twice a week) to albacore and yellowfin (once a week) to bigeye (avoid). Eat salmon as the default and tuna as the lean, seared treat.

Tuna vs Salmon: What's the Difference?