Difference Between Frog vs Toad
For animal lovers the world over, there has always been significant debate over the difference between frog and toad. They’re both similar, yet very different. Over the course of today’s post, we’re going to provide you with some super easy to understand definitions and a table that summarizes their key variations so that you don’t have any doubt left about which one is which by the time you reach the end.
Definition of Frog
The definition of frog is: “A four-legged amphibian that spends the majority of its life in or near water.”
To effectively help us summarize the key components that separate toad vs frog, we need to focus on water. It’s how these two animals interact with water that helps us to identify one from the other.
Ultimately, though both rely on the presence of water to survive (as do all amphibians), the frog spends a great deal more of its time around large bodies of water or in them. Everything from their eating to breeding habits rely on the existence of a nearby lake or river.
In contrast, a toad doesn’t need anywhere near as much water to carry out the activities it requires for sustenance. Interestingly, despite their similar appearance to a frog, they spend more of their time on land.
Movement is another key factor to consider. Though both of these animals have four legs, the frog moves in a far more agile fashion with totally independent limb control and movement. Instead, a toad crawls along the ground and is much slower than a frog.
The agility of a frog in part is due to their smaller and more lightweight frame. Their bodies need to move freely through water at speed, therefore they have a significantly thinner, more streamlined appearance than toads that simply don’t require the same aquatic dexterity.
Definition of Toad
The definition of toad is: “A four-legged amphibian that spends the majority of its life on land.”
When reading about the summary of a frog as laid out in the previous section, it becomes apparent very quickly that there are clearly more differences at play between these two initially similar animals than we may have thought.
More key factors to help us settle the frog vs toad debate come in the form of their living and breeding habits. Specifically, we need to consider their eggs. Frogs lay eggs that are bunched together in clusters and are designed to float freely in water, almost like micro-villages full of their offspring. On the other side, toads lay strings of eggs that are shaped like pearls.
The appearance of their offspring is also significantly different. You can easily identify frog tadpoles as they are quite thin and have an almost golden hue to them. Toad tadpoles, on the other hand, resemble their adult selves with a chunkier appearance and solid black skin.
In regards to how the two live, frogs are also known to rely on insects, grubs, fish, and spiders for their food intake. Toads are similar, albeit with two differences: they don’t typically eat spiders or small fish.
Main Differences Between Frog vs Toad
We’ll now present the key areas that determine the difference between toad and frog in the below table:
| Basis of Comparison | Frog | Toad |
| Spends most of its time | In water or near it | Mainly on land |
| Appearance of eggs | Soft and clumped together like jelly | Strung together like small pearls |
| Eats | Lots of grubs, worms and insects. Also spiders and small fish breeds | The same as frogs, albeit without the inclusion of spiders and fish |
| How does it move? | Rapidly with agile limb movement | Slowly, crawling on its large underside |
| Appearance of eyes | Bulging | Do not bulge |
| Moistness of skin | Very moist | Dry and scaly |
Difference Between Frog and Toad: Conclusion
We hope that we’ve finally summarized what sets these two amphibians apart for you. Just remember that frogs love the water and toads love the land. This one difference alone will always help you to form an effective summary of the variations between them.
