IQ of a Pig: How Smart Are Pigs Compared to Humans?
There's no real IQ of a pig, because IQ is a human test scale with an average of 100, and you can't hand a pig a question booklet. What researchers can say is that pigs are seriously smart for animals: they've learned to use a joystick to play a simple video game, used a mirror to find hidden food, and remember where things are. The popular line "pigs are as smart as a 3-year-old" is a loose comparison, not a measured score.
If a pig can learn a video game, you can definitely level up the reasoning skill you're weakest at, and IQ Tester finds which one that is: Find my weak spots.
What is the IQ of a pig?
Search "iq of a pig number" and you'll see confident answers like 75 or 85. Ignore them. Nobody has scored a pig on an IQ test, because:
- IQ tests use language, numbers and drawn patterns made for humans.
- Scores are only meaningful compared with other people who took the same test.
- An animal's "IQ" would need a whole different scale.
So the honest answer to "what is the iq of a pig" is: undefined. The more useful question is "how smart are pigs, in what ways?" and that one has real research behind it.
Why people quote numbers anyway
Numbers are shareable. "Pig IQ = 85" fits in a TikTok caption; "pigs show strong spatial memory and some problem solving in controlled studies" doesn't. Fair. Just know the first is a guess.
How smart are pigs compared to humans
Not close to an adult, obviously. But in specific skills, pigs do things people find surprising:
- Memory: pigs can remember where food is hidden and return to it.
- Learning by association: they learn that a sound or symbol means something is coming.
- Social smarts: in studies, pigs have followed other pigs to food, and some learned to hide what they knew from bigger rivals.
- Tool-like behavior: wild pigs (Visayan warty pigs) were filmed using sticks or bark to dig at a zoo, which was reported as a first for the pig family.
How smart are pigs compared to children?
The "3-year-old" comparison comes from the fact that pigs pass some tasks that toddlers can pass, like learning simple rules and recognizing familiar individuals. But a 3-year-old is also learning language, pretending and asking "why?" 400 times a day. Pigs don't do that. So it's apples to oranges (or truffles to Goldfish crackers).
Pig vs dog intelligence
This is the big one: "are pigs smarter than dogs?" Fans of both will fight you in the comments, so here's a fair table.
| Skill | Pigs | Dogs |
|---|---|---|
| Reading human gestures (pointing) | Can learn it | Very strong, bred for it |
| Spatial memory | Strong | Strong |
| Problem solving in tests | Strong | Strong |
| Learning commands | Can be trained | Excellent |
| Social awareness of own species | Strong | Strong |
A 2015 review of pig cognition in the International Journal of Comparative Psychology (Marino and Colvin) argued that pigs are cognitively complex and share many abilities with dogs and even some primates. The fairest take on iq of a pig vs dog: they're smart in similar ways, and dogs are better at reading humans because we bred them to.
The mirror and video-game studies
These two studies are why "how high is the iq of a pig" keeps trending.
The video game study
In a study published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2021, researchers trained pigs to move a joystick with their snouts to steer a cursor into targets on a screen. They weren't perfect, but they did well above chance, which suggests they understood that their action moved the cursor. Pigs. Playing video games. Arguably better gamers than some lobbies you've been in.
The mirror study
A 2009 study in Animal Behaviour (Broom and colleagues) found that pigs with some mirror experience could use a mirror to find a food bowl they could only see in the reflection. That's not the same as the classic mirror "self-recognition" test, but it shows they understand how mirrors show space.
Here's the honest bit: it's easy to read a study and decide an animal is a genius. It's way harder to judge your own brain fairly, because you only remember your wins. IQ Tester takes the guessing out: 20 untimed questions across number series, verbal analogy, logic and pattern, then a breakdown of where you're strong. Find my weak spots
How pigs compare with our other animal posts
If you're ranking animal brains, here's where pigs sit next to the others we've covered:
- Horses have strong memory and read human faces. See IQ of a horse.
- Rats solve mazes and help trapped friends. See IQ of a rat.
- Squirrels remember thousands of hiding spots. See IQ of a squirrel.
- African grey parrots learned labels for colors, shapes and numbers.
Pigs probably rank near the top for farm animals. Smartest farm animal? Plenty of researchers would say yes.
Why "animal IQ" is an analogy
Saying "the average iq of a pig is 80" is like saying a car has a GPA. Wrong measuring tool.
What real IQ tests do:
- Give everyone the same tasks.
- Compare your score with a big reference group.
- Put it on a scale where 100 is average and 15 points is one standard deviation.
Animals can't take the same tasks, and there's no reference group of pigs. So when you see an "estimated iq of a pig," it means "a person compared a pig to a kid in a vibe-based way."
That's fine for a fun fact. Just don't use it in your biology essay (or A-level coursework, for UK readers).
Your brain does better than the iq of a pig, so prove it
In the next minute you can sign in to IQ Tester with Google or Apple and start 20 untimed questions, easiest first. You'll see your band and three of your four category strengths free, which is way more information than any pig gets. It's for entertainment, not a clinical test, and the guides give you one short drill a day on your weakest area.
FAQ
What is the average IQ of a pig?
There isn't one. IQ is a human scale, and pigs can't take human tests. Numbers like 75 or 85 online are guesses; the research instead describes specific skills like memory and problem solving.
Are pigs smarter than dogs?
They're comparable in many lab tasks, like memory and problem solving. Dogs are better at reading humans, mostly because we bred them for it. "Smarter" depends on the skill you test.
Are pigs as smart as a 3-year-old?
It's a loose comparison. Pigs pass some tasks toddlers can pass, but toddlers do things pigs don't, like learn language and pretend play. Treat it as a fun line, not a score.
Can pigs really play video games?
Yes, in a simple way. A 2021 study trained pigs to steer a cursor with a joystick using their snouts, and they hit targets well above chance.
How smart are pigs compared to humans?
Far behind adult humans overall, but impressive for animals in memory, learning and social smarts. If you want to see where your own reasoning stands, IQ Tester gives a non-clinical breakdown across four categories.