How big is the Milky Way compared to other galaxies?

The Milky Way is a fairly large galaxy but not exceptionally so. It spans about 100,000 light-years in diameter and contains roughly 200 to 400 billion stars. Compared to the broader universe, it sits in the upper range of galaxy sizes, larger than most dwarf galaxies like the Magellanic Clouds, but significantly smaller than giants like the Andromeda Galaxy, which is about 220,000 light-years across. Truly massive elliptical galaxies like IC 1101 dwarf the Milky Way entirely, stretching over 6 million light-years. So while the Milky Way is above average in size, it is far from the largest, placing it roughly in the top 10 to 20 percent of galaxies by size and mass.