The 20-year-old Mbappe, who became only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final as France beat Croatia 4-2 last year, has so far netted 103 goals in his career.
Pele claims he has scored 1,025 goals.
"Even with the goals in playgrounds, goals on the PlayStation, I could never equal 1,250 (sic) goals," said Mbappe as he met Pele at a sponsors' event in Paris.
"It’s really a long way off. I’ll try and get as close as I can, but I think I’ll still be a long way off by the end of my career.
Pele, who spent his career with Santos before a two-year spell at New York Cosmos in the mid-70s, wished Mbappe luck.
"I hope that he gets there, to one thousand it’s okay, the three-time World Cup-winner said, "because I have one thousand and twenty five! If he gets one thousand, it’s okay."
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
