Yes—up to a point, a histogram can help compare contrast. In general, a wider histogram means a broader tonal range and usually more contrast, while a narrow histogram suggests a flatter image.

For your examples, the left image appears to have more contrast because its histogram spreads farther across the tonal range and reaches further into the highlights. The right image is more compressed and appears underexposed, with more information crowded into darker tones and less reaching the bright end.

What matters most is the width/spread of the histogram, not the height of the peaks. Tall peaks only mean there are many pixels at those brightness levels; they do not by themselves mean higher contrast.

So: the left image has higher contrast mainly because it uses more of the available black-to-white range. Just remember that histograms are only a guide—image content matters, and a scene can still be intentionally low-key or high-key while remaining visually effective.