The world of Dragon Ball is relatively expansive. It’s full of different characters that come from different places and have very different abilities. This is one of the reasons the franchise has been so successful as a fighting-style anime in particular. People love to tune in and see how different fighters will rise to new and interesting challenges. Bring the fact that most of them are aliens into the mix and it’s no wonder that this show has been on for various generations. If you’re a fan of the Dragon Ball franchise, regardless of what particular series you prefer, there’s probably a lot of reasons why you like the show. For most, they just love to watch Goku’s personal journey as a character and as a fighter. But, there’s one other character that fans always anticipate they’ll see.

Frieza is often credited as the main villain of the series. It’s not hard to see why, since he’s always showing up and causing problems for everyone. Particularly because of that horrible attitude and cocky smile, he often shows off as though he’s the strongest creature out there. In a lot of ways, especially after he gains certain forms, he might actually have a point. Frieza is pretty difficult to battle and the struggle characters have had with him throughout the series proves that. But don’t worry; we’ve seen Frieza lose in battle before and there are definitely other characters out there strong enough to defeat him. Here’s a list of 20 characters that are definitely stronger than Frieza.

20 Goku

This one should seem obvious because it’s Goku; he’s the main character of most Dragon Ball shows and he’ll eventually beat any opponent that comes near him. Sure, it takes him a while to actually do it, but at least he was able to. This is partially thanks to Frieza being a little too cocky and always thinking he’s an ultimate being.

The title of the episode is literally Frieza Defeated!!

Goku takes a Death Saucer and effectively puts Frieza in half; it’s definitely gross, but it’s literally the moment we see Frieza fall. Because Goku has effectively defeated him, we’d say he’s the first person we’d name to be stronger than Frieza.

19 Future Trunks

Even though Frieza was defeated by Goku, he was eventually saved and put back together as an android. Android Frieza is definitely a little creepier than the original, which is saying something, but it also made him a bit difficult to defeat the second time around. Luckily, Future Trunks comes back in time to save the day.

During another final battle, for Frieza at least, Future Trunks comes crashing down; a fall that seems to take a full minute of screaming and shocked faces. Trunks, much like Goku with the Death Saucers, cuts Frieza up and ends him for the second time.

18 Cell

Cell should be another obvious character considering he has actual cells from Frieza himself. It’s because he’s the product of both Frieza and various other Dragon Ball characters that Cell has a greater advantage in strength than the original.

Hey, sometimes the next generation is just a bit better than the original.

If being made out of some of Frieza’s cells wasn’t enough, then consider the fact that Cell has actually come back to not only beat Frieza into the ground, but also King Cold at the same time. Sure, it was during the point where Frieza was partially an android, but it still definitely counts!

17 Gohan

It has to be extremely embarrassing when your nemesis’ kid kicks the crud out of you; which is exactly what happened to Frieza. Not only has Gohan given him a good fight back on Namek, when he was a very small child still, but he also beat him a little later in life. Now fully grown, Gohan was completely prepared when Frieza showed up.

Frieza was pretty full of himself when he showed up ready to fight the first person there. After revealing himself, it only took Gohan one punch to take out Frieza and make his goons go running for the hills.

16 Cooler

If you ever thought your relationship with your sibling is bad, try looking at Cooler and Frieza for a little and you’ll probably feel different. Even though Frieza would often present himself as the ultimate threat, Cooler was definitely stronger than him.

These two seem to always be fighting, so it’s no surprise we know who’s stronger.

While Frieza has won a few rounds against his brother, Cooler has defeated Frieza a couple of times; and honestly, with how annoying Frieza must be as a younger sibling, we can understand why. Of course, this isn’t your average headlock and roughhousing, Cooler has literally tried to destroy the world in the process of taking down his brother.

15 Beerus

Beerus will always be out number one purple cat; he’s incredibly powerful and throughout the series we don’t really see him fight seriously. This cat is literally a God of Destruction; what did you think was going to happen? Frieza and him have gone a round or two, but it’s very unlikely that Beerus was ever serious during them.

For example, Frieza eventually masters his golden form. The two begin to fight, but it’s clear that Beerus wasn’t really phased by the transformation. Sure, Frieza was definitely stronger, but it was going to take a lot more for him to get under Beerus’ collar.

14 Majin Buu

It’s a little up in the air whether or not Majin Buu is actually stronger than Frieza; the two haven’t really fought and even if they did, we still couldn’t really gauge it. This also depends what form Frieza is currently in for the fight; beating regular Frieza is one thing, but if you had to fight his android or golden upgrades, it’d be a different story.

The issue is, how strong is Majin Buu?

We can’t tell if Majin Buu is stronger because there’s a lot we haven’t gauged for Buu. One thing is for sure though, he definitely has incredible regenerative abilities that give him a leg up and it’s very possible that his abilities would allow him to beat Frieza in a fight.

13 Evil Buu

Even though we never saw any of the Buus fight Frieza one on one, we do know that they’re exceptionally powerful beings and the chance that they would be able to take him down are pretty high. For Super Buu in particular, he’s a massive upgrade from Majin Buu. Because we know that there’s a high possibility that Majin Buu could defeat Frieza, it should be a cake walk for Super Buu.

Super Buu is incredibly strong; even Gohan had some difficulties defeating him. If Gohan can punch out Frieza in one hit, we’re pretty sure anyone he’s struggling against is also strong enough to take him down.

12 Kid Buu

Kid Buu may not be as strong as Super Buu, but he’s definitely strong enough to defeat Frieza. We know this because he’s actually taken down Goku himself before. There’s no reason that a character with enough strength to take down everyone’s favorite Saiyan couldn’t take down the most pompous alien villain in the series.

Honestly though, why does Frieza still think he’s the strongest character in that series?

It’s always fun to see someone as small as Kid Buu take on someone much larger than them and win, but it would be even better if we could have seen him take on Frieza in battle.

11 Android 17

You might be surprised to see the Androids on this list, but there’s a good reason why they might actually be stronger than Frieza. Certainly, these kinds of fights can only be imagined; since we’ve never seen Android 17 take on Frieza in battle, it’s really hard to say.

That being said, there are a few things that Android 17 has on his side versus Frieza. For starters, we know that both of the Androids are exceptionally strong, but we also know that Android 17 has beaten Goku before and may possibly hold back in a fight with him. After all the training he’s done, it’s very possible that he could be stronger than Frieza.

10 Android 18

Because we’ve already stated that Android 17 is probably stronger than Frieza, it only makes sense that Android 18 would also fit into that category. Another important fact to keep in mind about the Androids is that they were made to be stronger than Frieza in the first place.

After all, if the siblings are as strong as each other, it would only be logical that they can both beat Frieza.

Again, the only thing that makes these difficult is that they’re hypotheticals. We still aren’t sure just how strong both Androids 17 and 18 are in the first place, so it would be hard to gauge their power in the first place.

9 Gotenks

What do you get when you fuse Trunks and Goten? You get Gotenks! Or, previously known as Trunkten. He’d certainly be a powerful opponent to take on Frieza and, if we were putting down bets, all of our money would probably be on him. Since future Trunks has been able to take down Frieza before and Goten is the son of Goku, the chances really aren’t in Frieza’s favor.

The cool thing is that Goten is just as powerful as Gohan in a lot of ways. Since Gohan could take out Frieza with one punch, and since Goku has also defeated Frieza, it’d be easy for a fusion character to beat him.

8 Vegito

Vegito is a pretty scary character; it’s no surprise that he’s immensely powerful and able to take on countless characters from the Dragon Ball series. There’s a lot of evidence that might say Frieza would win in a battle, especially in his golden form. However, Vegito has taken on characters more powerful than Frieza, which makes it a little harder to tell.

Seriously, how strong is Vegito?

For starters, we’ve seen Vegito take on Super Buu and win. Sure, Super Buu didn’t perish, but he was definitely flung clear across an ocean. If that doesn’t show you how much power Vegito has, we don’t know what will.

7 Gogeta

Since Vegito can possibly defeat Frieza, it only stands to reason that the same fusion, using a different tactic, could have the same effect. There really isn’t a reason that Gogeta couldn’t beat Frieza. Since Goku has beaten Frieza before, it’s very possible that all of his fusion forms will have a leg up in defeating him.

This includes Gogeta. The biggest difference between Gogeta and Vegito is that Gogeta has is fused when they’re at the same power level. His base form is also already at a super, which gives him a leg up. All in all, we’d say there’s a good chance Gogeta would be able to beat Frieza in a fight.

6 Broly

We can’t put it any other way. Broly is an absolute beast. Keep in mind that Broly has taken on almost all of the Z fighters, at once, and they barely did anything to him. He is an incredible, and arguably overpowered, fighting character in the Dragon Ball series.

If he and Frieza were to fight, there might not be anything left.

That’s why when we’re comparing him to Frieza, it’s not even a contest. Of course, this would also depend on the series and situation; there are definitely instances where Frieza, in certain forms, could potentially beat Broly in a fight.

5 Vegeta

If Goku is on this list, you know that Vegeta isn’t going to be very far behind. There are a lot of times that Vegeta is especially powerful and there are times that the power difference between him and Goku shifts. Logically, if he and Goku have traded blows and they’ve both won and lost different battles respectively, it would only stand to reason that he’s one of the characters in the show that could also defeat Frieza.

But if you need more proof, look no further than when SSGSS Vegeta was able to beat Golden Frieza. That was a pretty rough fight, but it looked almost effortless for the Saiyan.

4 Goku Black

Sure, Goku Black essentially has all of the same powers that regular Goku does, but there’s a few reasons why Goku Black would actually be considered more powerful in this instance. Frieza may be physically strong, but he’s also extremely quick to anger and reckless. This makes his fighting a little sloppy.

Maybe Frieza just needs a Snickers; he always seems so hangry.

That being said, Goku Black is pretty much known for being manipulative and bending things to his will. This kind of cleverness would go far in a fight against Frieza in pretty much any form. It would really only take a few words and the right moment; the battle would be over within minutes.

3 Zamasu

If Goku Black can take on Frieza, there’s definitely an opportunity for Zamasu himself to defeat him too. If you’re a regular Dragon Ball fan, you probably already know that Goku Black is essentially Zamasu in Goku’s body. It’s a little creepy to think about, but it definitely gives him a boost.

Much like with how Goku Black would hypothetically take down Frieza, there’s a lot of chances that Zamasu would get to take him down too. Raw power alone may not be enough, but knowledge and manipulation can be seen as power too. In this instance, we can definitely see who’d win the fight!

2 Hit

They don’t call him “Never-Miss Hit” or “Legendary Hitman” for nothing. Hit is one of the most notorious characters in the series for his prowess. We couldn’t really have a full list about power without him. We know that Hit has been able to take on Vegeta, which is already a pretty impressive feat, but there’s also the fact that not a lot is known about his powers just yet.

Hit has a lot of untapped potential still.

While Hit is still able to grow as a character, there’s also a chance that we’ll see him spark more power than seen in previous battles. It’ll be pretty interesting to see if he ever goes up against Frieza for any reason.

1 Jiren

Jiren certainly looks intimidating from a character design perspective; it’s definitely the soulless eyes that tell you he’s a strange alien, even stranger than the ones we’ve seen previously. And yes, we have seen both Frieza and Goku have the ability to take down Jiren in their own time. But, there’s a reason why he might actually be stronger than Frieza.

For starters, Jiren is stated to be stronger than a god of destruction. If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s sort of Beerus’ job. Regardless of whether or not he’s stronger than Beerus specifically, it’s still extremely impressive and it definitely means it’s possible that he’s stronger than Frieza.