There’s no doubt that Vegeta is one of the strongest fighters from the Dragon Ball franchise. However, that doesn’t mean he’s excused from getting wrecked by some of the other characters. In fact, Vegeta actually seems to lose a lot of fights over the course of the various Dragon Ball shows. At times, it’s almost a bit of a joke how much Vegeta gets thrown around. It’s almost as if Akira Toriyama enjoys writing Vegeta as a bit of a gag character from time to time. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but the Prince of all Saiyans deserves a little better.

This is a list of 25 characters that can defeat Vegeta in a 1-vs-1 fight. Now, we do have a few disclaimers for the list. We’re going to consider two main factors. The first is all of the characters that have actually beat Vegeta in a fight. These are the most obvious entries as they have clearly managed to defeat him in combat. Out of the 25 fighters most have indeed managed to beat Vegeta in a fight.

The other factor is people who could beat Vegeta in a fight if there was one. For this category, it’s only fair to consider Vegeta’s strength at that time. It wouldn’t be right to compare Cell Saga Vegeta with Saiyan Saga Goku. With these hypothetical comparisons, it’s hard to definitely say that Vegeta would lose. However, we’ve chosen characters that are much stronger than him. Of course, we will try to back up our claims with a satisfactory explanation.

25 Beerus

Beerus and Vegeta have a small fight during the Battle of Gods arc. Vegeta gets angry after Beerus slaps Bulma and becomes stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Goku. At first, it even seems that Vegeta has forced Beerus to take the fight seriously. He gets hit with a fairly powerful attack

However, Beerus was only having fun. After tanking Vegeta’s attacks, he launches a counterattack. The fight doesn’t last long since he completely outclasses Vegeta in every regard. It was an admirable effort on his part, but not enough.

24 Jiren

Vegeta and Goku try to attack Jiren together and it ends really badly for both of them. Vegeta doesn’t actually do that bad. He even unlocks a new power-up for his Super Saiyan Blue transformations.

He even manages to see through one of Jiren’s attacks and get a few punches in.

Of course, it was unrealistic to expect Vegeta to beat Jiren. He does eventually get knocked out by the Pride Trooper. Vegeta fought bravely, but his strength wasn’t enough to fight Jiren.

23 Whis

Both Goku and Vegeta train with Whis. They both attack at the same time but to no avail. Not only is Whis strong, but he’s able to react without thinking. This allows him to move at extremely high speeds and dodge most conventional attacks.

Vegeta thinks too much before attacking which reduces his speed and efficiency. He simply can’t keep up with Whis and thus will easily be defeated. Vegeta can try all he might, but he’s no match for Beerus’ assistant

22 Goku

One of the most iconic anime match-ups. The thing is, Goku and Vegeta have never had a proper 1-vs-1 fight to the end. Usually, something happens to prevent them from coming to a conclusion. In the fights they have had, Vegeta has done quite well against Goku.

However, Goku always has the upper hand and is one step ahead. Most famously, he purposefully held back his Super Saiyan 3 form against Majin Vegeta. He could’ve easily won the fight had he decided not to do that.

21 Frieza

Vegeta did not stand a chance against Frieza during the Namek arc. He was able to hold his own during Frieza’s base form, but after that, it was all downhill.

Vegeta was completely destroyed after Freiza's numerous transformations.

What made things worse for him was that he claimed to be a Super Saiyan. It was sad watching him get beat by Frieza after making such a bold (and incorrect) claim. At least he gets his revenge as a Super Saiyan Blue.

20 Perfect Cell

Oh, Vegeta. Why would you let Cell transform? This was one of Vegeta’s biggest mistakes. He stomped semi-perfect Cell but stood no chance against the Perfect form. His Final Flash attack was impressive but wasn’t able to finish the job.

Vegeta also launched a rage-fuelled attack against Super Perfect Cell. But that ends with him being pushed aside with ease and Gohan getting his left arm. While he does sway the final struggle in Gohan’s favor with a Ki blast, there’s no forgetting his huge loss.

19 Android 18

Another embarrassing moment for the Prince of all Saiyans. He had just finished destroying Android 19 and was full of confidence. He had finally become a Super Saiyan and was temporarily stronger than Goku.

Android 18 shot down that confidence with relative ease. She completely humiliated him and was far too powerful. It all culminated with a powerful kick that dislocated Vegeta’s arm and probably broke a few bones. Although it doesn’t take long for Vegeta to become stronger and restore order to his sanity.

18 Omega Shenron

Two Super Saiyan 4 warriors weren’t enough to take this guy down. Vegeta and Goku had to fuse in order to finally gain an advantage. However, once the fusion was over, so was their ability to fight back.

Vegeta was not able to scratch Omega Shenron at all. The only concession he gets was that Goku was right there beside him getting beat as well. So it wasn’t all bad for Vegeta, but he’s still no match for the shadow dragon.

17 Zamasu

Both Zamasu and Goku Black were able to outclass Vegeta. Zamasu had an unfair advantage since he wished for immortality. Even though Vegeta was stronger, there was nothing he could do about immortality.

It’s unfair, but the fact is Zamasu can now beat Vegeta, despite being weaker.

Goku Black was just Zamasu in Goku’s body. Yet, he somehow managed to surpass the real Goku and Vegeta. His Super Saiyan Rose transformation made the relatively new Super Saiyan Blue look outdated and useless.

16 Majin Buu

Vegeta fought against several forms of Majin Buu and it always ended with his loss. He struggled against Fat Buu and resorted to blowing himself up. The pink blob survived the attack and lived to fight another day.

Against Kid Buu, Vegeta was thrown around like a doll. He could barely stand up against him. And yet he found a way to buy Goku enough time to charge a Spirit Bomb. He may have been beat, but he fought with gusto.

15 Janemba

Janemba’s final form resulted in a being stronger than Majin Buu. Super Saiyan 3 Goku wasn’t enough, so Vegeta wasn’t going to stand a chance. He tried his best, but Janemba’s teleportation abilities and power were too great. If Super Saiyan 3 wasn’t enough, then Vegeta was never going to put up a good fight.

Ultimately, it was the power of fusion that allowed Goku and Vegeta to win. On his own, Vegeta would’ve met his demise. And since he was already in Other World, he would’be had nowhere else to run.

14 Bojack

At this point, Vegeta is dejected and has given up on fighting. He could be seen chilling at home watching TV, which is strange for the Saiyan. However, after seeing his son and the others in trouble, he rushes in to help.

Except, he’s not very useful against Bojack.

Bojack’s strength would be close to that of Perfect Cell, putting him above Vegeta’s league. Another Dragon Ball movie, another day of Vegeta getting whooped. Hopefully, he gets a better role in the Dragon Ball Super movie.

13 Monster Zarbon

Vegeta beat Dodoria pretty quickly and was about to do the same against Zarbon. Then, the latter transforms into an ugly form. He also gained the strength needed to leave Vegeta on the verge of perishing. He somehow managed to live and heal himself.

Of course, we all know how the rest of the story goes. Vegeta gets a power boost after the battle and gets his revenge against Zarbon. However, he can’t deny the fact that he came close to passing during his first attempt.

12 Cell Junior

Each Cell Junior was about as strong as a Super Saiyan. Actually, they were a little bit better since they managed to beat the likes of Vegeta, Goku, and Trunks. The Z-Fighters had a hard time of it against them.

It’s only because of Gohan that they made it out alive. He was able to beat them with one hit per Cell Junior. Which really puts into perspective Vegeta’s lack of power during the Cell Games. Although he does get his moment during the final struggle.

11 Gotenks

Vegeta and Gotenks don’t fight, but there would be no contest if they did. Gotenks is able to transform into a Super Saiyan 3. His form is stronger than Goku’s too. That would make the fight a cakewalk for Gotenks.

While there is a 30-minute time limit, that’s more than enough for Gotenks to beat Vegeta. He may put up a good fight because of his strong will, but that’s about all he can muster against a vastly superior foe.

10 Hit

Hit and Vegeta battle during the Universe 6 vs Universe 7 arc. And Vegeta gets demolished with ease. He isn’t able to fight back at all. Hit uses his time skip to break through Vegeta’s defences and knock him out.

To add insult to injury, Goku actually puts up a decent fight thanks to his Kaio-Ken. That begs the question, why hasn’t Goku taught Vegeta how to use the Kaio-Ken? Perhaps Vegeta himself is too proud to accept such help in the first place.

9 Super Android 17

This fight catches Vegeta at a bad time. At this point, he is yet to attain the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, so he’s not able to match Super Android 17. Not that this form would’ve helped as Goku wasn’t able to win on his own either.

To Vegeta’s credit, he does put up the best fight out of the Z-Fighters (minus Goku). That’s the thing with him. Even when the odds are against him, he manages to keep at it until he can’t get up. It’s evidence of his astounding spirit and determination.

8 Broly

Broly proved to be a greater threat than Bojack since he single-handedly fought the strongest heroes at once. Goku, Gohan, Future Trunks, Vegeta, and Piccolo were unable to even scratch the Legendary Super Saiyan.

Vegeta was so shocked at first, he completely lost the will to fight.

It took several moments for Vegeta to finally work up the courage to fight back. It was strange seeing Vegeta unwilling to fight and give up without trying.

7 Meta-Cooler

There’s no way Vegeta would’ve lasted long against Meta-Cooler without Goku. The two of them barely managed to beat him while fighting together. If Vegeta challenged Cooler by himself, the only guarantee was going to be his defeat.

Still, Vegeta gets the last laugh as he survived and Cooler didn’t. Even though he did have to team up with Goku to do it, Vegeta played an integral role in the battle. On his own though? No chance of even hoping for victory.

6 Hirudegarn

Vegeta tried his best against Hirudegarn but falls well short. I don’t blame him as Goku had to use his Super Saiyan 3 form to finally win. Which is strange since even Gotenks or Gohan couldn’t win, despite being stronger.

Back to Vegeta. He does manage to save a bunch of people from a wayward blast from the beast. However, he uses up too much energy and falls unconscious after saving many lives. A sign of his growth as a person.