Dragon Ball is a franchise all about strong and powerful characters battling to become the best. Over the franchises’ long history, dozens of characters have tried to reach the top. With so many shows, movies, and games you can expect some truly powerful combatants. Of course, you have the usual suspects like Goku and Vegeta, but then you might see some characters you won’t expect. To keep things fair, we’re going to evaluate each character in their most powerful form., even if they don’t have mastery over a technique.

Which means that this list is going to be filled with characters from Dragon Ball Super since it is the most recent show. We are going to consider movie characters, except for one. To avoid potential spoilers we decided to leave this off the list. Also, the Dragon Ball Super manga has started a new arc. Since this arc is still in its early stages, there’s no point in trying to rank the characters from there. So, our cut-off point will be the end of the Tournament of Power from Dragon Ball Super.

As a disclaimer, we are ranking characters purely based on their strength. It has nothing to do with their character or other factors. The best way to rank them would be if the characters fought each other. However, we won’t always have that information. In that case, we will compare their feats in battle. Not all characters are here for their martial arts skills. Some of the entries have made it despite not fighting anyone. Such is the level of their raw power. Let’s get started.

25 Dabura

This was a close one between Dabura and Super Perfect Cell. Ultimately, it comes down to their performance against Gohan. Cell does okay against a raging Super Saiyan 2 Gohan but ultimately loses. Dabura fights against a rusty, Super Saiyan 1 Gohan. He also does okay.

In this comparison, Dabura is the safer choice. He’s a villain of a new arc and can be expected to be stronger. Goku also mentions that Dabura is about as strong as Cell. So, worst case scenario, the two are equal in strength.

24 Mr. Buu

Originally, Majin Buu was also one not as strong as you would think. He did easily beat Dabura and somehow survived Majin Vegeta’s attack. However, Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 form proved to be too much for Mr. Buu.

After that, there hasn’t been a single fight he was able to win. In Dragon Ball Super, he looked set to make a comeback in the Tournament of Power. However, he trained so hard that he fell into a deep slumber and missed the whole thing.

23 Hirudegarn

This giant beast was portrayed to be extremely powerful at first. Some sort of legendary beast sealed for many years. Except Super Saiyan 3 Goku defeated the beast within a few minutes. Which is why Hirudegarn is so further down on the list.

There’s nothing impressive about the monster since he has no special powers. He’s big and can teleport. There’s a transformation but in the world of Dragon Ball Z, it’s not unique or interesting. The fight ends up being one-sided and underwhelming.

22 Janemba

The last time we’ll be using Super Saiyan 3 Goku as a benchmark. Janemba is much stronger than Goku and Vegeta from the Majin Buu arc. He’s a ferocious warrior with a very unique set of abilities: instant transmission, mouth blasts, and a sword. Also, a very unconventional fighting style.

As strong as he is, Goku and Vegeta’s fusion, Gogeta, is able to destroy him in seconds. Still, he did almost defeat the Saiyans when they fought individually. Without fusion, there would’ve been no way to stop him.

21 Gotenks

Gotenks surprised everyone when he unlocked his Super Saiyan 3 transformation. Goten and Trunks only saw Goku do it once and yet they were able to recreate it. Not only that, but he was also stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Goku!

Sadly, that doesn’t amount to much here. He could’ve defeated Mr. Buu easily, but at that point, he had transformed into Super Buu. The result was a much closer fight that ended with their fusion time limit running out.

20 Mystic Gohan

After having his potential unlocked, Gohan became the strongest. This status may have been short-lived, but it was still enjoyable. Super Buu stood no chance at first. However, Gohan’s trademark overconfidence came back to haunt him.

He was unable to finish the fight and let Buu absorb Gotenks. After that, it was a one-sided affair where Gohan was left demoralized by the powered-up Buu. The second time in his life Gohan was unable to quickly finish his opponent.

19 Super Buu (Gohan Absorbed)

Buu didn’t just absorb Gotenks and Trunks. He also caught Gohan off-guard and added him to the collection. This put him well beyond the capabilities of Goku and Vegeta. He had become the strongest version of Buu.

As is the case with Dragon Ball, a new power-up rarely overstays its welcome. Goku and Vegeta used the Potara earrings to become Vegito. And once again the scales tipped to the other side. Vegito’s power at the time seemed limitless and was well beyond anything in the show.

18 Cabba

Cabba is one of the new Saiyans from universe 6. He is the first from his planet to become a Super Saiyan and even manages to achieve the upgraded Super Saiyan 2 form during the Tournament of Power.

As strong as he is, Cabba gets overpowered by the other characters very quickly. He isn’t able to keep up with powerhouses like Frieza and is knocked out of the ring fairly early. Still, he did his best and was effective in combat.

17 Caulifla

Another Saiyan from universe 6 and this time even stronger than Cabba. She also becomes a Super Saiyan 2 but that wasn’t enough to satisfy her. She immediately set her eyes on attaining Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue transformation.

As a Super Saiyan 2, Caulifla managed to fight on even footing with Goku. Although we later find out that Goku was massively holding back due to his concern for preserving stamina. Caulifla is still a major threat during the rest of the tournament.

16 Android 17

The biggest surprise of Dragon Ball Super was how strong Android 17 had become. He fought extremely well against opponents much more powerful than him such as Jiren and Toppo. While he doesn’t come close in terms of power, it was his skill and strategy that saved the day.

In terms of strength, Android 17 is no slouch either. Being an android gives him limitless energy which is a huge plus. He didn’t have to worry about his stamina running out. His wide range of attacks also kept him constantly in the game with tons of tricks up his sleeve. Android 17 is much stronger than he’s ever been.

15 Hit

One of the best characters from Dragon Ball Super. Hit was a powerful foe who managed to beat Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta in one-on-one fights. After which, he threw the match against the extremely weak Monaka.

By the time we get to the ending of the show, Hit is no longer such a fearsome foe. Both Goku and Vegeta have surpassed him. Not to mention we get to see a host of new, much stronger fighters in the Tournament of Power. It’s a shame Hit’s ferocity lasted for such a short while.

14 Frieza

Golden Frieza came back better than ever in the Tournament of Power. He had already proved himself as equals to Goku and Vegeta. And he wasted no time knocking out some of the weaker opponents.

But he never quite reaches individual heights. In fact, Frieza gets completely stomped by Toppo towards the latter end of the tournament. It was kind of sad to see Frieza get wrecked so hard. However, none of Frieza’s defeats will compare to what Future Trunks did to him.

13 Merged Zamasu

The final and most desperate effort by Zamasu and Goku Black to defeat Goku. However, the fusion between an immortal and mortal caused Merged Zamasu to mutate into a very ugly creature.

While he has some early success, Merged Zamasu hits the giant wall that is known as Vegito. Even though he survives that onslaught, Future Trunks delivers a fatal blow. After that, Zeno wipes him out of existence along with everything else.

12 Kale

The first appearance of the Legendary Super Saiyan in the Dragon Ball canon. Kale isn’t quite as threatening as Broly, but she is plenty strong. She man-handled Super Saiyan Blue Goku and turned him into a ragdoll.

There was almost no stopping her furious onslaught until Jiren showed up. After this Kale manages to control her power better. However, the legendary beast is still inside of her waiting to erupt. It will be great to see her return once again and challenge Goku to another fight.

11 Kefla

The potara fusion between Kale and Caulifla. Kefla’s overwhelming power stops everything in motion. Everyone around her is distracted by the high level of energy radiating from her. It was a huge moment in the show.

It was only after Goku activated Ultra Instinct that he was able to win easily. Before that, it was a battle for survival. While Kefla wasn’t the most popular new character, she did create an opportunity for one of the best Kamehameha Waves by Goku.

10 Toppo

Now we’re into the top 10 strongest fighters from Dragon Ball. To start off we have Toppo after he reaches his God of Destruction form. He made an immediate impact by beating Frieza within an inch of his life. If not for the rules of the tournament, Frieza would be deceased.

This was a huge reveal for the story. We all thought it was Jiren that would have the potential to be a God of Destruction. However, the entire time they were actually talking about Toppo. And he certainly delivered on his potential.

9 Vegeta

Vegeta spent a lot of time in the shadows of others. But he finally had a shining moment where he mastered the Super Saiyan Blue transformation. With it, he was able to knock God of Destruction Toppo out of the ring.

In this form, Vegeta was also able to perfect his Final Explosion. When he used it against Buu it resulted in his own defeat. This time, he was able to survive the explosion even though it used up a lot of energy.

8 Jiren

The greatest enigma of the show. Although his backstory was awful, Jiren was no joke in combat. He was the final obstacle for Goku and friends to overcome so they could win the tournament. After a tough fight, they managed to win.

For the longest time, Jiren kept his full power hidden away. It was only at the very end he decided to unleash all of his muscles. That’s when the real fight started. And it was one of the best in the entire franchise.

7 Goku

It was a tough call between Goku and Jiren. After Goku mastered his Ultra Instinct, he seemed to be evenly matched with Jiren. However, Goku had the slightest of advantages which is why he is higher on the list.

In fact, that slight advantage was the key to victory. Sadly, it wasn’t enough. Right before Goku was about to land the finishing punch, his body broke down. He was literally inches away from ending the fight. A close call that had fans hold their breath in tension.

6 Vegito

The most powerful mortal character on the list. The ultimate fusion between Goku and Vegeta is an extremely powerful warrior that we’ve yet to see use his full power. So far, Vegito has never fought an opponent that pushed him to the limit.

Some may argue that Vegito is stronger than the Gods of Destruction. However, there’s no real basis for the argument. The benefit of the doubt will have to go to the Gods of Destruction and their ability to destroy people in seconds.