Dragon Ball: Who’s The Strongest Saiyan? Ranking The 10 Strongest Saiyans In The Series

Warning: The following article contains major spoilers from Dragon Ball Super manga. Read ahead at your own discretion!

The Saiyans have ascended to a new level of power we have never seen before.

Not only have all of them achieved unique transformations but the question of who’s the strongest amongst them all has blown wide open.

No longer is Goku the solution to all things, as even recently Vegeta defeated him in a spar.

Recently, Dragon Ball Super re-established Saiyan Pride and considers it important to gain power.

This is because a Saiyan’s identity is important to unlocking the strength of their mind, As Vegeta claimed, their bodies are starting to reach their limits and to reach higher levels, like opponents that were stronger than them in the past, It was their ability to not waste Ki.

The full potential of each of these Saiyans will arise by making them grow through different routes in line with their identities.

Goku is naturally calm and collected who loves to fight but doesn’t kill for pleasure so a technique like Ultra Instinct would suit him more than Ultra Ego, a technique tailor-made for someone like Vegeta who doesn’t mind killing.

Gohan and Broly encompass the Saiyan’s ability to spike their power through rage and they would do anything to protect their loved ones.

Hence, they got Beast Mode and Super Saiyan Controlled.

All of this is crucial in their inevitable showdown against Black Frieza, as he holds the title of STRONGEST MORTAL IN THE UNIVERSE.

With that said, let’s start with the weakest of them all.

10. Cabba

Universe 6 Saiyans live in a relatively peaceful world. They are not cold-hearted or individualistic like Universe 7 Saiyans.

We’ve seen how emotional Cabba got when Vegeta insulted his people.

Therefore, these guys had more time for training and gathering S-Cells that can spark the Super Saiyan transformations way easier.

Yup, the bargain sale continues!

But the weakest of the Universe 6 Saiyans is Cabba. He wasn’t useful in the manga, unlike his anime counterpart. He was able to take Toppo’s Justice Punch in his base form and even turn Super Saiyan 2 to take out this one chick from Universe 4 but that’s about it.

9. Caulifla

Given how bad the power scaling became in the anime, im not going to use it’s continuity but rather the Manga Canon as it makes things much more clear.

For example, in the anime, Caulifla could keep with Goku in his Super Saiyan 2, 3, the God forms, and even Ultra Instinct Sign with Kefla.

But the manga version made the fusion on par with Gohan, or Super Saiyan Blue Goku.

During the Tournament of Power, Caulifla found herself in a fierce face-off against Frieza in his original form.

At this point, Frieza is way stronger than what you see in Namek.

His training for 4 months, as well as that mental training in Hell, pushed his power to rival Blue with his Golden Form.

Frieza thought he knew what to expect with Super Saiyan Caulifla but one strike to the face and a surprise attack left him staggering!

Her point-blank blast was so intense that it not only caught the attention of Goku, 17, Top, and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, but it also ripped apart a massive chunk of the arena’s edge!

It only managed to give Frieza a slight bruise! But the same blast also made Golden Frieza nervous and forced him to strain a bigger explosion wave in order to cancel it out.

Despite Caulifla’s Super Saiyan prowess, she still faced an uphill battle against the Emperor, who dismissed her as not even worthy of playing with building blocks.

Nevertheless, Frieza did not want to unveil his Golden form so soon but Caulifla’s strength and Saiyan origins kind of forced him to transform.

That itself is a HUGE DEAL, considering how much Goku and the others struggled against Frieza both times!

And she doesn’t even need further transformations to get stronger. If Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta can surpass Super Saiyan 3 Goku after Beerus slapped Bulma, then Caulifla can do the same with just Super Saiyan.

She is also strong enough to hold Dyspo in a full Nelson, which he cannot break out of. And manga Dyspo is actually faster than SSJ Goku, who was already THIS fast in his fight against Perfect Cell, so much so that none of the Dragon team could keep up with them, except Gohan.

8. Goten And Trunks

Coming next in order of strength is Goten.

Goten trained with Gohan for the world martial arts tournament during the Buu Saga whereas Trunks trained with Vegeta.

Both of them individually were as powerful as Frieza at the ages of 9 and 10. They faced two foes, Abo and Cado, who rivalled the Galactic Emperor and defeated them after a little pep talk from Gohan and Piccolo before fusing.

During the Super Hero arc, we see them taking down a Dino Android while being Super Saiyans. Which was stated to be more powerful than any Android before, including 17 and 18.

Even Cell Max took a serious blow following the Tornado attack the two unleashed.

If Gohan is potentially greater than Goku and Vegeta, then Goten and Trunks have, in theory, the same growth potential.

And that is because they’re hybrids.

But once Bulma and Chichi found out about their Superhero exploits kept in secret, the boys were grounded for half a year!

HALF A YEAR YES! SOMETHING ONLY ASIAN PARENTS CAN DO WITHOUT BEING REPORTED TO CHILD SERVICES. Thanks to that, they got so wimpy that Trunks couldn’t even sense who’s Ki was whose.

Despite this, they could turn Super Saiyans and give Cell Max quite a bit of trouble.

They even managed to deal a serious blow on the Kaiju with a combined Tornado attack but their dominion didn’t last long as the beast figured out how to use his body and became faster than the duo and the Gammas

Their spotlight quickly dimmed out as their fusion failed and Fat Gotenks in battle are usually as useful as Yamcha or Krillin.

Look, Am I in the wrong here? Fat Gotenks ran for like 2 meters in the Buu saga and immediately fell on his knees, gasping for breath.

So it’s no surprise Cell Max’s attacks would make him an ideal punching bag. Surprisingly, he did come in handy as 18’s blow sent his big fat head to collide with Cell Max’s AND IT WORKED! Even Potential Unleashed Piccolo’s ki blast couldn’t achieve that

Once again, Gotenks’ spotlight went as quickly as it came with Cell Max’s mouth blast, which exposed his big fat ass.

Fat Gotenks was weaker than Goten and Trunks individually. During the final battle, while Gotenks got knocked out, Goten and Trunks managed to push Cell Max’s arm, distracting him enough for Gohan Beast to defeat him.

Their base forms were stronger than Android 18, who, with Krillin’s help, broke one of Cell Max’s wings. After this, Goten and Trunks trained intensely for months and were able to spar with Gohan, challenging his Super Saiyan form before resorting to fusion when he turned Ultimate.

Gohan, stronger from training with Piccolo before unlocking his Beast form, previously matched Gamma 1 and 2, who were close to Goku and Vegeta’s power. This shows why Goten and Trunks almost keeping up is impressive. If they hadn’t failed their fusion in Chapter 103, they could have challenged Ultimate Gohan and their fathers in Super Saiyan Blue.

In the manga, Kefla’s fusion matched a weaker Ultimate Gohan. Claiming Gotenks SSJ3 isn’t at Super Saiyan God levels now seems unfair. They even spar with Broly in his controlled form later, indicating their growth.

In Dragon Ball Z, Buu was concerned when Gotenks went SSJ3, a form that Goku believed could keep Kid Buu busy. Trunks is slightly stronger than Goten, being older, and proved his strength by winning the junior division, much to Vegeta’s excitement.

6. Kale

As noted by Toriyama, Kale is a character created by Toei Animation staff in response to the immense popularity of Broly not only in Japan but overseas.

This was further confirmed by Dragon Ball Super episode 100, where it refers to Kale as “turning into Broly”.

Basically, this is Toei’s attempt to make that sweet money by milking Broly LOL.

Kale is reminiscent of Gohan, showing a reluctance to fight, a strong attachment to her partner, and possessing immense untapped potential.

During the Tournament of Power, Kale transforms into a Super Saiyan with green hair to protect Caulifla.

In the manga, unlike the anime, she cannot control this form, but her strength seems even greater.

Cabba speculates that Kale might be the reincarnation of the legendary demoniac Saiyan, a being that appears once every thousand years and self-destructs due to their immense power. This mirrors Paragus’s description of Broly’s abilities.

Kale obliterated the remaining fighters from Universes 2, 3, 4, and 10, effortlessly tossing powerful opponents like Magetta and Agnilasa out of the ring, and nearly knocking out Toppo and Vegeta.

However, she had a critical weakness that Vegeta highlighted, dismissing her as unworthy of his time.

Vegeta noticed Kale’s explosive power surges initially caught opponents off guard, but her lack of control made her techniques predictable, causing her to reach her limits faster than Broly.

In a surprising twist, five weaker members of Universe 11 managed to knock her down. This lack of challenge led Vegeta to focus on battling Toppo instead.

Yet, Kale’s power should not be underestimated. Even Golden Frieza found himself overwhelmed by her ferocity, initially underestimating her.

Despite Frieza’s claim of not taking her seriously, he still fell victim to her rapid attacks while trying to conserve energy.

Kale’s power level spikes unpredictably, leaving both Goku and Frieza unable to accurately gauge her strength.

However, as Vegeta observes, this overwhelming display is fleeting, destined to fade as swiftly as it appeared.

5. Future Trunks

Future Trunks was as strong as Goku after Yardrat but his REAL STRENGTH came after his training with Vegeta in the hyperbolic time chamber for an entire year.

Nevertheless, he got a lot stronger than the Androids that killed his Future, but got whooped by Perfect Cell. Once before the Cell Games and the other towards its end.

But the training laid the foundation for more progress, such as preventing Buu from hatching in his timeline by killing Dabura and Babidi, keeping up with Goku Black and managing to stay alive.

During his version of the Buu Saga, he was the apprentice to the Supreme Kai and even pulled out the Z-Sword.

It’s been 10 years since the Cell Games and Trunks has trained himself to death.

The dude hasn’t stopped training since his precipitation in the cell Arc during DBZ and excessive use of the zenkai boost made his numbers go really high.

It helped him not only get healing powers that restored Goku and Vegeta’s enough to unleash their Blue forms but he also transformed into a Super Saiyan 2 that rivaled Goku’s Super Saiyan 3!

In the anime version of the Zamasu arc, Future Trunks gained a bizarre new power up called Super Saiyan Rage that surpassed even Blue and then got some weird-ass Spirit Sword by borrowing the Ki from others to split Fused Zamasu in half.

Eh, the powerscaling in the anime is Bullshit.

On the other hand, in the manga, Trunks was able to help Goku and Vegeta by saving their lives, surviving Goku Black’s onslaught until they came back and split Goku Black and Zamasu in two, and practically killing them in their most vulnerable states.

This makes a lot of sense, considering Goku and Vegeta doing most of the fighting and Trunks is there as a supporting agent.

Unfortunately for him, Zeno showed up and destroyed his entire timeline, along with the infinite Zamasus

So he decided to go to another timeline before Zamasu and Dabura showed up. That way, at least Bulma would be alive.

Plus, he would have that timelines Trunks to train with.

Since he is a Saiyan with human blood, he too can be as potentially strong as his former master.

Goku knew this and thought about making him participate in the Tournament of Power if only he stayed back.

Would Future Trunks be as strong as Goku and Vegeta if he did? I think so, considering they had to face guys like Broly, Moro, Granolah and Gas

He would surely be a great help in the epic showdown against Black Frieza.

4. Broly

Along Goku and Bardock, He is described as a pure Saiyan with a gentle heart. And that’s a huge positive aspect of the Saiyan gene pool. He’s actually confirmed to have the greatest stamina out of EVERYONE, surpassing Gohan, Vegeta, and Goku, but I’ll explain in a moment why he’s placed here.

In the beginning, the dude’s power level when he was born was around 920! The Broly Light Novel mentions that Prince Vegeta broke all records in Saiyan history by having the highest power level as a baby.

Then Broly comes along and smashes it by a wide margin.

Mind you, this was higher than 24-year-old Goku’s and Piccolo’s base power levels combined when they fought against Raditz (416 and 408, respectively).

Just like Gohan, Broly’s TRUE powers erupt with his anger. But the problem is, he goes out of control and loses his sense of self.

That’s why his father, Paragus, had an electric discharger around his neck.

But that soon became useless when the mutant broke it while becoming even more angrier going into the Ikari state.

But unlike Gohan, he loves a good fight and wastes no time challenging Vegeta and Goku when he lands on Earth.

We can see his growth In the Broly movie, where the mutant was already at base Vegeta’s level when the two began to fight but as the battle unfolds, Broly’s overall prowess kept increasing at INSANE LEVELS.

When Vegeta went Super Saiyan, One punch to the cheek sent Broly flying back. But he comes back stronger.

He is now able to withstand a similar punch by Vegeta, who begins pushing him backwards.

At this moment, Base Broly = Base Vegeta X 50.

The Prince was forced to turn Super Saiyan God but even that couldn’t kill Broly off as he rose from the ocean and turned Ikari mode, which obliterated God Vegeta.

During this whole process, Broly studied Vegeta’s moves, techniques and speed and incorporated them as his own, just like with Goku’s God Bind.

Goku in his Super Saiyan Blue was stronger than Ikari Broly but Paragus’s death pushed Broly into unlocking a green variant of Super Saiyan.

This Super Saiyan matches with Kale’s, which Cabba and Caulifla stated to be the demoniac Saiyan that appears once every 1000 years.

So Broly’s Super Saiyan is more than the X50 multiplier, which explains why he was able to surpass Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Golden Frieza.

Mind you, nothing can be more satisfying than seeing Frieza getting whooped.

Base Gogeta is stronger than Goku but he was forced to go Super Saiyan and Blue after Broly unleashed his FULL POWER.

So basically, in a span of 2 hours, Broly increased his power by at least 1,250,000 times, becoming on par with Super Saiyan Gogeta.

Frieza looked at his power and stated, no being in existence could defeat him in a fight.

At that point in time, Broly was confirmed to be much stronger than Jiren or any of the fighters from the Tournament of Power, as stated in a movie promo.

He was the strongest Goku has faced so far and his destructive power could rival that of a God of Destruction’s Hakai.

Vegeta explains later in chapter 93 that he was unable to deal with Broly because Broly could instinctively conserve his energy and preserve stamina by using his power only at the moment of attack.

The duo have gotten significantly stronger since the movie where Vegeta, with just his Super Saiyan form can no diff base Broly now, so the duo has gotten insanely more powerful.

For example, Goku and Vegeta were already stronger than Broly at the start of the Granolah arc and when they asked Whis who is currently the most powerful in the universe, Broly wasn’t even mentioned.

On Beerus’s planet, he is not allowed to go Berserk anymore, however, at this point in the story, we can comfortably state that Broly is no match for them.

The issue is that Broly Isn’t able to control his ever-increasing rage while in battle. But Goku, being the ideal sensei, brought Gohan on Beerus’ world in order to show by example how he can increase his ki till the tipping point of going berserk and then controlling it.

So this is clear cut evidence that he ain’t stronger than the three remaining saiyans on the list.

For example, In his Spar against Base Gohan, he couldn’t catch him at all and when Beast mode appeared, he was overwhelmed.

However, Even after controlling his Super Saiyan form, Gohan tossed him like a toy.

They were fighting for quite a while, evident through Gotenk’s fusion wearing off as that requires 30 minutes, so there is merit where Broly was never knocked out against Gohan Beast, implying he has huge potential to become the strongest, as Broly will eventually gain his own transformation confirmed in the very same chapter.

Therefore, at this point in time, Broly scales higher than what we saw in Jiren, Moro, and maybe even Cell Max, but is below Granolah.

As we must keep in mind, Gohan got even stronger after defeating Max as he trained with Piccolo to upgrade his beast, but knowing that Goku can still keep up with this version of his son, it ended the debate whether or not the duo could have killed Cell Max in one blast just as he did.

3. Gohan

Gohan was among the strongest in the universe after the Moro arc but slacked on his training to the point where even Piccolo was pissed in the Super Hero arc.

However, during his fight with Cell Max, powering up to Beast mode made him match the levels of Gods, much to Beerus’s anger!

In the entirety of DBS, Gohan undergoes significant training and transformation, starting in the Black arc, continuing before the Tournament of Power, and further evolving in the Moro arc. Initially a Super Saiyan 2, Gohan’s training pushed him to the level of Super Saiyan God. His Ultimate form rivaled SSJ Kefla, although it’s noted that Manga Kefla is weaker than her anime version.

Piccolo observed that Gohan’s fighting spirit was only partially tapped during their training, yet he grew stronger than ever. Despite struggling against the Trio of Danger, Gohan unleashed immense power against Kefla, reaching levels between Super Saiyan God and Blue Goku from the Tournament of Power.

After the Moro arc’s two-month time jump, Gohan’s power surged, impressing even Goku. Piccolo noticed Gohan’s momentary boost from rage during a fierce battle with Moro and asserted that Gohan was Earth’s best fighter in the absence of Goku and Vegeta.

Gohan Beast’s power multiplier was comparable to his previous critical moments against Frieza, Raditz, and Cell, making him stronger than Broly and his father.

Goku concurred that Gohan may be Earth’s mightiest hero as a result of Piccolo’s post-Cell Max training, which further enhanced his abilities. Gohan vowed to evolve individually, rather than following in Goku’s or Vegeta’s footsteps, a claim confirmed by Whis.

In a sparring match against Ultra Instinct Goku, Gohan showcased the highest raw power among Saiyans, with his Ki sensed across the universe and his punches sending Goku flying. However, his lack of battle experience was a drawback, as noted by Vegeta.

Goku admitted the match was a test of Gohan’s strength rather than a contest of winning. Goku’s superior speed and Ultra Instinct mastery allowed him to dodge most of Gohan’s attacks, despite Gohan’s impressive speed and strength.

Ultimately, Goku’s superior speed and training to harness Ultra Instinct with emotions positioned him ahead of Gohan. Vegeta’s Super Saiyan Blue in the mini battle royale further demonstrated that Gohan hasn’t yet claimed the title of the strongest Saiyan.

2. Vegeta

Vegeta’s journey is a testament to his resilience and growth. After many defeats at Goku’s hands, he turned those losses into strength, culminating in his Ultra Ego form. Unlike Goku’s pursuit of absolute strength, Vegeta’s path diverged notably after achieving Super Saiyan 2. His transformation began under Babidi’s control, awakening his darker side to challenge Goku and sacrifice himself against Fat Buu.

Despite his efforts, Vegeta was still outmatched by Kid Buu, Beerus, Fused Zamasu, and Jiren. He realized his mistake in merely replicating Goku and changed his approach during the Tournament of Power. Provoked by Toppo’s dismissal of him as second-best, Vegeta’s determination to surpass Goku reignited.

Now, he aims to grow stronger in his own way, rejecting Ultra Instinct. In Chapter 51, Vegeta left for Yardrat to refine his Chi. Despite initial challenges, he surpassed expectations by mastering Ki Control, showcasing his extraordinary potential.

He gains a unique ability called Force Spirit Fission, which allows Vegeta to undo fusions.

He uses this technique to strip Moro of all of the energy that he stole and return it to its rightful owners.

Vegeta told Piccolo that he could even undo the two previous Namekian fusions he has gone through, which means any future opponent that has a fusion against the prince would be in a lot of trouble.

This technique can be seen as the opposite of the Spirit Bomb. Goku’s technique combines energy from various life forms, while Forced Spirit Fission does the opposite, separating energy from a single target.

Yet again, the story creates a distinction between the Saiyans based on the techniques they possess.

However, Vegeta’s training in that department ain’t done, as Elder Pybara hinted at better techniques for advanced users and the Prince isn’t there just yet.

Fast forward to Ultra Ego, Vegeta’s form, which rivals Ultra Instinct. The more his fighting spirit burns, the stronger he becomes. He endures full-powered attacks from Granolah, which knocked out Ultra Instinct Goku. Jiren’s view on true strength aside, Vegeta’s ability to take hits head-on showcases his superior defensive capabilities among Saiyans, including Goku.

Granolah’s wish to the Dragon Balls made him the strongest in the universe, surpassing everyone. Yet, Vegeta, in his evolved Ultra Ego state, goes toe-to-toe with Gas in chapter 85, even triggering Gas’s PTSD. This form is still evolving, and Vegeta momentarily surpasses Goku in strength.

However, Ultra Ego has a downside: Vegeta must take damage to grow stronger, with a limit to how much he can endure. Vegeta admits this as his vision blurs, indicating he might equal Goku but could eventually overpower Beast Gohan in a battle of attrition.

Vegeta still has several ways to increase his strength: shrouding himself in Destruction energy like Toppo or Beerus, ongoing mental training, and perfecting Yardrat techniques. Ultra Ego is still in its infancy, just like Goku’s evolving Saiyan version of Ultra Instinct. Recently, Whis had them spar without forms or techniques, with Vegeta emerging as the winner.

With these developments, current Vegeta could eclipse all previous opponents except Black Frieza. He’s not trying against Broly, Moro would be a joke, and Granolah or Gohan would be a good challenge due to their lack of experience. This mirrors Goku’s observation about Gas’s borrowed techniques.

1. Goku

Well, Goku has the Ki avatar state, which has helped the gang take out two opponents that Vegeta could not.

Goku was a bit stronger than him in his own ultra-instinct state and he legit threw Gas into space in his avatar form.

A form which Goku didn’t use even in the battle against Gohan Beast so even that conclusion doesn’t count.

Can Vegeta use Hakai to destroy Goku? Not until Goku can beat him to it with his own version of Hakai, like the one he used against Zamasu and Moro.

Sure, it’s incomplete, but he’s still faster than Vegeta.

Right from Dragon Ball, we see the seeds of Ultra Instinct sown through training with Popo and Kami and ripened with the help of Whis and Merus

Namek Saga Goku used rage as the foundation for his power but in the Tournament of Power, he realized that very same feeling hindered his Ultra Instinct.

Goku first used UI against Jiren but later couldn’t get his body to match its pressure.

The silver-haired form is Goku’s STRONGEST form, as confirmed by Beerus in chapter 102 but Whis affirms in chapter 71 that it should only be used as a last resort.

That’s because that form doesn’t let Goku use his core-emotions that build up his identity and so he has to strain his brain harder to consciously negate even that in order to maintain that form, thereby losing a lot of his stamina.

Whis laid out his path to power and said that he needs to use the technique in his own way 24/7 and so far it’s going well.

He defeated Moro by unleashing his TRUE SPIRITUAL STATE and used all sorts of chaotic tactics in conjunction with Ultra Instinct Sign to keep up with Gas

Whis narrates in the anime that, as Goku fought Jiren, he dispelled all unnecessary thoughts that clouded his focus

From thinking about his entire Universe to narrowing his thoughts down to him, his opponent and the fight,.

Goku realized what he needed to do back then but couldn’t fathom the energy to maintain it.

That tells me he’s going to control his heart and body in such a way that ONLY his core-emotions remain intact while using Ultra Instinct in base form.

Overall, Goku is the fastest out of all the Saiyans and loses in only one category against the others.

Gohan has more raw power, Broly has more stamina, and Vegeta has more defence.

However, if we compare each and every stat, he is equal, if not higher, than them in all categories of overall strength.

Every feat of power we have discussed thus far could also be achieved by Goku, if not more.