When Dragon Ball was first conceived, creator Akira Toriyama had no intentions of bringing in the idea of Saiyans. It was just a manga inspired by Journey to the West. But, as the story went on, Toriyama kept raising the stakes, and Goku learned of his alien origins as a member of the Saiyan race.

By most accounts, Saiyans are said to be the strongest warrior race in all the universe. Gifted with natural strength and ki control, the Saiyans are a ruthless race of warriors who value power over all else. This thirst for battle proved useful when Frieza occupied their planet and drafted the Saiyans into his army of planet conquerers.

Unfortunately, Frieza eventually saw the Saiyans as a threat to his army and destroyed nearly the entire species. But, there were some survivors; those who were off on other worlds were spared from Planet Vegeta’s destruction. Most Dragon Ball fans know this history of the Saiyans, but who among this warrior race are the strongest?

Toriyama himself has said that power levels were introduced to show how pointless they are, so we did our own research to find out which Saiyans are the strongest, and which are the weakest.

Here is Every Saiyan Ranked, Weakest To Strongest.

FASHA (AND HER TEAMMATES)

Even the biggest fans of Dragon Ball Z might not know who Fasha is, but she was the first female Saiyan we got to see in action. She was introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku, so her status in the canon of Dragon Ball is somewhat up in the air. Regardless, Fasha is part of Bardock’s crew, a group of low-class Saiyans who weaken planets for Frieza to take over.

Fasha is shown to be just as strong as her teammates, save for Bardock (we’ll get to him later). However, the team is indeed low class, since higher-class Saiyans can conquer a planet single-handedly. For this reason, Fasha and her teammates are amongst the weakest Saiyans we’ve seen on screen.

PAN

Before fans get all riled up, no, we’re not included the lauded Dragon Ball GT in this list, so don’t worry. But, GT wasn’t the only appearance of Gohan and Videl’s daughter, Pan, as she appeared in the epilogue of Dragon Ball Z and appears as a baby in Dragon Ball Super. But, you may be asking, “how could a baby make it on this list?” Well, aside from taking on massive opponents when she was only four in the epilogue of Dragon Ball Z, Pan also has immense power as an infant.

Not only was Pan’s Saiyan blood enough help transform Goku into a Super Saiyan God — turning Videl into a psuedo-Super Saiyan of sorts in the process — but she can also already fly despite not being able to walk. To make things more impressive, Pan has flown in space while carrying three other people. Though she is powerful at such a young age, we’ve yet to see her full potential.

RADITZ

When Raditz first appeared, he was a tough opponent. Goku’s brother was so powerful that the only way he could be defeated was by Goku sacrificing his life. Since then, the opponents that Goku has faced make Raditz seem like small potatoes in retrospect. Raditz might be a mighty Saiyan in his own right, but he was nowhere near the level of an elite prior to his demise. He didn’t even train to make is tail less sensitive!

Since he was Bardock’s son, he was born as a low-class Saiyan with a naturally small latent power level. This, combined with the fact that Piccolo, a Namekian (a primarily non-warrior race), was able to kill him makes Raditz one of the weaker Saiyans in the world of Dragon Ball. He was Goku’s first big opponent in the Dragon Ball Z anime, but he’s not so tough in hindsight.

NAPPA

Speaking of the Saiyan saga, Nappa was the second Saiyan that the Z-fighters took on. He fell at the hands of Goku.

Nappa was a high-class Saiyan who served as a military General before the Saiyan genocide, acting as a guide/partner to Prince Vegeta. This would most likely place Nappa’s fighting ability and strength not too far behind the most elite Saiyans. However, this ranking pretty much becomes meaningless when Goku is Involved.

Not only does Goku take out Nappa with ease (after training with King Kai), but this defeat leads Vegeta to deem Nappa a weakling, and then killing him for said weakness.

Nappa deserves some recognition for his power, having developed an immunity to the the Saiyan tail weakness and giving Piccolo and Krillin a run for their money, but in the larger scale of Dragon Ball Z, he’s not all that strong.

KING VEGETA

King Vegeta was considered the most powerful Saiyan prior to his people’s destruction, so much so that Planet Plant, which the Saiyans took over, was renamed Planet Vegeta after him. However, like Nappa, King Vegeta’s rank sort of became meaningless after the fall of the Saiyans and Goku’s ascension to a Super Saiyan. But, even prior to that, King Vegeta’s strength didn’t stand up to Frieza, who defeated"the most powerful Saiyan" with just a punch to the jaw.

Further, Prince Vegeta himself has revealed that at a young age he was already stronger than his father, going so far as to dismiss the death of his people as them being “too weak.” King Vegeta more than likely earned his position as King, but all things considered, he ranks rather low as the events of Dragon Ball Z unfolded.

BARDOCK

Much like his son, Bardock’s status as a low-class Saiyan seems to be rather meaningless, since both father and son broke the limits that were set upon them.

Bardock was the leader of his “Planet Elite Force,” the strongest of the lower-class warriors. Though his status in the canon is sometimes disputed, since he was a character created for a Toei film and didn’t originate in the manga, Bardock could nonetheless be considered stronger than some of the canon Saiyans.

Bardock bravely confronted Frieza after he killed King Vegeta and his royal guard, fighting him till the bitter end. So why is he stronger than the likes of King Vegeta and Nappa? Not only was he not defeated in one hit like the King, he also has the potential to go Super Saiyan. In a “what if?” movie called Episode of Bardock, Bardock is shown going Super Saiyan. It may not be canon, but it’s enough to push up Bardock’s ranking.

CABBA

Cabba was the first new Saiyan to be introduced in Dragon Ball Super, though he’s a bit different from the Saiyans we know and love. Cabba hails from Universe 6. He was born on the Saiyans’ original planet, Planet Sadala, and in this alternate universe, Saiyans are quite different. Instead of being a ruthless warrior race, the Universe 6 Saiyans are said to be “warriors of justice,” working for hire to defend the universe.

Cabba was first seen in the Universe 6 Saga, in which he was chosen by Vados to compete in the tournament against Universe 7. Cabba was shown to be somewhat strong in his own right, but could not turn Super Saiyan; he didn’t even know what it was!

However, Cabba earns his ranking by the fact that he almost instantly learned to go super Saiyan thanks to some hardcore “training” with Vegeta in the tournament ring.

CAULIFLA

Caulifla was the first female Super Saiyan in the world of Dragon Ball; a Saiyan from Universe 6. A punkish tomboy, Caulifla was recruited by Cabba for the Tournament of Power. Caulifla only agreed to fight if Cabba taught her to go super Saiyan. Cabba did just that and, much like him, Caulifla picked up the transformation rather easily.

However, what puts her a step above Cabba is the fact that in the same day she learned to go super Saiyan she also learned to go super Saiyan 2, mastering the form in the Tournament of Power. If that wasn’t impressive enough, she also pushed to “super saipan third grade,” a highly muscled form that also used up her stamina. C

aulifla held her own against Goku in the Tournament of Power, thus placing her rather high in the power rankings.

KALE

The final universe 6 Saiyan to be recruited for the Tournament of Power, and the second female Super Saiyan we ever saw was Kale, a meek and shy girl who hides a great power within her.

Selected as Caulifla’s protege, Kale also learned to go super Saiyan in a day, though the results were frightening. Much like Broly, Kale seems to be some king of legendary Super Saiyan with her green-tinted hair, massive increase in size and muscle, white eyes, and uncontrollable rage.

This form is called the Berserker Super Saiyan and it’s what places Kale a step above the other Universe 6 Saiyans. In this berserker form, Kale is insanely powerful, but cannot control her rage. Eventually however, in the middle of the Tournament of Power, she gains some control of this form, depleting some of its strength in the process.

GOTEN

The second son of Goku and Chi-Chi seems to have just as much potential power as his father and brother. Goten, who looks exactly like Goku when he was a kid, is incredibly powerful for his young age. Not only could he go Super Saiyan at a young age, but his power combined with Trunks’ was enough to hold Majin Buu at bay.

Surprisingly, Goten was able to turn Super Saiyan before he actually learned to fly, though we’re not sure what that says about his power level. Regardless, Goten has held his own against powerful enemies, quickly learned to master fusion, and his power combined with Trunks was enough to turn their fused form into Super Saiyan 3.

It seems as though the half-breed Saiyans are born with massive innate power.

TRUNKS

Both as a kid and as an adult, Trunks has always been shown to be an insanely powerful half-Saiyan.

Trunks is the son of Bulma and Vegeta, and while he looks a bit more like his mother, he has his father’s natural fighting talent. Like Goten, he mastered Super Saiyan as a kid, and as an adult, Future Trunks was able to defeat Freiza without breaking a sweat. Despite his young age in the events of the Buu Saga, Trunks is shown to be one of the most powerful Z-fighters, with that power only increasing further in his future self.

Future Trunks is perhaps one of the most popular DBZ characters of all time, and kid Trunks isn’t too bad himself. Both have taken out or held their own against some of the series’ most powerful villains, including Frieza, Buu, Cell and Androids 17 and 18.

Technically, Vegeta is now the King of all Saiyans, making Trunks the next prince, and he’s got the power to back up the title.

BROLY

Like a few others on this list, Broly’s status in the canon of Dragon Ball is sort of up in the air. He was first introduced in the movie, DBZ: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan and is said to be a Legendary Super Saiyan, a type of Super Saiyan that only appears every thousand years. Broly’s power level is so high that his father Paragus placed a suppressing device on him to stop him from destroying himself and others when he loses control.

There are a few key differences between a regular Super Saiyan and a Legendary Super Saiyan. The Legendary form actually comes after the regular Super Saiyan form, and in the case of Broly, even his base Super Saiyan form is far more powerful than average.

While wearing a power suppressor, Broly’s base Super Saiyan form is powerful enough to destroy planets, making his following forms even more frighteningly powerful. In subsequent DBZ media, Broly was showing having reached as far as Super Saiyan 3, further increasing his already massive power.

GOHAN

Gohan was the first Saiyan/Earthling-hybrid ever to be introduced in the world of Dragon Ball, and from a young age he was shown to be one of the most powerful beings on Earth. Harnessing a unique power potential that is thought to stem from his hybrid-status, Gohan learned to fight at a very young age. With the help of Piccolo, Gohan became a powerful warrior when he was just a kid and even managed to take on Raditz prior to his training.

During the Cell games, Gohan reached Super Saiyan 2 before anyone else managed to, using the ascended form to defeat the villain. In the Buu saga, Gohan powered past Super Saiyan 2 to a form known simply as “Ultimate Gohan.” In this form Gohan’s full potential is unleashed all at once, and he can even turn Super Saiyan from this form, increasing his power even further.

Though he eventually turned away from fighting to become a scholar, Gohan is easily one of the most powerful Saiyans in the world of Dragon Ball. 

VEGETA

Vegeta started as a villain, then he became an anti-hero and how he’s a heroic father of two, that’s quite the character arc!

Vegeta has always been depicted as a powerful rival of Goku. Their desire to fight and test each others’ strength is unceasing, even when they’re on the same side. Born as the prince of all Saiyans, Vegeta is naturally gifted with massive energy levels and fighting prowess, only growing more powerful over the course of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super.

Though he was the second Saiyan to achieve the Super Saiyan form, Vegeta’s unrelenting drive to surpass all other warriors, especially Goku, is what makes him a force to be reckoned with. Vegeta’s Saiyan pride drives him to be the greatest, and he’s pretty much done that. Aside from Goku, Vegeta is the only Saiyan to achieve the Super Saiyan blue form, currently the strongest known form of the Saiyans.

GOKU

It’s pretty obvious who we’d rank as the most powerful Saiyan of all time, since Goku is the series’ main protagonist. Seriously, is it even a question?

Goku has defeated most of Dragon Ball’s villains, taken on countless enemies and has broken through nearly every limit he’s come upon. Goku was the first to reach Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 3, and Super Saiyan god, constantly getting stronger through his pure love of fighting.

While he is not the only Saiyan to achieve Super Saiyan blue, Goku has pushed past this level on two occasions. The first was by combining the Kaio-ken technique with super Saiyan blue in the Universe 6 saga, and the second happened recently in the Tournament of Power, Ultra Instinct. This form is more of a technique that allows Goku to continuously adapt to a fight and react to any threat without acknowledging it.

We’ve yet to see just how powerful this form can be, but if anything, it tells us just how powerful Goku can still get.

Which Saiyan from Dragon Ballis your favorite? Let us know in the comments!