Dragon Ball Characters Tier List: 20 Fighters Ranked
Dragon Ball has been running for decades, and somehow it keeps finding new ways to make grown adults scream about power levels. We took 20 of the series' biggest names, from Goku's whole extended found family to the villains who keep blowing up the Earth, and sorted them by impact, popularity, and how much they actually bring to the story beyond a cool pose.
This covers everyone from the original Dragon Ball through Z, Super, and the movies that matter. Some of these placements will make people mad. Good. Rank them yourself and see if you land somewhere different.
The tier list
The community’s tier list fills in as members vote. It appears once 5 members have ranked or voted on these.
Think you can rank them better?
Make your own tier listFree account. Your ranking stays private unless you share it, and it counts toward the community tier list.Vote
SS Tier: The pillars of the franchise
Goku
The whole franchise exists because of him, and he's still the character every new form and transformation gets measured against. He's not complicated, he just wants a good fight, and somehow that's carried the series for decades.
About Goku
The series' main protagonist, a Saiyan raised on Earth who grows into its most powerful defender across Dragon Ball, Z, and Super.
- First appearance
- Dragon Ball manga
- Species
- Saiyan
Vegeta
Started as a straight-up villain and turned into the best example of actual character growth in the show. The Cell Saga self-destruct moment and his arc with Majin Buu give him more depth than Goku ever bothered with.
About Vegeta
Prince of the Saiyans and Goku's lifelong rival, who shifts from invading villain to one of Earth's defenders.
- Role
- Saiyan prince
- Notable arc
- Cell Saga self-sacrifice
Frieza
Still the gold standard for Dragon Ball villains. Cold, theatrical, and genuinely terrifying on Namek in a way the power-level arms race later in the series rarely recaptures.
About Frieza
A galactic tyrant and one of Dragon Ball's most iconic villains, responsible for the destruction of Planet Vegeta.
- Role
- Main villain, Namek Saga
- Known for
- Final Form transformation
Piccolo
Went from child-murdering demon king to the most reliable father figure in the series. His bond with Gohan is the emotional backbone of early Z, and he's aged into everyone's favorite uncle.
About Piccolo
A Namekian warrior who starts as a villain seeking revenge and becomes one of Earth's most trusted fighters and Gohan's mentor.
- Species
- Namekian
- Key relationship
- Mentor to Gohan
AA Tier: Fan favorites with real staying power
Cell
A villain built from the DNA of every other fighter in the show, which is a great gimmick, and the Cell Games still rank among the series' best tournament arcs. The Perfect Cell smugness is unmatched.
About Cell
A bio-engineered villain created from the cells of other fighters in the series, central to the Cell Saga and the Cell Games tournament.
- Creator
- Dr. Gero
- Notable arc
- Cell Games
Gohan
Peaked emotionally with the Cell Saga's Super Saiyan 2 turn, one of the most satisfying payoffs in the franchise. Fans still argue the writers let his potential go to waste afterward, and honestly, they're right.
About Gohan
Goku's eldest son, whose hidden potential and Super Saiyan 2 transformation make him the hero of the Cell Saga.
- Parents
- Goku and Chi-Chi
- Signature moment
- Defeating Cell
Majin Buu
Equal parts horrifying and goofy, which somehow works. Fat Buu's turn toward genuine kindness is one of the stranger but more charming swings the series has taken.
About Majin Buu
An ancient magical being capable of splitting into multiple forms, ranging from innocently destructive to genuinely evil.
- Notable forms
- Fat Buu, Super Buu, Kid Buu
Trunks
Future Trunks showing up covered in grim backstory and a sword immediately raised the stakes of the whole series. Kid Trunks is fun too, but it's the time-traveling version fans never stop talking about.
About Trunks
Vegeta and Bulma's son, who appears in two major versions: a grim future warrior and a playful kid in the present timeline.
- Parents
- Vegeta and Bulma
- Notable version
- Future Trunks
Krillin
The most human character in a cast full of aliens and gods, and that's exactly why people love him. He never stops training despite knowing he'll never catch up, which is its own kind of heroism.
About Krillin
Goku's oldest friend and training partner, a human fighter who stays relevant through sheer grit despite lacking Saiyan power.
- Training
- Trained under Master Roshi
Beerus
Introduced a genuinely new kind of threat to Dragon Ball: someone who could wreck Goku without even transforming. His whole lazy-god-who-loves-pudding routine made Super's opening arc land.
About Beerus
The God of Destruction for Universe 7, introduced in Dragon Ball Super as a being far above the Z Fighters in raw power.
- Role
- God of Destruction
- First appearance
- Battle of Gods film
BB Tier: Solid and memorable, just not top-shelf
Broly
The movie villain turned legit canon fighter thanks to Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and the redesign plus backstory finally gave him more than just rage and muscles. Still mostly a wrecking ball with a tragic backstory bolted on.
About Broly
A Saiyan known as the Legendary Super Saiyan, whose canon backstory was reestablished in the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
- Title
- Legendary Super Saiyan
Bardock
A side character who became way more important to fans than his screen time suggests, mostly because giving Goku's dad a tragic last stand against Frieza was a smart move. Super Saiyan god speculation around him never really dies.
About Bardock
Goku's father, a low-ranking Saiyan soldier whose story is told primarily through a special focused on Frieza's destruction of Planet Vegeta.
- Relation
- Goku's father
Bulma
The brains behind basically every piece of tech the Z Fighters rely on, from the Dragon Radar onward. She doesn't throw punches, but the show quietly falls apart without her.
About Bulma
A brilliant inventor and longtime member of the Z Fighters' inner circle, responsible for key technology like the Dragon Radar.
- Role
- Scientist and inventor
- Family
- Married to Vegeta
Goku Black
A genuinely creepy villain concept, Goku's face with none of his warmth, and the Zamasu reveal is one of Super's better twists. The arc ran a little long for how good the core idea was.
About Goku Black
A mysterious villain in Dragon Ball Super who wears Goku's body and is later revealed to be connected to the character Zamasu.
- Arc
- Future Trunks Saga
Jiren
The Tournament of Power needed a final boss who could make Ultra Instinct Goku look overwhelmed, and Jiren did the job. He's mostly a wall of muscle and silence though, with less personality than the moment demanded.
About Jiren
A powerful warrior from Universe 11 and the main antagonist of the Tournament of Power arc in Dragon Ball Super.
- Arc
- Tournament of Power
CC Tier: Likeable but limited
Tien Shinhan
The Tri-Beam and the three eyes used to feel like a big deal, back before power levels went intergalactic. He's been sidelined for so long that newer fans mostly know him as the guy standing in group shots.
About Tien Shinhan
A three-eyed martial artist trained in the Crane School, known for the Tri-Beam technique and his early rivalry with Goku.
- Technique
- Tri-Beam
Yamcha
Became the series' go-to punchline for dying early and getting outclassed, which is a little unfair to a guy who used to be a legit desert bandit with a wolf fang fist. The meme has eaten the character at this point.
About Yamcha
A former desert bandit turned Z Fighter, known early on for his wolf fang fist technique and later as a fan-favorite punchline for dying in battle.
- Original role
- Desert bandit
Videl
Gave Gohan a reason to actually use his strength again and brought some welcome normal-person grit to the later Z era. Her own fighting arc gets cut short once the Buu saga spirals into god-tier stakes.
About Videl
Mr. Satan's daughter and a skilled martial artist in her own right, who later becomes romantically involved with Gohan.
- Relation
- Mr. Satan's daughter
DD Tier: Mostly there for the ride
Mr. Satan
The loudest, most cowardly, most oddly lovable con man in the series. He's comic relief through and through, but his genuine bond with Buu gives him a surprisingly sweet moment or two.
About Mr. Satan
The World Martial Arts Champion of his era who gets credit for defeating Cell and later becomes an unlikely friend to Majin Buu.
- Title
- World Martial Arts Champion
FF Tier: Comic relief that overstayed its welcome
Master Roshi
Founded the whole martial arts lineage the series is built on, and then spent most of his screen time as a pervy old joke. He gets a flash of relevance when he powers up to fight Cell, but it's brief and the gag has worn thin for a lot of fans.
About Master Roshi
The founder of the Turtle School and original martial arts master behind Goku, Krillin, and the entire Z Fighter lineage.
- Role
- Martial arts master
- Students
- Goku, Krillin
How we ranked them
We weighed a mix of things: how much each character shapes the story, their lasting popularity with fans, their fights and moments that people still bring up years later, and whether they actually grew as characters or just stood around powering up. Pure strength isn't the whole picture here, charm and narrative weight count for a lot. This reflects broad fan and critic consensus from forums and reviews, with our own call where the arguments never settled.
Think we got it wrong?
Drag all 20 dragon ball characters into your own tier list, then download the image or share a link.
Rank these yourselfFAQ
Who is the strongest character in this list?
Power levels shift constantly across the series, but by the end of Dragon Ball Super, Goku and Jiren are generally considered among the strongest on this list, with Beerus implied to be well above most of them in raw destructive potential.
Why is Vegeta ranked above Gohan?
It's close, but Vegeta's longer arc of growth, from villain to anti-hero to devoted father, gives him more consistent relevance across the whole franchise than Gohan, whose importance dips after the Cell Saga.
Is Broly canon in Dragon Ball?
The original Broly movies were non-canon side stories, but Dragon Ball Super: Broly rebooted him into the official continuity with a new design and backstory.
Why is Master Roshi ranked so low?
He's foundational to the series' history as the original master of the Z Fighters, but his role shrank to comic relief early on, which is why he lands at the bottom despite his importance to the lore.
Who created Dragon Ball?
Dragon Ball was created by Akira Toriyama, who wrote and illustrated the original manga.
More rankings
Image credits
- GokuCover: Wikipedia · Source
- VegetaCover: Wikipedia · Source
- FriezaCover: Wikipedia · Source
- PiccoloCover: Wikipedia · Source
- CellCover: Wikipedia · Source
- GohanCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Majin BuuImage: Dragon Ball Wiki (Fandom), © its owner · Source
- TrunksCover: Wikipedia · Source
- KrillinCover: Wikipedia · Source
- BeerusCover: Wikipedia · Source
- BrolyCover: Wikipedia · Source
- BardockCover: Wikipedia · Source
- BulmaCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Goku BlackImage: Dragon Ball Wiki (Fandom), © its owner · Source
- JirenCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Tien ShinhanImage: Dragon Ball Wiki (Fandom), © its owner · Source
- YamchaCover: Wikipedia · Source
- VidelImage: Dragon Ball Wiki (Fandom), © its owner · Source
- Mr. SatanCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Master RoshiCover: Wikipedia · Source