Dragon Ball is a series known for its incredibly powerful fighters, and luckily for fans, these fighters' strength can be ranked objectively through power levels. Over the years, fans have witnessed the growth and evolution of characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Frieza as they continue to push their limits and unlock new levels of strength.
While not integral to the series, early Dragon Ball Z introduced the concept of power levels, a numerical measure of one's strength in battle. Though they were introduced to the series in order to show how meaningless it would be to use them on Earth's trained martial artists, fans were soon up in arms over which character had a bigger number than the other. Dragon Ball seldom revealed actual power levels, but looking at statements both in the series and outside of it, it's possible to determine which Dragon Ball characters rank highest in power levels.
12 Nail the Namekian: 42,000
Nail is one of the strongest Namekian warriors on the planet, and when he attempted to go up against Frieza in Dragon Ball Z chapter 92, Frieza's scouter gave a measurement of 42,000 for Nail's power level. That's substantially higher than the average Namekian soldier, who caps out at 3,000, making Nail the toughest of their warriors by far. Frieza far outshone Nail's power level, however, and Nail was beaten to within an inch of his life. Nail ultimately ends up fusing with Piccolo, contributing his fairly impressive power to raise Piccolo's own rating and help him match up to Frieza.
11 Goku Upon Arriving At Namek: 90,000
When Goku first arrived at the planet Namek, he had a power level of 90,000. At the time, this was considered to be an incredibly high power level, as the average power level on Namek was only around 3,000. Goku's arrival on Namek marked a turning point in the series, as this was when the idea of a 'Super Saiyan' really started to come into play, with Vegeta believing Goku had already achieved said legendary power. This isn't actually much of a leap in judgment from Vegeta's perspective, however, as when Goku landed on Namek, he had utterly surpassed the power of every Saiyan before him tens of times over. This newfound power was pushed even further through the use of the Kaioken, which gave Goku a power level of 180,000, exceeding the strength of Captain Ginyu. Theoretically, he could have pushed it even further with a x4 Kaioken at this point, bringing him to a maximum power of 360,000 if that was still his limit in terms of the Kaioken.
10 Captain Ginyu: 120,000
When Ginyu is facing off against Goku in Dragon Ball Z chapter 91, his maximum power level is established by his subordinate as 120,000. This is actually the same scene where Goku's Kaioken power level of 180,000 is established, leaving Captain Ginyu in shock at the fact that his power level has been surpassed so radically. Ginyu even begins to speculate that Goku might be the Legendary Super Saiyan, although Goku still doesn't know what that is at this point in the manga. Ginyu's power level of 120,000 still places him well above every Namekian, making it easy to see how he and the Ginyu Force were able to run rampant across the planet once unleashed by Frieza.
9 Vegeta After His Zenkai From Fighting The Ginyu Force: 250,000
After being defeated by Recoome, Vegeta was left near death. With the timely arrival of Goku, however, he was able to recover thanks to a Senzu bean and a Zenkai boost, which is a power boost Saiyans receive after they return from the brink of death. With his newfound strength and a bit of rest, Vegeta's power level skyrocketed to 250,000, making him one of the strongest characters in the series at the time. Vegeta's new power level allowed him to easily eclipse members of the Ginyu Force, including Recoome, Burter, and Jeice. However, he was still no match for Frieza's first form, who was able to hold his ground against an enraged Vegeta.
8 First Form Frieza: 530,000
When Frieza first appeared in Dragon Ball, he was already incredibly powerful. His first form had a power level of 530,000, which made him the absolute strongest character around by an extraordinarily wide margin. For a frame of reference, Goku's power level just months ago on Earth was 8,000. This means that even after training with a literal god, Frieza's suppressed power still eclipsed Saiyan Saga Goku's strength about 66 times over. Frieza's power level allowed him to easily swat away Vegeta and the other Z Fighters, and he seemed to be utterly unstoppable. Frieza humbled Nail during their brief encounter upon revealing his disturbingly high power level, which no doubt shocked readers at the time.
7 Second Form Frieza: >1,000,000
After being marginally challenged by the likes of Vegeta, Frieza transformed into his second form, which he stated had a power level of over 1,000,000. This form appeared to make Frieza even more brutal than before, and he performed some absolutely ruthless acts while donning this transformation. That being said, this form of Frieza took the heaviest beating of all, being challenged on numerous occasions by Gohan and Piccolo, as well as having his tail cut off by Krillin. Remarkably, Vegeta is really the only fighter present who didn't land some kind of blow on Frieza's second form, as he was paralyzed in fear. It should be noted that once Piccolo fused with Nail, his power level should have also been somewhat around this range of 1,000,000 as Frieza deemed it somewhat necessary to use his third form shortly after their exchange. Unfortunately, Piccolo's power level at the time is never outright stated, keeping the most famous Namekian from ranking on this list.
6 Goku After Recovering In The Healing Pod: 3,000,000
Despite getting his teeth kicked in by Frieza at every turn, this Goku was on a completely different level from every other Z-Fighter around him. Not only had he surpassed the late Saiyan race at this point, but Goku was the only fighter capable of even standing up to Frieza in any meaningful capacity. It's shown to readers shortly after their battle begins that Goku is also constantly using the Kaioken x10 for extremely brief periods of time, something that would have been impossible for him just months ago. He even manages to pull off a miraculous Kaioken x20 Kamehameha, actually hurting Frieza in his final form--something no other character had achieved up until then.
5 Yakon: 40,000,000
Yakon is not a character that many fans remember, but he does have the distinction of having his power level mentioned in the series. For a character that's mostly forgettable, his power level actually ranks quite high. Yakon's power during his battle with Goku was stated to be 800 kili, which confirms his power level at 40,000,000. While the use of kili to measure power levels is a bit nonsensical, it does give fans a sense of just how powerful Yakon was in comparison to other characters in the series. It seems odd that a character with this power level would give Goku any trouble at all after his seven years of training in the afterlife during the Buu arc, but Yakon's odd strength outside his power level can be summed up as a plot device to get Vegeta to witness a glimpse of Goku's iconic Super Saiyan 2 transformation.
4 50% Power Frieza: 60,000,000
Frieza's overwhelming power at only 50% strength was still a whopping 60,000,000 on Namek. This means that without the use of the Kaioken, Goku was tens of times weaker than Frieza and stood no chance whatsoever. It should be noted that with the aid of Krillin and Gohan's ki, Piccolo was able to briefly fight against this version of Frieza, so his power level at that time should also be somewhere in the millions for Frieza to even bother fending him off. Frieza's 50% power level also helps to put the gap between a wounded Frieza and Super Saiyan Goku into perspective, as Frieza's power level would have had to drop substantially after being hit by the Spirit Bomb.
3 Full Power Frieza: 120,000,000
Frieza's 100% power level is derived from the buffed-up form he used to battle Goku on a dying Namek. While his power level is said to be 120,000,000, the validity of this measurement is actually quite questionable. It appears to assume that Frieza's power level didn't decrease at all after tanking Goku's Kamehameha and the Large Spirit Bomb, which is odd. Hypothetically, Frieza's real power at 100% while not fatigued should be a lot higher, which may have explained his misplaced confidence in being able to defeat Super Saiyan Goku.
2 Super Saiyan Goku: 150,000,000
In what is perhaps the most iconic scene in anime history, Goku transforms out of sheer rage and frustration at the death of his best friend Krillin at the hands of Frieza. The result is the birth of the legendary Super Saiyan, giving Goku a gargantuan power level of 150,000,000. Goku's transformation into a Super Saiyan was a game-changer in the Dragon Ball franchise, and the 50x multiplier of Super Saiyan defined the landscape of Dragon Ball's relevant warriors for years to come. This power level puts him clear ahead of Full Power Frieza, and surprisingly Yakon even though the latter is from all the way in the Majin Buu arc.
1 Dabura: >200,000,000
Once again, it makes no sense for Dabura's power level to be only slightly above Goku's, but kili readings give Dabura the top rank in terms of mentioned power levels. Dabura is meant to be one of the strongest villains in the Majin Buu arc, and his power level is another example of Dragon Ball using the kili measurement to give him an extremely rough power level. Dabura states that not even a kili level of over 4,000 is enough to beat him, which confirms that he is at least more powerful than a power level of 200,000,000. However, given that the Z-Fighters at this point have gotten hundreds if not thousands of times more powerful, it's likely that this lowball measurement is simply an oversight from Dragon Ball's writer. Were Dabura to actually have a power level within this range, it would mean that no one, not even the Super Saiyans, had gotten more than twice as strong over the course of a decade.
Power levels have been a controversial topic in the Dragon Ball fandom for decades. While they were initially used as a way to gauge a character's strength, the concept has become increasingly convoluted and nonsensical as the series progressed. Still, Dragon Ball fans will continue to debate where characters should rank based on power level for a long time to come.
