The Dragon Ball franchise has had no shortage of transformations for Goku, but which of them is the strongest? Here’s a look at how we would rank each of Goku’s unique forms against each other from worst to best.
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All of Goku’s Transformations, Ranked
We’ll be ranking all of Goku’s forms from both movies and series canon and not canon, so expect to see Dragon Ball GT forms on this list. That being the case, it’s impossible to truly power scale them, and for that reason, it’s important to remember this is just our opinion. You may have a different ranking for these forms and that’s totally okay.
Here are our rankings for all of Goku’s transformations in the Dragon Ball franchise.
Great Ape Goku
It shouldn’t be any surprise but Great Ape Goku is the weakest transformation that Goku has. With its goliath size, Great Ape Goku has incredible strength, however, it is slow and bulky making it easy to avoid in battle.
There’s also the matter of Goku losing control while in this form so ultimately it is the least effective transformation that Goku has in his catalog.
Super Saiyan Goku
Super Saiyan Goku is the most iconic of all of Goku’s transformations, and while it was quite the incredible power boost when he first assumed this form during the Frieza Saga, things have since advanced majorly. Now, this form is one of Goku’s weakest.
Super Saiyans have the same bonuses as the Great Ape which means a boost to strengths and power, but they’re also agile and much faster than base form. We won’t be listing Super Saiyan 2 since it is almost identical to regular Super Saiyan, with a slight power boost, so you can consider that right above regular Super Saiyan.
Super Saiyan 3 Goku
Super Saiyan 3 continues the trend of multiplying Goku’s power, and to make sure that is visible this form also drastically grows out Goku’s hair. Only a handful of characters can take the Super Saiyan 3 form which utilizes every drop of Saiyan blood in their body.
For those statisticians out there, Super Saiyan 3 increases Goku’s power at Super Saiyan by eight times, which is four times more powerful than his Super Saiyan 2 form. That’s quite a big jump and one of the most incredible power boosts we see in all of Dragon Ball Z.
Gogeta (Dragon Ball Z)
Gogeta is the most convenient fusion form for Goku and Vegeta. This version of the character only appeared in Dragon Ball Z during the film Jenemba’s Fury, and it is a superior form to all of Goku’s Super Saiyan transformations to that point.
This shouldn’t be a surprise since it combines the strength of Goku and Vegeta, but it falls short of their other fusion as it comes with a time limit. This form can only be maintained for 10 minutes, so while it is one of the strongest, it still has flaws.
Vegito (Dragon Ball Z)
Vegito is the other fusion form for Goku and Vegeta which can be reached using the Potara Earrings. This form is also extremely powerful multiplying Goku and Vegeta’s strengths, and it is by far the strongest form we ever see a character take during Dragon Ball Z.
Golden Great Ape Goku
Despite not being canon, we’re still including Dragon Ball GT characters on this list. Golden Great Ape Goku is an incredibly powerful form for Goku which is significantly stronger than the regular Great Ape form.
This form has power comparable to Goku’s Dragon Ball Z fusion forms and is substantially stronger than Super Saiyan 3. It still suffers from the downfalls of the regular Great Ape being gigantic in size, but its strength makes it incredibly useful in battle.
Super Saiyan 4 Goku
Merging the power of Goku’s Great Ape form with his Super Saiyan transformation you get Super Saiyan 4 Goku. This Dragon Ball GT form is incredible and boils down to a streamlined version of the Great Ape.
Super Saiyan 4 increases Goku’s strength substantially and also seems to give him access to new powers like the Big Bang Kamehameha which is a devastating finishing move. While it is hard to scale this form against the others since it is not canon, we believe it would fit right around Super Saiyan God regarding Goku’s strongest forms.
Super Saiyan God Goku
Super Saiyan God Goku is not just one of the coolest forms that Goku has, but it’s also one of his strongest. You’ll recognize when this is active from the red glow around Goku’s body, not to be confused with Kaoken, and it is first assumed in Dragon Ball Super.
This form gives Goku the ability to compete and defeat most characters in the franchise, except those that have reached God-level. There is a downfall with this form though. Since it uses a lot of energy it can only be maintained for a short period of time, so even the Gods have to fight through adversity.
Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta
It’s hard to power scale Dragon Ball GT characters against those in Dragon Ball Super, however, once thing that is certain is that Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta is the strongest form of Goku outside of Super.
This version of the character is another fusion with Vegeta, this time assuming the incredible Super Saiyan 4 form and power that comes with embracing the Great Ape. While some might argue this spot on the list, it’s difficult to scale SSJ4 Gogeta higher on feats alone, so this seems like an acceptable spot to put this form.
Super Saiyan Blue Goku
Super Saiyan Blue, or Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan is Goku’s next form after achieving God status. This transformation gives Goku glowing blue hair and multiplies his power further than he can achieve with the regular Super Saiyan God form.
Again, maintaining this form is difficult as it uses a lot of energy but the trade-off in strength is what notches it so highly on our list.
Gogeta (Dragon Ball Super)
To take on Broly in Dragon Ball Super Goku and Vegeta once again merge together to create Gogeta. This version of the character is substantially stronger than the one we see in Dragon Ball Z as it now has access to the Super Saiyan Blue form.
Dragon Ball Super Gogeta is truly one of the strongest characters in the show, and while some fans might argue that it is more powerful than Vegito, the fact it can only be used for a limited time means it has one major drawback the other does not.
Vegito (Dragon Ball Super)
Vegito is Dragon Ball Super can also go Super Saiyan Blue, but using the Potara Earrings means that the form can be maintained for as long as necessary. This fusion might be the strongest we’ve seen in the franchise so far and is on equal footing with Gogeta, so either way you want to have them, both deserve top spots on the list.
Ultra Instinct Goku
Ultra Instinct Goku is the strongest transformation for the character in the franchise. This form isn’t just more powerful than Goku’s Super Saiyan forms, but it also increases his reaction timing by an astronomical amount making him almost impossible to hit clean.
Almost nobody can master Ultra Instinct so it shouldn’t be surprising this is Goku’s best form. Unless the anime comes back this will remain Goku’s strongest form for the rest of time, and we’re totally okay with that since it’s unbelievably awesome.
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