With Dragon Ball Z, Akira Toriyama took things in a crazy new direction. Aliens from all corners of the galaxy were introduced, bringing chaos to Earth and the Z-fighters. Even Dragon Ball had its fair share of crazy species, featuring demons, androids and Namekians. The franchise as a whole is filled to the brim with all kinds of crazy extraterrestrial, superhuman, and artificially created species. Even Dragon Ball Super has started to introduce some insanely powerful creatures from different universes, including alternate versions of the Saiyans. The real question is: which of these many species is the strongest of them all? The answer might actually surprise you.

For this specific list, we'll only be looking at species that have been featured prominently in some way - be it that more than one of their kind has been featured, or that they have had a specific impact on the franchise on a whole. There are no one-off aliens or other species that were briefly featured, and no background characters. We'll measure measure these species as an average, looking at their strongest and weakest, and seeing what special abilities and accomplishments they have.

With that in mind, here are is Dragon Ball: Every Species, Ranked Weakest To Strongest.

YARDRATS

Though they are not featured that prominently in the series, the Yardrats have contributed something very important to the Dragon Ball lore. We've only seen Yardrats twice: when Goku visited their planet and when he fought against an alternate universe Yardrat in the tournament of power. Because their species lacks the natural strength that aliens like the Saiyans have, the Yardrats have developed a number of powerful techniques to assist them in battle.

The technique that Goku learns, which is used in the series prominently after it's introduced, is instant transmission. This is a powerful technique, and the other abilities that the Yardrats developed might be just as strong, but the species as a whole is still relatively weak, and Vegeta points out as much. Thus, they rank at the bottom.

TUFFLES

The Saiyans hail from Planet Vegeta, but it wasn't always called that, and it also wasn't the Saiyans original home. Planet Vegeta was once known as Planet Plant, home to the Tuffles. Though "tuff" is in their name, they aren't exactly the strongest people in the galaxy, which is probably why it was so easy for the Saiyans to take over their planet and destroy their species.

Not much is known about the Tuffles besides their technology and their size. We know that they look like humans but are smaller in stature, relying on advanced weaponry to defend themselves. They're almost similar to the Yardrats in this way, using an augmentation of their abilities to make themselves more powerful. Because of this, they rank pretty low on the list.

SAIBAMEN

The Saibamen are kind of weird. They're these little aliens that grow out of the ground from seeds and are used by Saiyans to train themselves or to test the strength and skill of opponents. We are first introduced to them when Nappa and Vegeta come to Earth and face the Z-fighters, sicking a gang of Saibamen on the herpes. Despite their tiny size, these creatures actually pretty strong.

The Saibamen are brutal fighters, doing anything to win, even blowing themselves up if needed. Despite their ruthless battle tactics and natural strength, they're not really a threat. Sure, they gave the Z-fighters a run for their money early in Dragon Ball Z, but humans have far surpassed the power levels of these tiny strange men since they faced them.

HUMANS

Tien Krillin Roshi - Dragon Ball Z

Speaking of humans, their ranking on this list might cause a bit of backlash, but hear us out. Sure, some humans like Krillen and Tien rank incredibly high in both power and skill level, but they're the best of the best. Even if we're strictly talking about ki-using humans, their bodies can only take so much power and training. Thus, in an overall average, humans rank at number twelve.

That might be a bit confusing, but let's put it this way: species like the Saiyans are often depicted as being so strong that a human has difficulty facing them. For this reason, we can sort of average out humanity's power level and place them below the strength of species like the Kai, or artificially modified species like androids.

KAI

Four King Kais, the Shinjin from Dragon Ball Z

While they might not be much in a fight, the Kais of each universe - one for each of the four quadrants - are still more powerful than humans. For one thing, the have godly ki, an energy different to that of regular ki. The extent of what godly ki can do isn't exactly clear, but we know its a lot stronger. But this isn't all that makes them stronger than others.

The Kai are also great teachers, meaning they can train anyone they choose to be much stronger, faster, and more powerful than they once were. Add to this the power they hold over their universe quadrants where they act as gods, as well as their magical manifestation powers, and the Kais are actually pretty powerful. That said, they still rank rather low in the larger scale of things.

NAMEKIANS

There are various types of Namekians in the world of Dragon Ball, the two most prominent being the dragon clan and the warrior-types. Dragon clan types are those with magical abilities, they can manifest objects and, if they reach a certain level, they can create dragon balls. The warrior types are somewhat rare and are born with naturally high power levels, fighting proficiency, and access to some of the magical abilities of the dragon clan.

Though warrior types like Nail and Piccolo, who fused with the former to gain his power, are indeed some of the strongest fighters in the franchise, but the species as a whole is less so. Sure, Dende and Kami can produce great magic, but most Namekians are not as strong or powerful. Piccolo and his father (of the demon clan) definitely bring them up as a whole, but they still rank at the back of the second tier.

DEMONS

Demons are featured somewhat frequently in Dragon Ball, though it's sort of in the background. For this entry, we're specifically looking at demons, not the ogres that help run otherworld, and not those who are possessed to become demons. No, we're talking about demons from the demon realm, like their king, Dabura.

Now, Dabura himself is said to be as strong as Cell by Goku, and he is perhaps even stronger. However, he is but one member of the demon race, so the average gets shifted a bit. Dabura is indeed a powerful demon, but the other demons featured in the world of Dragon Ball are rather weak, one-off villains. Because of this, the demon people still rank below the likes of androids.

ANDROIDS

This is a bit of a tough one, since androids in Dragon Ball come in all shapes, sizes, and power levels. There are the androids of the Red Ribbon sagas of Dragon Ball, but there's also the androids of DBZ, androids 16 through 20. Plus, we can't forget Cell, the one and only bio-android that stands amongst the rest.

Cell is easily the strongest android, and 16, 17, and 18 are nothing to scoff at either. Yheir never-ending artificial stamina is a powerful asset in long-term fights, but there are also plenty of other androids from earlier in the franchise that upset the average of the species. That said, they earn a spot in the middle of the rankings due to their potential for being some of the strongest fighters in the series.

UNIVERSE 6 SAIYANS

The Saiyans of universe 6 seemed to have evolved a bit differently from universe 7. For one thing, they no longer have tails. This leads us to believe that they have not been able to turn into great apes for quite some time. That's not necessarily a measure of their strength, though, so let's take a look at the facts.

Before the tournament between universe 6 and 7, the Saiyans of universe 6 had not gone Super Saiyan, but three of them were also able to learn it quickly. The Saiyans we've seen so far are much less muscular, and in the case of Cabba's mentor Renso, they are possibly prone to permanent injury and faster aging than their universe 7 counterparts. They've show great potential with how strong they can get in a short amount of time, but otherwise, they're not the strongest species.

SUPREME KAI

Supreme Kai Shin Dragon Ball

Putting the Supreme Kai above the Saiyans of universe 6 was a bit of a tough choice to come to, but we think we can justify it. For one thing, though their power level might not be as high as the gods of destruction, or even some of the Z-fighters, the type of power they have makes a huge difference.

Though it was not stated in Dragon Ball Z, the Supreme Kai possess godly ki, something that was retconned into their power in Dragon Ball Super. Because of this, we can already place them a step above most of the beings within the universes that they govern. Shin was definitely surprised at how much stronger Goku and his friends were, but the Supreme Kais are still pretty powerful.

FREIZA'S RACE

Frieza's race, the name of which has never been stated, is kind of unfairly powered. Not only do they have a ton of natural strength and power without having to train a single day, but their bodies also produce natural layers of bio-armor. To top it all off, they have the ability to transform into several different forms, each more powerful than the last.

It is for these reasons that they rank so high on the list. In fact, they could rank higher if they weren't so lazy. In both Resurrection F and Dragon Ball Super, Frieza tells of the "torment" he went through when he trained for the first time in his life, despite the fact that it gave him his powered-up golden form. This means that none of his race has ever trained to get stronger, pulling their rank down a bit.

 BUU'S RACE (MAJINS)

Majinn Buu in Dragon Ball

Buu is the strongest foe that Goku faced over the course of Dragon Ball Z, making him one of the strongest in the whole franchise. You may ask, however: isn't Buu the only one around? Well, that is technically correct, but hear us out.

Shin stated in DBZ that Buu has existed since the beginning of history, meaning no one knows if he was the only of his kind or if there were others before him. Furthermore, Majin Buu eventually created more of his kind in the Dragon Ball Fusions video game by splitting off parts of himself. This could imply that the original Majins combined to form Kid Buu, but if not, he is still part of a species in some version of the series' canon. If we agree on this, then the power of Buu's kind is nearly unrivaled.

UNIVERSE 7 SAIYANS

At last we come to everyone's favorite monkey-tailed warrior race; the universe 7 Saiyans. Time and time again, the Saiyans of the main Dragon Ball universe have proven themselves to be some of the strongest warriors in the universe. Heck, they've even proven themselves stronger than other universes. We can't say we know what it is exactly that makes them stronger than the Saiyans of universe 6, but we do know what they're capable of.

The universe 7 Saiyans were the first to unlock the lost Super Saiyan form, they have pushed the form to new limits twice, their half-human offspring are perhaps more powerful than they are, they have achieved the power of a god, and even crazier, they've improved on that power. If that's not enough to convince you that they deserve the third slot, we don't know what will.

ANGELS

As much as we might love Saiyans, they are clearly not the most powerful species in the franchise. Sure, they are built for fighting and get stronger with every battle, but there is still a species that stands above them - and most other species - the Angels. The Angels are the teachers and attendants to the gods of destruction, mentoring the use of their destructive powers. From this, we know that they must far outclass their students.

The Angels possess godly ki, which already places them in a higher power class, but they also have a lot of it, with excellent control and skill to boot. If that wasn't enough, the Angels also possess great powers of magic, light-speed travel, and manipulation of space and time. We still don't know much about the Angels, but we do know they're powerful.

DRAGONS

Dragon Ball Summon Shenron

Before anyone gets too upset about this one, we'll be the first to admit it's kind of a technicality. Zen-Oh is easily the most powerful being in all of Dragon Ball, but he's the only of his kind, aside from his alternate timeline counterpart. The Angels come in at a close second, making this list because there is a whole species of them. But in terms of reality manipulation and magic, there might be one other species that outclasses everyone: the Dragons.

The Dragons might not be fighters, but they are an ancient, powerful race that holds immense magical power capable of granting nearly every wish. In fact, the original dragon, the dragon god Zalama, is capable of granting any wish. By this logic, their great, ancient magical power ranks the Dragons as perhaps the most powerful race in the franchise - at least when it comes to magic.

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Which Dragon Ball race do you think is most powerful? Let us know in the comments!