The strongest user of each Saiyan & God Form

Goku and Vegeta are two of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball. As Saiyans, Goku and Vegeta have access to some of the most powerful transformations in the franchise, allowing them to keep up with even God-Tier opponents now that they're at the peak of their power.

Between normal Super Saiyan forms and god forms, Goku and Vegeta are stronger than ever, but their mastery of each transformation is hardly equal. Goku and Vegeta take different paths to power Dragon Ball Superand they are very selective about which forms they choose to master.

Great Ape: Vegeta

Vegeta can control himself in his great ape form while Goku never could

Goku hasn't transformed into a Great Ape since the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, so he was never able to master the form like other Saiyans. An elite soldier who has fought life-or-death battles since he was a child, Vegeta can fully control his great ape transformation, allowing him to use the form's 10x power multiplier while retaining his senses.

When Goku and Vegeta fight in the Saiyan Saga, Great Ape Vegeta completely overwhelms Goku and breaks every bone in his body. He is also smart enough to avoid Krillin's Destructo Disc and would have killed the Z-Fighters if Yajirobe hadn't cut off his tail with a sneak attack. At his strongest, Great Ape Goku never surpassed a four-digit power level.

Super Saiyan 1: Goku

Goku mastered SSJ1, but Vegeta never did

Goku is the ultimate master of Super Saiyan 1. While training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to fight Cell, Vegeta only managed to unlock Super Saiyan Grade 2. Goku, on the other hand, figured out that the Grade forms had huge problems and developed a perfect version of Super Saiyan that basically has no drawbacks.

Full Power Super Saiyan Goku does not leak any excess Ki and basically treats SSJ as his base form, allowing him to continue growing stronger. There is no indication that Vegeta ever unlocked Full Power Super Saiyan Dragon Ballunlike Goku. While fighting Beerus, Goku also absorbs the Super Saiyan God's power into his body, allowing him to utilize God Ki like a regular Super Saiyan.

Super Saiyan 2: Vegeta

Vegeta's SSJ2 Rage Boost surpassed even Super Saiyan 3 Goku

Goku may have unlocked Super Saiyan 2 before Vegeta did, but Vegeta's version of Super Saiyan 2 is much stronger than Goku's. IN Dragon Ball Z: Battle of GodsVegeta experiences a huge surge of anger when Beerus beats Bulma and taps into an extremely powerful version of Super Saiyan 2. Super Saiyan 2 Enraged Vegeta is so strong, Master Roshi immediately confirms that Vegeta has surpassed even Super Saiyan 3 Goku.

Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta does what Super Saiyan 3 Goku couldn't. Vegeta not only lands multiple hits on Beerus, he actually makes him bleed. Super Saiyan 2 Goku has never pulled off a feat half as impressive as Vegeta's brief fight with Beerus. While he was eventually overpowered, SSJ2 Vegeta was the first mortal to ever give the God of Destruction a real fight.

Super Saiyan 3: Vegeta

Vegeta didn't have to be dead to unlock and master SSJ3

Image via Toei Animation

Goku fought for seven years to unlock Super Saiyan 3 in the other world. Unfortunately, since Goku was dead at the time, his body never felt the immense stamina and Ki drain that comes with using Super Saiyan 3 when he was alive. This ended up biting Goku at the end of Dragon Ball Z when he fought Kid Buu and very quickly spilled into the sand. Interestingly, Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta does not have this problem at all.

IN Dragon Ball DAIMAVegeta reveals that he secretly unlocked Super Saiyan 3 while training after the battle with Majin Buu. A form that took Goku seven years to unlock took Vegeta less than a year to master. When Vegeta debuts Super Saiyan 3 in Dragon Ball DAIMAhe suffers from no stamina or Ki issues at all. Even in his Mini body, Vegeta can keep going Super Saiyan 3 for as long as he wants, far surpassing Goku's feats with the form.

Super Saiyan 4: Goku

Vegeta still hasn't unlocked SSJ4 in Canon

Goku is the ultimate Super Saiyan 4 user in each Dragon Ball continuity. IN Dragon Ball GTVegeta needed to use a Blutz Wave Generator to unlock Super Saiyan 4 artificially, while Goku unlocked it naturally earlier in the series. GT Goku is too very stronger than GT Vegeta.

IN Dragon Ball DAIMAGoku unlocks Super Saiyan 4 thanks to Neva's help, while Vegeta is stuck at Super Saiyan 3. DAIMA Goku is strong enough to shake the foundations of the entire Demon Realm by performing a Transcendent Kamehameha in his Super Saiyan 4 form. GT Goku can also use Super Full Power Saiyan 4, while Vegeta is stuck as the basic version of Super Saiyan 4.

Super Saiyan God: Goku

Goku's mastery of SSG far surpasses Vegeta's

By performing the god ritual, Goku became the first character in the Dragon Ball to unlock Super Saiyan God. Goku has been using Super Saiyan God much longer than Vegeta. For a long time, Vegeta couldn't even use Super Saiyan God i Dragon Ball Super anime continuity. Goku uses Super Saiyan God as a way to test his opponents and gauge if he actually needs to use Super Saiyan Blue to win.

As of Granolah the Survivor Saga, Goku can now stack Super Saiyan God on top of True Ultra Instinct, allowing him to use UI's reflexes while also using SSG's massive power boost. Vegeta is stuck in the regular version of Super Saiyan God, so he has no real opposite to True Ultra Instinct Super Saiyan God Goku. In a battle between both god forms, Goku could easily defeat Vegeta's version of Super Saiyan God.

Super Saiyan Blue: Vegeta

Super Saiyan Blue Evolved is stronger than any of Goku's SSB forms

Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken x20 is one of the strongest versions of SSB, but it is no match for Super Saiyan Blue Evolved at its full power. Vegeta unlocked Super Saiyan Blue Evolved while fighting Toppo during the Tournament of Power. Power-wise, Super Saiyan Blue Evolved scales Vegeta up to Ultra Instinct Sign Goku and allows him to keep up with Goku until he finally unlocks Ultra Ego during the Granolah the Survivor Saga.

Super Saiyan Blue Evolved is the ultimate version of SSB, giving Vegeta raw power, enhanced durability, and minimal Ki and Stamina drain. From then on Dragon Ball Super Manga's Super Hero Saga, Vegeta still uses Super Saiyan Blue Evolved as his main form instead of Ultra Ego. Vegeta's mastery of Super Saiyan Blue Evolved is so refined that he even chooses to fight Gohan Beast in SSBE while Goku needed to use Perfected Ultra Instinct just to keep up with his son.

Ultra Instinct vs Ultra Ego: Goku

Goku has fully mastered Ultra Instinct while Vegeta is still struggling with Ultra Ego

Although Ultra Ego Vegeta has more raw power than Ultra Instinct Goku, he could never actually beat Goku in a fight in his current state. Ultra Ego's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. The longer Vegeta fights in Ultra Ego, the stronger he becomes, but he also numbs his pain in the process. Every time Ultra Ego Vegeta has fought so far, he is tall because he hasn't been able to gauge how much energy he has left and ends up exhausting himself.

On the flip side, Ultra Instinct Goku is the strongest he's ever been. Perfected Ultra Instinct has reached a point where Goku can trigger Ultra Instinct at will, stack his Super Saiyan forms on top of it, and astral project his Ki into an overwhelmingly powerful Spirit Avatar. Ultra Instinct Goku can also instinctively dodge any attack that Ultra Ego Vegeta throws at him, while countering with his strongest techniques.

TV program

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball DAIMA

First TV show

Dragon Ball

Created by

Akira Toriyama

Latest TV show

Dragon Ball DAIMA

Upcoming TV Shows

Dragon Ball DAIMA

Air date of first episode

February 26, 1986