The strongest user of every Saiyan and God form

Goku and Vegeta are two of the strongest characters 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 God-Tier opponents now that they're at the peak of their power.

Between regular Super Saiyan forms and God forms, Goku and Vegeta are stronger than ever, but their mastery of each transformation is hardly the same. Goku and Vegeta take different paths to power Dragon Ball Superand are very selective in which forms they choose to master.

Ape: Vegeta

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

Goku has not transformed into an ape since the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, so he has never been able to master the form like other Saiyans. An elite soldier who has fought life-or-death battles since childhood, Vegeta can fully control his ape transformation, allowing him to use a 10x power multiplier in the form while retaining his senses.

When Goku and Vegeta fight in the Saiyan Saga, Great Ape Vegeta completely overpowers Goku, breaking every single 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 the 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. On the other hand, Goku figured out that Grade forms have 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 essentially treats SSJ as his base form, allowing him to keep getting stronger. There is no indication that Vegeta will ever unlock Full Power Super Saiyan Dragon Ballunlike Goku. While fighting Beerus, Goku also absorbs God's Super Saiyan power into his body, allowing him to break into God Ki as a regular Super Saiyan.

Super Saiyan 2: Vegeta

Vegeta SSJ2 Rage Boost surpassed even Super Saiyan 3 Goku

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

Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta does what Super Saiyan 3 Goku couldn't. Not only does Vegeta hit Beerus with multiple hits, he even makes him bleed. Super Saiyan 2 Goku never put on a performance half as impressive as Vegeta's brief battle with Beerus. Although he was eventually overwhelmed, 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 spent seven years trying to unlock Super Saiyan 3 in the Otherworld. Unfortunately, since Goku was dead at the time, his body never felt the massive stamina and Ki drain that comes with using Super Saiyan 3 while alive. This ended up biting Goku at the end Dragon Ball Z when he was fighting Kid Buu and he ran out of breath very quickly. Interestingly, Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta doesn't have this problem at all.

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

Super Saiyan 4: Goku

Vegeta still hasn't unlocked SSJ4 in Canon

Goku is the ultimate Super Saiyan 4 user in every Dragon Ball continuity. IN Dragon Ball GTVegeta needed to use the Blutz Wave Generator to artificially unlock Super Saiyan 4, while Goku unlocked it naturally earlier in the series. GT Goku is too many 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 powerful enough to shake the foundation of the entire Demon Realm by performing the Transcendent Kamehameha in his Super Saiyan 4 form. GT Goku can also use Super Full Power Saiyan 4 while Vegeta is stuck as a base Super Saiyan 4 version.

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 unlock Super Saiyan God. Goku has been using Super Saiyan God much longer than Vegeta. Vegeta couldn't even use Super Saiyan God for a long time Dragon Ball Super anime continuity. Goku uses Super Saiyan God as a way to test his opponents and judge if he really needs to use Super Saiyan Blue to win.

As of Granolah the Survivor Saga, Goku can now stack Super Saiyan God on True Ultra Instinct, allowing him to use UI Reflexes while still benefiting from a massive SSG power boost. Vegeta is stuck using the regular Super Saiyan God version, so he has no real counter to True Ultra Instinct Super Saiyan God Goku. In a fight between the two God forms, Goku could easily defeat Vegeta's Super Saiyan God version.

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 in full power. Vegeta unlocked Super Saiyan Blue Evolved while fighting Toppo during the Tounrmanet of Power. Super Saiyan Blue Evolved advances Vegeta up to Ultra Instinct Sign Goku and allows him to keep up with Goku until he eventually unlocks Ultra Ego during the Granolah the Survivor Saga.

Super Saiyan Blue Evolved is the ultimate version of SSB, giving Vegeta raw strength, increased durability, and minimal Ki and Stamina consumption. From Dragon Ball Super Super Hero Saga manga, 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 chose to fight Gohan Beast in SSBE while Goku needed to use Perfected Ultra Instinct to keep up with his son.

Ultra Instinct vs Ultra Ego: Goku

Goku has fully mastered Ultra Instinct while Vegeta is still fighting Ultra Ego

Although Ultra Ego Vegeta has more raw power than Ultra Instinct Goku, in his current state he would never actually be able to defeat Goku in a fight. Ultra Ego's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. The longer Vegeta fights in Ultra Ego, the stronger he becomes, but also dulls his pain in the process. Every time Ultra Ego Vegeta has fought so far, it's long because he wasn't able to estimate how much energy he had left, and eventually runs out.

On the other hand, Ultra Instinct Goku is the strongest he has ever been. Perfected Ultra Instinct has reached the point where Goku can trigger Ultra Instinct whenever he wants, stacking his Super Saiyan forms on top of it and astral projecting his Ki into an immensely powerful Spirit Avatar. Ultra Instinct Goku can also instinctively dodge any attack Ultra Ego Vegeta throws at him while countering with his strongest techniques.

television shows

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 the first episode

February 26, 1986