The Dragon Ball franchise has had no shortage of transformations for Goku, but which of them is the strongest? Hereās a look at how we would rank each of Gokuās unique forms against each other from worst to best.
All of Gokuās Transformations, Ranked
Weāll be ranking all of Gokuās 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, itās impossible to truly power scale them, and for that reason, itās important to remember this is just our opinion. You may have a different ranking for these forms and thatās totally okay.
Here are our rankings for all of Gokuās transformations in the Dragon Ball franchise.
Great Ape Goku
![](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Great-Ape-Goku-Dragon-Ball.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
It shouldnāt 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.
Thereās 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
![Goku Super Saiyan Dragon Ball Z Frieza Saga](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Goku-Super-Saiyan-Dragon-Ball-Z-Frieza-Saga.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
Super Saiyan Goku is the most iconic of all of Gokuās 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 Gokuās weakest.
Super Saiyans have the same bonuses as the Great Ape which means a boost to strengths and power, but theyāre also agile and much faster than base form. We wonāt 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 Goku Dragon Ball Z](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Super-Saiyan-3-Goku-Dragon-Ball-Z.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
Super Saiyan 3 continues the trend of multiplying Gokuās power, and to make sure that is visible this form also drastically grows out Gokuās 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 Gokuās power at Super Saiyan by eight times, which is four times more powerful than his Super Saiyan 2 form. Thatās 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 Dragon Ball Z](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Gogeta-Dragon-Ball-Z.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
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 Jenembaās Fury, and it is a superior form to all of Gokuās Super Saiyan transformations to that point.
This shouldnāt 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 Dragon Ball Z](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Vegito-Dragon-Ball-Z.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
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 Vegetaās strengths, and it is by far the strongest form we ever see a character take during Dragon Ball Z.
Golden Great Ape Goku
![Golden Ape Goku Dragon Ball GT](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Golden-Ape-Goku-Dragon-Ball-GT.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
Despite not being canon, weāre 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 Gokuās 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
![Goku glares as Super Saiyan 4](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/dragon-ball-gt-goku.png?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
Merging the power of Gokuās 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 Gokuās 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 Gokuās strongest forms.
Super Saiyan God Goku
![](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Super-Saiyan-God-Goku-Dragon-Ball-Super.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
Super Saiyan God Goku is not just one of the coolest forms that Goku has, but it’s also one of his strongest. Youāll recognize when this is active from the red glow around Gokuās 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
![Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta Dragon Ball GT](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Super-Saiyan-4-Gogeta-Dragon-Ball-GT.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
Itās 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, itās difficult to scale SSJ4 Gogeta higher on feats alone, so this seems like an acceptable spot to put this form.
Super Saiyan Blue Goku
![Goku in Dragon Ball Super. This image is part of an article about all Dragon Ball Super arcs in order.](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/goku-dragon-ball-super.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
Super Saiyan Blue, or Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan is Gokuās 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)
![Dragon Ball Super Gogeta](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Dragon-Ball-Super-Gogeta.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
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)
![Dragon Ball Super Vegito](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Dragon-Ball-Super-Vegito.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
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 weāve 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 Dragon Ball Super](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Ultra-Instinct-Goku-Dragon-Ball-Super.jpg?w=1024&resize=1200%2C675)
Ultra Instinct Goku is the strongest transformation for the character in the franchise. This form isnāt just more powerful than Gokuās 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 shouldnāt be surprising this is Gokuās best form. Unless the anime comes back this will remain Gokuās strongest form for the rest of time, and weāre totally okay with that since itās unbelievably awesome.
You can stream Dragon Ball on Crunchyroll now.
Published: Aug 8, 2024 10:13 pm