Don’t let Gohan fans fool you; Goku is Dragon Ball’s one and only main character. From the start of Dragon Ball to the end of Dragon Ball Super, Goku has been the single consistent entity driving the series forward. Even when he’s not directly involved in the action, his presence is actively driving the plot.

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As Dragon Ball is a martial arts story at its core, influenced quite blatantly by the Wuxia genre, Goku’s growth as a man is inherently tied to his growth as a fighter. Time and time again, from arc to arc, Goku grows in power, thus subverting our expectations of what he’s capable of.

When you take a look at all the different versions of Goku from every series, and every spin-off, which Goku comes out the strongest?

Updated June 1, 2023 by Sultan-Uz-Zaman: Dragon Ball Super's been turning heads ever since the Granola the Survivor Saga ended, and now that you avid manga readers finally got to see the grand conclusion to the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, you might like to know how the new Goku transformations stack up against the ones from the past.

With characters like Kid Goku from Dragon Ball to the Mastered Ultra Instinct Goku from the end of Dragon Ball Super... the power scaling might be tough to estimate, but it's worth checking out just how each of these characters compares with the rest.

40 Kid Goku - The Goku Who Started It All

In this chronology of Goku’s journey to become the strongest mortal in Universe 7, it perhaps goes without saying that his earliest depiction is also his weakest. Kid Goku, as we see him in the Hunt for the Dragon Balls arc and during the 21st Budokai, is a rather weak fellow.

While he can tank a bullet from Bulma’s assault rifle and even rival the likes of Master Roshi in terms of power, he’s not all that hot. Kid Goku seriously struggles at the beginning of the series. Jackie Chun effectively bodies him during their final match in the 21st Budokai.

To his credit, Goku does put up a good fight, but it’s mainly his youthful vigor that keeps him active for so long. It wouldn’t be until a bit later in the series that Goku would start achieving grander feats.

39 Great Ape (Oozaru) Kid Goku - Untamed And Violent

Believe it or not, Goku only turned into an Oozaru twice during the entirety of Dragon Ball, and both instances occurred during the first two arcs of the entire franchise. Although according to Vegeta from The Saiyan Saga, a Saiyan is 10x stronger when they tap into their Oozaru form, we can tell from Kid Goku’s stints as one that it’s still pretty weak compared to what he's capable of later down the line as he grows up.

Goku as an Oozaru is still incredibly dangerous though. Almost nobody was able to physically stop him in the first arc of the show. It took Yamcha and Puar working together and thinking strategically to actually take him down. In the 21st Budokai, Roshi had to fire off a massive Kamehameha at the moon, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat Kid Goku.

38 Ultra Divine Water Kid Goku - Unlocked Potential

It’s easy to miss, but Kid Goku actually becomes as strong as his Oozaru self after drinking the Ultra Divine Water in the Demon King Piccolo arc. Korin states that drinking the water would unlock anyone's latent power, and Kid Goku's at the time was tied directly to tapping into his Oozaru form.

From that point on, Goku’s attacks depicted Oozaru imagery, implying that he’s inherited all that power without needing to transform. This places Kid Goku on another level entirely in comparison to his former self, thus trumping all of his rivals thereafter.

Unfortunately, it’s still not enough to overpower Demon King Piccolo, with the water only making him strong enough to fight on even footing with the Namekian.

37 Teen Goku - Ready To Tango Whenever

Given the similarities in design between the 23rd Budokai Goku and the Saiyan saga Goku, it’s easy to dismiss both incarnations as “Early Goku,” but the former is a tried and true teenager. After training with Kami, Goku becomes far stronger than anyone up to that point.

Throughout the entire arc, he’s the undisputed strongest man alive, capable of taking Piccolo on in a battle for the ages. It’s worth noting that Kami’s training also bestows upon him a rather meaningful personality change. He’s more inclined to enjoy his fights now along with being more goal-oriented.

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This is the first time we see Goku with a clear-cut motivation and his battle-loving personality. It’s also worth mentioning that Goku actually tried to train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber under Kami, but couldn’t endure the pressure at the time.

36 Early Goku - Weak Yet Tactful And Mature

The most interesting thing about Early Goku during The Saiyan Saga is that he’s become far too complacent at that point. After solidifying himself as the strongest man alive and starting a family, he gets lazy. He seemingly stopped training, barely getting any stronger over the course of the five-year time jump.

He even failed to develop new techniques, unlike Piccolo. That comes back to bite him, however, in a big way when Raditz arrives. It serves as an important catalyst for Goku’s pursuit of power. He once again realizes that there will always be stronger fights out there ever since he’s gained a wider perspective of the universe.

It’s at this moment that Goku starts training harder than ever with King Kai, in order to overcome the bigger challenges coming his way.

35 Early Goku Kaio-Ken - Useful In A Pinch

During his fight against the Saiyan Prince Vegeta, Goku had to whip out a new technique he learned from King Kai. After amplifying it a notch or two, he was able to stand up the Saiyan menace but only just barely. The technique zapped away a lot of his energy and put tons of strain on his body.

Eventually, Goku overcame the odds, and with a little help from the rest of the Z fighters that were remaining, he won his battle with Vegeta. At this stage, Early Goku really struggled with putting his body through so much and wound up getting hospitalized after the bout.

34 Ginyu-Goku - Goku Is Ginyu Ginyu Is Goku!?!

Ginyu-Goku is the poster boy for Power Levels not mattering in the grand scheme of things. Despite taking over Mid Goku’s body, Ginyu cannot access any of his techniques, thus making him far weaker than both Gohan and Krillin teaming up together.

Strength is absolutely nothing without skill, and that’s the main takeaway from Ginyu-Goku. This is arguably the weakest we ever see Goku during this point in his life. Granted, this isn’t really Goku, just Ginyu in Goku’s body.

33 Mid-Goku - Cocky But Rightfully So

With impressive endurance feats accomplished, and unstoppable vigor, mid-Goku is rightfully one of the most impressive representations of the character in the series. He was confident and capable enough to deal with a multitude of foes on his own.

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Despite having techniques like the Kaio-Ken under his belt, he was still holding back for most of his fights. With the Zenkai boost he received after almost dying due to Ginyu's antics, he was neigh unstoppable till Frieza decided to raise the stakes up a notch.

32 Mid-Goku Kaio-Ken - Can Overcome 100G Gravity

Before there was Super Saiyan, there was Kaio-Ken. By pushing his body to its absolute limits, Kaio-Ken multiplies Goku’s raw strength, thus allowing him to fight the Ginyu Force on equal footing, despite being on-par with them in his base state. The downside, however, is that Kaio-Ken drains his stamina like crazy and even damages the body the further it's pushed.

By the end of the Frieza saga, Goku can use Kaio-Ken up to 20x, but it only puts him at roughly half of Final Form Frieza’s full power. Kaio-Ken can't help the user without utterly crippling them, eventually. It’s useful in a pinch, but not that viable in the long run.

31 Faux Super Saiyan Mid-Goku - Unbridled And Capable

Introduced by Toei in the fourth Dragon Ball Z film, Lord Slug, this Pseudo Super Saiyan was Toei’s take on the mythical transformation before they properly adapted it in the anime. Rather than being a permanent power-up like Super Saiyan in the manga, Faux Super Saiyan sees Goku enter a Kaio-Ken-esque form where he’s filled with pure rage.

His body gains a reddish brown aura, his eyes go completely blank, and he just lays a beatdown on Lord Slug. Bizarrely, this form doesn’t get the job done though, as it eventually fades away. It was, at best, a temporary boost. Ultimately, it took a Spirit Bomb to permanently subdue Slug and FSSJ faded away from existence alongside him.