Saiyans are the most well-known race on Dragon Ball outside of Humans, but are they really the strongest? Throughout its run, Dragon Ball has introduced fans to tons of different characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Due to the incredible things we've seen from characters like Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan, many fans feel that Saiyans are among the strongest species in the series.

But there's a whole universe of characters out there, and all of them are a little different. Taking into account the overall achievements of different species in Dragon Ball, not just the outliers, these are the strongest races in the franchise.

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By Adriano Valente

Yardrats

Yardrats aren't the strongest race in the series by any means. But what they lack in physical strength and fighting ability, they make up for in other ways. The Yardrats have honed skills that can affect space, time, and energy.

Their most notable feat is the creation of the Instant Transmission technique, which has served Goku well over the years. This falls under the general umbrella of Spirit Control, which the Yardrats use to use techniques like Cloning and Gigantification. It doesn't make them any stronger, but it still makes them a notable species and shows you just how creative some of the weaker races in Dragon Ball can be.

Humans

Humans are the most featured race of characters in Dragon Ball, with characters like Master Roshi, Krillin, Bulma, and Yamcha playing important roles at the beginning of the series. They might not stand out too much compared to other races, but humans can be pretty tough.

There are alien races that are naturally stronger than most humans, with the majority lacking the ability to fly or control ki in the way the main cast can. Still, the notable human characters like Krillin, Tien, and altered beings like Android 17 & 18 show you just how much potential humans have in Dragon Ball.

Namekians

Namekians are one of the stronger mortal races in the series, possessing unusually high power levels and other abilities that make them stand out. Their society is split into Warrior and Dragon clans, with the former being more fighting-oriented, like Piccolo and Nail, and the latter having a higher aptitude for magical abilities, like creating Dragon Balls, like Dende and Kami.

Of all Nameikians, Piccolo gets the most attention and ends up becoming the most powerful Namek in history by the end of Z. Regular Nameks are capable in their own right, but none have shown the same kind of potential and progression we've seen from Piccolo throughout the series.

Glinds

Some Dragon Ball fans might refer to them as Kais, but the actual term for them is Glind. The Glinds are the race that we know to be the Kais and Supreme Kais in Dragon Ball.

In terms of power, Glinds can be tough to read. They're certainly stronger than most, with their floor being higher than most moral species. Certain mortal characters like Goku and Vegeta have pushed past their limits and are stronger than most Glinds. Still, overall, they surpass the majority of regular species in the Dragon Ball universe.

Majins

Not to be confused with Majin Buu, these Majins are the ones who inhabit the Demo Realm. Before DAIMA, the most notable Majin in the series was Dabura. Majins are a demon race that have incredible battle potential and are exceptionally skilled when it comes to using magic in battle.

Like a lot of powerful races, Majins have different transformations they can achieve that give them massive power boosts in battle. The type of transformation depends on the character, but Majins in the franchise have been shown to be able to power up into Transcended states, as well as Dark and Demon God forms.

Saiyans

By the end of Z, the strongest known characters in the series were Saiyans, with Goku and Vegeta having reached the very pinnacle of their potential after years of training and conflicts. Though there aren't many left, Saiyans were known for their fighting acumen and were feared by those around them for their abilities in battle.

But when it comes down to it, even so-called "Saiyan Elites" weren't all that impressive when matched up against the top-tier members of the Frieza Force and many other Universal threats. But as characters like Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Broly have shown, Saiyans themselves have it in them to become absolute forces of nature, given enough time and the right training/conditions.

Frieza Race

We've only been introduced to a handful of them in the series, but from what we've seen, the members of the Frieza Race are incredibly strong compared to most around them. It's not surprising considering Frieza and King Cold had such an iron grip on Universe 7 for so long.

The members of the Frieza Race stand out from most fighters even in their base forms, and have access to a wide variety of transformations and power-ups similar to what we've seen with Saiyans. Frieza is a fighting prodigy, and even though you can assume not all members of his species will be as strong and talented as he is, it shows that members of the Frieza Race have a certain edge when it comes to battle that most fighters don't.

Eternal Dragons

They might not be as strong as traditional fighters, but the Eternal Dragons are incredibly powerful beings whose powers and abilities transcend most mortals in the Dragon Ball universe. Rather than impress with physical abilities, Eternal Dragons are wish-granters who can do almost anything, depending on the specific Dragon.

Shenron is obviously the most well-known Eternal Dragon, but other Dragons like Porunga and Super Shenron are more powerful. Each Dragon has its limits (except for Super Shenron), but given what they can do, it's natural to rank Eternal Dragons as some of the most powerful beings in the series.

Angels

The absolute strongest non-mortal species, Angels might not look all that intimidating at first, but they're not to be taken lightly, even by the strongest characters in the series. Angels serve as attendants and tutors to the Gods of Destruction, both assisting them in their duties and training them to better use their destructive abilities.

Angels can pull off things we just don't see from even the strongest members of the strongest races in Dragon Ball. They're always making use of Perfected Ultra Instinct, and can pull off incredible feats such as manipulating time, and can even resurrect the dead, similar to Eternal Dragons, but without the same limitations.