It's hard to believe, but Power Levels were only a part of Dragon Ball Z for three story arcs. Introduced in the Saiyan Saga, the last time Akira Toriyama wrote-in Power Levels into the story was during Future Trunks' introduction at the beginning of the Cell Saga, before phasing them out entirely for the rest of the series. Since, Power Levels have only come back every now and again as part of the Saiyans' lore and backstory, briefly coming back into the picture in Dragon Ball Super: Broly and the Granolah Saga.

Ultra Instinct Sign Goku, Vegeta vs Goku, and Ultra Ego Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super
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Between the Dragon Ball Z anime, the manga, guidebooks and the movies, there are only a handful of recorded Power Levels in the Dragon Ball franchise, even for the Saiyans. Some Saiyans like King Vegeta don't even have official Power Levels, but based on Vegeta's comments in the manga and his reaction to Baby Broly in DBS: Broly, it can be assumed that King Vegeta barely hit 10,000 by the time he died – which is absolutely nothing compared to Super Saiyan Goku's Power Level at the end of the Frieza Saga, let alone the strongest Saiyans in Dragon Ball Z.

11 Future Trunks: 5 (Really 3,000,000)

In Dragon Ball Z, the last recorded Power Level is the same as the first: 5. At the start of the Saiyan Saga, Raditz reads the Farmer with Shotgun's Power Level as 5, and when Future Trunks first appears, he suppresses his Power Level down to 5, which Frieza's soldiers read on their Scouters. In reality, Future Trunks is far stronger than his measly Power Level of 5 would suggest, evidenced by how quickly he kills all of Frieza'a soldiers, Mecha-Frieza, and King Cold.

Considering Future Trunks is stated to be roughly as strong as Super Saiyan Goku was on Namek, it's safe to assume Future Trunks has a real Power Level of 3,000,000. In Trunks' future timeline, Future Gohan mistakenly believed that SSJ Goku was the absolute peak of power, and only rivaled his father. Super Saiyan Goku and Super Saiyan Future Trunks are also evenly matched when they test each other's strength, and several characters even mistake Trunks' Ki for Goku's before they see him.

10 Raditz: 1,500

Raditz might be one of the weakest villains in Dragon Ball history, but at the time of his introduction, he was far and away the single strongest enemy Goku ever fought. At the start of the Saiyan Saga, Raditz has a Power Level of 1,500, which is leagues above both Goku and Piccolo, who were sitting at 416 and 408 respectively, at full power.

The 1,000 Power Level difference was more than enough to force Goku to give up his life just to stop Raditz. The fact Goku and Piccolo struggled with Raditz really puts into perspective just how out of control Power Levels spiraled as Dragon Ball Z got deeper into the Frieza Saga.

9 Nappa: 4,000

More than twice as strong as Raditz, Nappa was Vegeta's right-hand man during the Saiyan Saga and is responsible for killing more Z-Fighters in a single fight other than Super Buu during the battle on Kami's Lookout. With a Power Level of 4,000, it took Tien, Chiaotzu, Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan all working together just to stand a chance; and even then, no one was able to actually beat Nappa until Goku arrived and wrecked him with the Kaioken.

For what it's worth, Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillin come extremely close to killing Nappa multiple times. By working together, Krillin and Piccolo lock Nappa into a multi-hit combo that would have finished him for good if Gohan didn't get cold feet during the battle and refuse to fight back. Throughout the Saiyan Saga, Toriyama makes it a point to show that the Z-Fighters can defeat enemies with stronger Power Levels, so much as they fight intelligently.

8 Paragus: 4,200

Paragus in Super

Based on Power Level alone, Paragus was one of the strongest Saiyans on Planet Vegeta, before Frieza committed genocide against their race. It makes sense that somebody as strong as Paragus would have a son as supremely powerful as Broly, who was born with a Power Level of 10,000. Paragus may not have been able to stand up to King Vegeta, but he was strong enough to survive on Vampa and would have been able to defeat every Saiyan as the start of the Saiyan Saga, save for Vegeta.

Unfortunately, Paragus is well past his prime by the time Dragon Ball Super: Broly's story begins in earnest, and wouldn't be able to so much as scratch Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, or even the weakest members of the Z-Fighters like Yamcha and Chiaotzu. Frieza eventually kills Paragus and blames it on the crossfire of Broly's fight with Goku & Vegeta in order to force Broly into turning Super Saiyan.

7 Bardock: 10,000

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Bardock may be a lower-class warrior, but that doesn't mean he isn't powerful in his own right. After receiving a Zenkai boost following his battle with Dodoria in Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku, Bardock's Power Level skyrockets to 10,000. This makes Bardock stronger than every Saiyan other than Prince Vegeta. Unfortunately, Bardock immediately goes off to fight Frieza and is killed along with the rest of Planet Vegeta.

While Dragon Ball Super does not feature an official Power Level for Bardock, he's arguably just as strong as he was in the Bardock TV Special, if not more so. During the Granolah Saga's flashback, Bardock not only puts up a good fight against Gas, he briefly taps into a technique eerily similar to Ultra Instinct. It's safe to say Bardock hit a five digit Power Level before he died, even in Dragon Ball Super's continuity.

6 Gohan: 200,000

Gohan in Frieza Soldier Armor on Namek Cropped

Like most characters, Gohan's last recorded Power Level in Dragon Ball Z was during the final battle with Frieza on Namek. Following a few Zenkai boosts and Guru unlocking his potential, Gohan's Power Level gradually rises to 200,000. Realistically, Gohan's rage boost means his Power Level briefly rose to even greater heights.

Second Form Frieza has a Power Level of at least 1,000,000, but Gohan was able to successfully damage him, meaning at least some of his attacks hit the seven-digit range. That said, Gohan's resting Power Level was only 200,000 and the best he could do was get a few good hits in on Frieza before he needed Piccolo to save his life.

5 Vegeta: 250,000

Vegeta begins the Saiyan Saga with a Power Level of 18,000 and ends the Frieza Saga with a Power Level of 250,000, experiencing tremendous growth on Namek by abusing multiple Zenkai boosts during his battle with Zarbon, the Ginyu Force, and later Frieza. Unfortunately, Vegeta never gets strong enough to fight on Frieza's level.

During his final battle with Frieza, Vegeta is effortlessly outclasses and beaten to a pulp before being killed in front of Goku. Vegeta is left to beg his rival to kill his greatest foe and take on the pride of all Saiyans. Sadly, even if Vegeta turned Super Saiyan on Namek, the SSJ multiplier wouldn't have been enough for him to outclass Frieza. Final Form Frieza at 100% Power would have still been able to kill Super Saiyan Vegeta in the long haul.

4 Fruit of Might Boosted Turles: 300,000

DBZ Film Tree Of Might Turles Attack
DBZ Film Tree Of Might Turles Attack

He may not be canon, but Turles is one of the most powerful Saiyans in Dragon Ball Z. Even though his base Power Level is usually set at around 19,000 (making him stronger than every Saiyan in the Saiyan Saga), he manages to fight off a Goku with a Power Level of around 30,000 just fine before he eats the Fruit of the Tree of Might in Dragon Ball Z Movie 3.

Once Turles does eat the Fruit of the Tree of Might, his Power Level is boosted to 300,000, making him slightly weaker than First Form Frieza. Considering just how much Turles' Power Level rises after eating a single Fruit, eating a second Fruit from the Tree of Might would more than likely make him as strong as Final Form Frieza, if not Super Saiyan Goku on Namek. When it comes down to it, Turles is one of the most over-powered characters in DBZ.

3 Super Saiyan Goku: 150,000,000

If Goku didn't turn Super Saiyan on Namek, no one would have been able to defeat Final Form Frieza. It's only thanks to the Super Saiyan multiplier that Goku's Power Level rises high enough to put Frieza in his place. While the Dragon Ball Z anime tries to keep things an even fight, the Dragon Ball manga makes it very clear that SSJ Goku far surpasses Frieza with his overwhelming 3,000,000 Power Level.

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Even at 100% Full Power, Frieza never stood a chance against Super Saiyan Goku. Goku wears him down, outmaneuvers him, and could have killed him at any point. Instead, Goku wanted to humble and humiliate Frieza in a way to assert his humanity. In the original timeline, Goku dies shortly after returning to Earth due to his Heart Virus, but his Power Level only keeps climbing in Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super's continuity.

2 Legendary Super Saiyan Broly: 1,400,000,000

Dragon Ball Z’s original version of Broly was designed to be the single strongest villain the Z-Fighters ever faced. Broly’s Legendary Super Saiyan form continually grows stronger the more he fights, meaning his Power Level can skyrocket to maximum levels of power so long as he isn't defeated. Even in his own movie, Broly technically wins. The only reason he loses is due to Goku’s Miracle Punch, which defies all laws of power-scaling, so the heroes can win.

Although he doesn't have an official Power Level in canon, Dragon Ball Super’s version of Broly is even stronger. Legendary Super Saiyan Broly in DBS is so powerful, Goku and Vegeta are forced to fuse into Gogeta just to stand a chance against him. Even that isn't enough, as Gogeta has to turn Super Saiyan Blue – a literal God form – just to secure the win. Broly’s current Power Level is beyond immeasurable.