As Dragon Ball' s main character, Goku's had a lot of different forms from the original series, to DBZ, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and most recently Dragon Ball DAIMA. It's no exaggeration to say that Goku has more transformations than any other character in Dragon Ball. While Mastered Ultra Instinct seems to be the peak of Goku's power, the fact Dragon Ball DAIMA canonized Super Saiyan 4 means there will always be room for more transformations for Goku to unlock.
The Official 10 Strongest Dragon Ball Super Forms, Ranked
Dragon Ball Super's power scaling means that the series' forms are leagues stronger than anything seen in Dragon Ball Z, & are only getting stronger.
Goku's come a long way from his original Great Ape transformation in Dragon Ball, eventually becoming the series' first Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Z and setting a precedent for God Ki & personal forms in Dragon Ball Super. Goku's many transformations are a great way of tracking his progression and growth as a martial artist across the franchise. Goku started Dragon Ball as a young martial artist slightly stronger than the average human and transformed into one of the most powerful fighters in the multiverse – strong enough to fight literal gods.
15 Great Ape Goku Was Dragon Ball's First & Weakest Transformation
The big twist of the Pilaf Saga, Goku turns into a gigantic monkey after looking at the full moon at the end of the arc. Great Ape Goku only makes two appearances in Dragon Ball – at the end of the Pilaf Saga, and at the end of the 21st World Tournament. Both times, Goku is very easily dealt with. In the former, Yamcha and Puar work together to cut off Goku's tail. In the latter, Master Roshi blows up the moon with a full power Kamehameha.
What's particularly interesting about Great Ape Goku is how Dragon Ball recontextualizes its main protagonist into the first arc's final boss, so to speak. After bailing the Dragon Team out of every problem in the saga, Akira Toriyama subverts expectations by making Goku the final problem. Dragon Ball Z later retcons Goku's Great Ape transformation into an innate technique every Saiyan has, drawing out their full power in order to wreak unparalleled havoc and destruction on planets. If left unchecked, Oozaru Goku could have wiped out humanity.
14 Kaioken is Still Goku's Most Underrated Form
Goku's first form in Dragon Ball Z, Kaioken is one of the series' most underrated transformations. Goku learned how to use the Kaioken while training with King Kai in the Other World. At the expense of putting serious physical strain on the user's body, the Kaioken multiplies Goku's power level in bursts, allowing him to fight on par with Vegeta's 18,000 Power Level. At the end of the Saiyan Saga, so much as pushing Kaioken to x4 is enough to break Goku's body.
By the end of the Frieza Saga, Goku can comfortably use Kaioken x20 as his maximum output. X20 is canonicaly the strongest version of Kaioken Goku uses in Dragon Ball, but in Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Goku is able to push Kaioken to x100. In canon, Goku would realistically never be able to pull this off, as even pushing Kaioken x20 during his fight with Frieza was enough to totally exhaust him before he turned Super Saiyan.
13 Pseudo Super Saiyan is a Non-Canon Form That Preceded SSJ By Just 10 Days
The mystery behind Super Saiyan is one of the most interesting plot beats of the Frieza Saga, especially when you watch or read the arc in the context it was written under. At the time, no Dragon Ball fan knew that Super Saiyan would be a transformation. Even Vegeta assumed it was simply a state of being, believing that both he and Goku became Super Saiyans at different points in the Saga. Toei had their own take on Super Saiyan before Akira Toriyama formally introduced the form.
In Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Goku turns into a Pseudo Super Saiyan, a false version of Super Saiyans that functions as a bridge between Goku's base form and the actual Super Saiyan transformation. PSSJ is powerful, but unstable, which is especially interesting considering Super Saiyan Goku had to originally fight off his barbaric urges when he first transformed. Notably, Pseduo Super Saiyan Goku debuted a mere 10 days before Akira Toriyama properly introduced Super Saiyan Goku in the Dragon Ball manga.
12 Super Saiyan Goku is the Most Iconic Transformation in Anime History
The transformation that changed everything for anime, manga, and Dragon Ball, Goku turned Super Saiyan for the first time after Frieza killed Krillin on Planet Namek. Like Kaioken, Super Saiyan multipliers the user's Power Leve. Unlike Kaioken, Super Saiyan does not wreck the user's body and instead functions as a powered-up state (at the expense of some Ki drain and stamina issues, which the Cell Saga tackles).
Super Saiyan raises Goku's Power Level from a base 300,000 to 150,000,000 in the Frieza Saga, serving as a 50x multiplier – far more than anything the Kaioken can accomplish in canon. Super Saiyan 1 is the most iconic of the Super Saiyan forms and was regularly used throughout Dragon Ball Z all the way up to the Majin Buu Saga, where Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3 take over as Goku's main forms.
11 Full Power Super Saiyan Goku is the Perfect Version of SSJ1
After realizing that he can't defeat either the Androids or Cell with just Super Saiyan, Goku heads into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train with Goku and find a way to develop Super Saiyan into a stronger form. Over the course of nine months, Goku learns all of Super Saiyan's flaws and strengths, coming to the conclusion that the only way to make Super Saiyan better is to stay in Super Saiyan at all times and essentially make it his base form.
The 10 Strongest Dragon Ball Z Transformations, Ranked
Anime transformations as we know them wouldn't exist without Dragon Ball Z, and these are the absolute strongest forms in DBZ.
By the time Goku and Gohan leave the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Goku has developed Full Power Super Saiyan, a version of the form that has absolutely no Ki drain or stamina issues. By staying in Full Power Super Saiyan at all times, Goku is able to raise his Power Level to ridiculous heights, turning him from a warrior weaker than Androids 17 and 18 to someone strong enough to make Perfect Cell break a sweat.
10 Super Saiyan Kaioken is a Non-Canon Form Goku Used to Fight Pikkon in Dragon Ball Z
In the Dragon Ball manga, Goku never uses Kaioken again after unlocking Super Saiyan on Namek. In the Dragon Ball Z anime, Toei brought Kaioken back once last time for the non-canon Other World Tournament Saga set between the Cell and Majin Buu Sagas. During his final battle with Pikkon, Goku stacks Kaioken on top of Super Saiyan, multiplying his Power Level to absurd degrees.
Unfortunately, both Goku and Pikkon accidentally ring themselves out by touching the top of the arena, meaning their fight never ends. Given Kaioken and Super Saiyan's respective multipliers, logic dictates that Super Saiyan Kaioken is in a league of its own. That said, as a non-canon form, Dragon Ball Z is forced to ignore the transformation for the rest of the series.
9 Super Saiyan 2 Goku Was So Strong, He Convinced Vegeta to Turn Majin
After Goku sacrifices his life during the Cell Games, he elects to stay in the Other World instead of coming back to life. Over the course of seven years, Goku finally unlocks Super Saiyan 2. When Goku returns for his one day on Earth in the Majin Buu Saga, he briefly turns Super Saiyan 2 while fighting Yakon, feeding the Majin enough energy to kill him on the spot. Vegeta realizes that Goku unlocked Super Saiyan 2 in the afterlife and is now definitively stronger than him, which is enough to send him into a mid-life crisis.
Super Saiyan 2 Goku is exactly equal in Power Level to Super Saiyan 2 Majin Vegeta, but they're both so overwhelmingly powerful, their Kiri ends up awakening Majin Buu far ahead of schedule. In the Dragon Ball Z anime, Goku uses Super Saiyan 2 one last time in his final battle with Kid Buu. In the Dragon Ball manga, Goku never uses Super Saiyan 2 again after showing it off to Fat Buu before their first and only fight.
8 Super Saiyan 3 Goku Was His Strongest Form in Dragon Ball Z
Along with unlocking Super Saiyan 2, Goku also unlocked Super Saiyan 3 while training in the Other World. Super Saiyan 3 was the strongest Super Saiyan transformation in Dragon Ball Z, and Goku's strongest canon form until Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. Super Saiyan 3 is so strong, King Kai could feel Goku turning into one half-way across the universe. Unfortunately, Super Saiyan 3 has massive drawbacks due to its staggering Power Level.
In a subversion of Dragon Ball tropes, Super Saiyan 3 is actually too strong for its own good. A mortal body simply cannot keep up with Super Saiyan 3, draining Ki faster than the user can charge up. Neither Super Saiyan 3 Goku nor Gotenks manage to defeat a single enemy in Dragon Ball Z due to the form's negative side effects. Super Saiyan 3 Goku was technically strong enough to kill Kid Buu, but he wasn't able to keep the form active long enough to finish the job.
7 Super Saiyan 4 Goku in Dragon Ball DAIMA Was Powerful Enough To Shake The Demon Realm
Akira Toriyama finally made Super Saiyan 4 canon in Dragon Ball DAIMA. During the final battle with Gomah, Neva unlocks Goku's latent potential, allowing him to turn into a Super Saiyan 4. Even without his adult body, Mini Super Saiyan 4 Goku is strong enough to do serious damage against Giant Gomah, coming extremely close to killing him over the course of their fight. Super Saiyan 4 taps into Goku's original monkey-like design from OG Dragon Ball, bringing back his tail and fighting with ape-like movements.
Super Saiyan 4 Goku is even stronger in his adult form, completely outclassing Giant Gomah in every respect. If it weren't for the Evil Third Eye's specific magic, SSJ4 Goku would have been able to defeat Dragon Ball DAIMA's main villain himself. Super Saiyan 4 Goku is so strong, his Kamehameha literally shakes the foundation of the Demon Realm, his power reverberating across all three worlds.
6 Super Saiyan 4 Goku in Dragon Ball GT is Massively Overpowered
As strong as Dragon Ball DAIMA's Super Saiyan 4 is, the form has nothing on Super Saiyan 4 Goku in Dragon Ball GT. SSJ4 Goku is one of the most overpowered characters in Dragon Ball GT, so much so, the anime has to concoct ways to make Goku lose the form in each saga's final battle just so he doesn't effortlessly kill every main villain. Super Saiyan 4 Goku puts Super Baby Vegeta 2 in his place, gives Super Android 17 one hell of a fight, and kills most of the Shadow Dragons himself.
The only enemy Super Saiyan 4 Goku isn't strong enough to beat in Dragon Ball GT is Omega Shenron. Instead, Super Saiyan 4 Goku and Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta are forced to fuse into Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta. In terms of Power Level, Super Saiyan 4 Goku is far stronger than anyone in Dragon Ball Z. While not a traditional form, Goku can push SSJ4 into a stronger variant of the form called Super Full Power Saiyan 4, channeling all his latent power into overwhelming force.