When Dragon Ball was first conceived, creator Akira Toriyama had no intentions of bringing in the idea of Saiyans. It was just a manga inspired by Journey to the West. But, as the story went on, Toriyama kept raising the stakes, and Goku learned of his alien origins as a member of the Saiyan race.
By most s, Saiyans are said to be the strongest warrior race in all the universe. Gifted with natural strength and ki control, the Saiyans are a ruthless race of warriors who value power over all else. This thirst for battle proved useful when Frieza occupied their planet and drafted the Saiyans into his army of planet conquerers.
Unfortunately, Frieza eventually saw the Saiyans as a threat to his army and destroyed nearly the entire species. But, there were some survivors; those who were off on other worlds were spared from Planet Vegeta's destruction. Most Dragon Ball fans know this history of the Saiyans, but who among this warrior race are the strongest?
Toriyama himself has said that power levels were introduced to show how pointless they are, so we did our own research to find out which Saiyans are the strongest, and which are the weakest.
Here is Every Saiyan Ranked, Weakest To Strongest.
FASHA (AND HER TEAMMATES)
Even the biggest fans of Dragon Ball Z might not know who Fasha is, but she was the first female Saiyan we got to see in action. She was introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku, so her status in the canon of Dragon Ball is somewhat up in the air. Regardless, Fasha is part of Bardock's crew, a group of low-class Saiyans who weaken planets for Frieza to take over.
Fasha is shown to be just as strong as her teammates, save for Bardock (we'll get to him later). However, the team is indeed low class, since higher-class Saiyans can conquer a planet single-handedly. For this reason, Fasha and her teammates are amongst the weakest Saiyans we've seen on screen.
PAN
Before fans get all riled up, no, we're not included the lauded Dragon Ball GT in this list, so don't worry. But, GT wasn't the only appearance of Gohan and Videl's daughter, Pan, as she appeared in the epilogue of Dragon Ball Z and appears as a baby in Dragon Ball Super. But, you may be asking, "how could a baby make it on this list?" Well, aside from taking on massive opponents when she was only four in the epilogue of Dragon Ball Z, Pan also has immense power as an infant.
Not only was Pan's Saiyan blood enough help transform Goku into a Super Saiyan God — turning Videl into a psuedo-Super Saiyan of sorts in the process — but she can also already fly despite not being able to walk. To make things more impressive, Pan has flown in space while carrying three other people. Though she is powerful at such a young age, we've yet to see her full potential.
RADITZ
When Raditz first appeared, he was a tough opponent. Goku's brother was so powerful that the only way he could be defeated was by Goku sacrificing his life. Since then, the opponents that Goku has faced make Raditz seem like small potatoes in retrospect. Raditz might be a mighty Saiyan in his own right, but he was nowhere near the level of an elite prior to his demise. He didn't even train to make is tail less sensitive!
Since he was Bardock's son, he was born as a low-class Saiyan with a naturally small latent power level. This, combined with the fact that Piccolo, a Namekian (a primarily non-warrior race), was able to kill him makes Raditz one of the weaker Saiyans in the world of Dragon Ball. He was Goku's first big opponent in the Dragon Ball Z anime, but he's not so tough in hindsight.
NAPPA
Speaking of the Saiyan saga, Nappa was the second Saiyan that the Z-fighters took on. He fell at the hands of Goku.
Nappa was a high-class Saiyan who served as a military General before the Saiyan genocide, acting as a guide/partner to Prince Vegeta. This would most likely place Nappa's fighting ability and strength not too far behind the most elite Saiyans. However, this ranking pretty much becomes meaningless when Goku is Involved.
Not only does Goku take out Nappa with ease (after training with King Kai), but this defeat leads Vegeta to deem Nappa a weakling, and then killing him for said weakness.
Nappa deserves some recognition for his power, having developed an immunity to the the Saiyan tail weakness and giving Piccolo and Krillin a run for their money, but in the larger scale of Dragon Ball Z, he's not all that strong.
KING VEGETA
King Vegeta was considered the most powerful Saiyan prior to his people's destruction, so much so that Planet Plant, which the Saiyans took over, was renamed Planet Vegeta after him. However, like Nappa, King Vegeta's rank sort of became meaningless after the fall of the Saiyans and Goku's ascension to a Super Saiyan. But, even prior to that, King Vegeta's strength didn't stand up to Frieza, who defeated"the most powerful Saiyan" with just a punch to the jaw.
Further, Prince Vegeta himself has revealed that at a young age he was already stronger than his father, going so far as to dismiss the death of his people as them being "too weak." King Vegeta more than likely earned his position as King, but all things considered, he ranks rather low as the events of Dragon Ball Z unfolded.
BARDOCK
Much like his son, Bardock's status as a low-class Saiyan seems to be rather meaningless, since both father and son broke the limits that were set upon them.
Bardock was the leader of his "Planet Elite Force," the strongest of the lower-class warriors. Though his status in the canon is sometimes disputed, since he was a character created for a Toei film and didn't originate in the manga, Bardock could nonetheless be considered stronger than some of the canon Saiyans.
Bardock bravely confronted Frieza after he killed King Vegeta and his royal guard, fighting him till the bitter end. So why is he stronger than the likes of King Vegeta and Nappa? Not only was he not defeated in one hit like the King, he also has the potential to go Super Saiyan. In a "what if?" movie called Episode of Bardock, Bardock is shown going Super Saiyan. It may not be canon, but it's enough to push up Bardock's ranking.
CABBA
Cabba was the first new Saiyan to be introduced in Dragon Ball Super, though he's a bit different from the Saiyans we know and love. Cabba hails from Universe 6. He was born on the Saiyans' original planet, Planet Sadala, and in this alternate universe, Saiyans are quite different. Instead of being a ruthless warrior race, the Universe 6 Saiyans are said to be "warriors of justice," working for hire to defend the universe.
Cabba was first seen in the Universe 6 Saga, in which he was chosen by Vados to compete in the tournament against Universe 7. Cabba was shown to be somewhat strong in his own right, but could not turn Super Saiyan; he didn't even know what it was!
However, Cabba earns his ranking by the fact that he almost instantly learned to go super Saiyan thanks to some hardcore "training" with Vegeta in the tournament ring.
CAULIFLA
Caulifla was the first female Super Saiyan in the world of Dragon Ball; a Saiyan from Universe 6. A punkish tomboy, Caulifla was recruited by Cabba for the Tournament of Power. Caulifla only agreed to fight if Cabba taught her to go super Saiyan. Cabba did just that and, much like him, Caulifla picked up the transformation rather easily.
However, what puts her a step above Cabba is the fact that in the same day she learned to go super Saiyan she also learned to go super Saiyan 2, mastering the form in the Tournament of Power. If that wasn't impressive enough, she also pushed to "super saipan third grade," a highly muscled form that also used up her stamina. C
aulifla held her own against Goku in the Tournament of Power, thus placing her rather high in the power rankings.
KALE
The final universe 6 Saiyan to be recruited for the Tournament of Power, and the second female Super Saiyan we ever saw was Kale, a meek and shy girl who hides a great power within her.
Selected as Caulifla's protege, Kale also learned to go super Saiyan in a day, though the results were frightening. Much like Broly, Kale seems to be some king of legendary Super Saiyan with her green-tinted hair, massive increase in size and muscle, white eyes, and uncontrollable rage.
This form is called the Berserker Super Saiyan and it's what places Kale a step above the other Universe 6 Saiyans. In this berserker form, Kale is insanely powerful, but cannot control her rage. Eventually however, in the middle of the Tournament of Power, she gains some control of this form, depleting some of its strength in the process.
GOTEN
The second son of Goku and Chi-Chi seems to have just as much potential power as his father and brother. Goten, who looks exactly like Goku when he was a kid, is incredibly powerful for his young age. Not only could he go Super Saiyan at a young age, but his power combined with Trunks' was enough to hold Majin Buu at bay.
Surprisingly, Goten was able to turn Super Saiyan before he actually learned to fly, though we're not sure what that says about his power level. Regardless, Goten has held his own against powerful enemies, quickly learned to master fusion, and his power combined with Trunks was enough to turn their fused form into Super Saiyan 3.
It seems as though the half-breed Saiyans are born with massive innate power.