Who is the strongest character in One Piece? Our pick is Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, with Whitebeard right behind him, and Luffy now sitting in the same conversation after beating Kaido. If you have only seen part of the anime, you have probably watched the argument happen in a comment section and wondered how fans keep score. We keep it simple: every pick below rests on a feat or a bounty the story actually gives us, and we say plainly where the evidence runs thin. Spoiler warning: this covers the Wano arc and later, and the ranking is dated to the Elbaph arc, 2026.
The short version
- Our order: Roger, Whitebeard, Luffy, Kaido, Shanks, Blackbeard, Big Mom, Zoro.
- How we ranked: stated feats, bounties and who beat whom. We did not guess at power levels the story has not shown.
- Why it can change: the manga was still in the Elbaph arc as of July 2026, so someone like Zoro or Shanks could climb.
- Left out: Dragon, Mihawk, the admirals and Imu, because we could not source enough solid feats to rank them fairly.
How we ranked them
A bounty is not a power level, but in One Piece it is the closest thing to an official score, because the World Government sets it based on the threat a pirate poses.
So we combined three things: the bounty, the biggest fight the character has won or lost on screen, and whether they hold or held the title of Emperor. Rankings like this are always opinion. Two fans can read the same chapters and put Shanks first or sixth, and both can be right. What we will not do is make up a feat to settle it.
1. Gol D. Roger: the Pirate King
Roger comes first because the story keeps measuring everyone against him. Wikipedia's rundown of the Four Emperors notes that Whitebeard's bounty is the second highest ever for a pirate, "after Roger", and his crew were the only known crew to reach Laugh Tale.
Why does that matter? Because Roger is also the benchmark for the man in second place. Whitebeard is described as having matched Roger in combat when the two were together in the Rocks Pirates. The honest caveat: Roger is long dead, and most of what we see of him comes from flashbacks, so his ceiling is the least tested on this list.
2. Whitebeard: the strongest man in the world
Edward Newgate was regarded as the strongest man in the world, and he earned it. His Tremor-Tremor Fruit creates shock waves powerful enough to cause earthquakes and tsunamis, and he mastered all three types of Haki.
His bounty reached 5,046,000,000 berries, the second highest ever for a pirate. At the Paramount War at Marineford he suffered fatal wounds defending his crew, and before he died he publicly confirmed that the One Piece exists. He loses to time and a crew he was protecting, not to a stronger man, which is why he sits above everyone still alive.
3. Monkey D. Luffy: the one who beat Kaido
Luffy is the biggest mover on this list. His bounty stands at 3,000,000,000 berries, and he won it by doing something nobody else managed: he overwhelmed Kaido in the Wano arc.
The reason is Gear 5. The Gum-Gum Fruit turned out to be the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, a Mythical Zoan fruit, and awakening it turns his hair and clothes white and lets him reshape the world around him like rubber. Add all three types of Haki, including a Future Sight form of Observation Haki, and he became an Emperor a week after the fight.
Why is he third and not first? Because a win over Kaido is the best evidence we have, and it is still not a win over Whitebeard or Roger. If the Elbaph arc keeps going his way, expect him to move up.
4. Kaido: the strongest creature
Kaido is called "The Strongest Creature", and the story backs it up. His Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, lets him become a dragon, and he survived multiple execution attempts without a scratch.
His bounty was the highest of any pirate of his time, and Big Mom's 4,388,000,000 is the second highest after his. He ruled Wano by force and treated might as the only law. He ranks fourth only because Luffy beat him, and he is now presumed dead.
5. Shanks: the longest-ruling Emperor
Shanks is the hardest pick to place, because we see him do so little. What the story does tell us is that he is the "Red-Haired" Emperor, the one who was already an Emperor when the series began and is now the longest-ruling of them all.
Think about what that means. Whitebeard fell, Kaido fell, Big Mom fell, and Shanks is still standing in the same seat. That staying power is a feat in itself. The caveat is plain: we have far fewer on-screen fights to point to, so he sits fifth and not higher.
6. Marshall D. Teach, Blackbeard
Blackbeard is the only character in the story known to wield two Devil Fruits. After Whitebeard died, he took the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power by a method the story has not explained, and he took Whitebeard's place among the Four Emperors.
That alone makes him dangerous. He is not the strongest fighter here, but he is the one most likely to change the ranking, because his power is built from a fallen Emperor's.
7. Big Mom: the Soul-Soul Fruit
Charlotte Linlin had the second highest bounty of any pirate after Kaido, 4,388,000,000 berries. Her Soul-Soul Fruit gives life to objects by giving them a fragment of a person's soul, and she used all three types of Haki.
She was defeated at Onigashima by Trafalgar Law and Eustass Kid, and is presumed dead. That defeat is why she sits seventh despite the enormous bounty: it came from an alliance, and it ended her time as an Emperor.
8. Roronoa Zoro: the future top three
Zoro is the only Straw Hat on the list and the one with the most room to grow. His bounty is 1,111,000,000 berries, and he defeated King during the Onigashima raid, which is a big part of why it climbed above a billion.
He is skilled in Armament and Observation Haki and is one of the few known characters to possess Conqueror's Haki. During the fight with King he unlocked an advanced form that lets him coat his swords with it. He wields Enma, Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu. Eighth is where the evidence stops today, not where we think he ends.
The ranking at a glance
| Rank | Character | Best evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gol D. Roger | Highest pirate bounty ever; only known crew to reach Laugh Tale |
| 2 | Whitebeard | Regarded as the strongest man; 5,046,000,000 berry bounty |
| 3 | Luffy | Beat Kaido; 3,000,000,000 berry bounty; Gear 5 |
| 4 | Kaido | "The Strongest Creature"; survived multiple execution attempts |
| 5 | Shanks | Longest-ruling Emperor |
| 6 | Blackbeard | Two Devil Fruits; took Whitebeard's place |
| 7 | Big Mom | 4,388,000,000 berry bounty; Soul-Soul Fruit |
| 8 | Zoro | Beat King; 1,111,000,000 berry bounty; Conqueror's Haki |
Common questions
Who is the strongest One Piece character right now?
Among characters still alive, Luffy has the best evidence, because he beat Kaido and is now an Emperor. Shanks and Blackbeard are the two others the story keeps pairing with him, and who comes out ahead is still an open argument.
Is Zoro stronger than Kaido?
Not on the evidence we have. Zoro beat King, one of Kaido's commanders, but he has not beaten Kaido himself. Luffy did that.
Why is Roger ranked above Whitebeard?
Whitebeard is described as having matched Roger in combat, and Roger's bounty is the highest ever. A tie on the first fact and a lead on the second is thin, so treat this one as the closest call on the list.
Where is the One Piece story up to?
The manga was in its Elbaph arc as of July 2026, with 115 volumes released. The anime is adapting the Egghead arc, so check where you are before you read on.
What to do next
If you remember one thing, make it this: in One Piece, the strongest character is whoever the story has actually shown beating the last one, and right now that is Luffy over Kaido. Check back after the next arc, because the order will move. In the meantime, see how the story got here in our best One Piece arcs, ranked, compare it with our strongest Naruto Shippuden characters, ranked, and pick your favourite from the One Piece collection. Our facts come from the Wikipedia pages for Luffy and Zoro, where you can check every bounty.