Star Wars: Ranking the Most Powerful Jedi, Sith, and Force Users in the Galaxy

There are many powerful Force users in the galaxy far, far away. From Jedi to Sith to Nightsisters, to everyone in between, the ability to wield the Force comes in a variety of forms and skill sets. Some channel their powers for good, some for power and control, and others forge their own unique paths entirely outside of the Jedi and the Sith.

The following Force users have proved themselves to be among the most powerful of all across Star Wars films and TV shows. Here’s how we rank them…

16. Count Dooku

Separatist leader and Sith Lord Count Dooku was a formidable adversary of the Jedi during the Clone Wars and served as the apprentice of Darth Sidious until the latter sunk his claws deep enough into Anakin Skywalker to turn him to the Dark Side. Familiar with both the teachings of the Jedi and the Sith as a former member of the Order, and Master to Qui-Gon Jinn, Dooku’s skills are hard to match. His military prowess made him hard to corner and track down, and when he was forced into combat, his lightsaber skills and ability to manipulate Force Lightning made him challenging to beat. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker often found themselves barely able to keep up with Dooku’s abilities, although Anakin was eventually able to best him.

15. Darth Maul

Darth Maul’s hatred and connection to the Dark Side was so strong that it kept him alive even after being cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Phantom Menace. With the help of Mother Talzin’s Nightsister magicks, he was essentially reborn during the Clone Wars, and used his newfound strength and resolve to nearly take over Mandalore. He was able to sense Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side, and even tried to convince Ahsoka Tano to join him in stopping it. Not out of the goodness of his heart, obviously, but because he didn’t want another rival to contend with. Maul even somehow managed to survive Order 66, and may have even become more powerful had he not spent almost the entire time so focused on finally getting revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi.

14. Mother Talzin

Before the fall of Dathomir during the Clone Wars, Mother Talzin was the leader of the Nightsisters, teaching them the powerful Force magicks of their ancestors. She could conjure a protective shield that kept her safe from blaster fire and Force Lighting, and was even able to bring the dead back to life. Her magick came close to bringing Count Dooku down a number of times, and Palpatine was so intimidated by the power she and the Nightsisters possessed that he ordered their massacre at the hands of Count Dooku and General Grievous.

13. Asajj Ventress

Once a powerful Sith assassin, Asajj Ventress forged her own path in the Force after her former master Count Dooku tried to kill her during the Clone Wars. After escaping, she was able to reconnect with the ancient magicks of her people, the Nightsisters, to further fortify her Force-wielding abilities before Dooku and Grievous massacred the planet, leaving Asajj and only a few others as the last surviving Nightsisters. But despite watching her people be nearly wiped out, she found a way to tap into the Force without fully giving into the anger that once fueled her sith-training, making her a formidable opponent and valuable ally.

12. Ezra Bridger

Ezra Bridger is one of the few Jedi who has traveled to the World Between Worlds, a mythical realm connecting past and present through the Force. He was able to bring Ahsoka Tano back from the dead and learned a great deal about what it means to be a Jedi. He summoned an entire herd of Purrgil through the Force, willing them to take himself and Thrawn as far away from Lothal as possible to save his friends and the planet. It was his sacrifice that ultimately led the Rebels to victory in the days before A New Hope. Though Ezra was stranded on an extragalactic planet for nearly a decade, he still managed to hone his abilities in solitude, proving to be incredibly capable in Force combat, even without a lightsaber, in Ahsoka.

11. The Great Mothers

Ancestors of the Dathomirian Nightsisters, the Great Mothers are connected to an incredibly powerful Force magick. Like Mother Talzin, they can grant access to this magick, craft formidable weapons, and even bring their fallen sisters back to life. What makes them even more powerful, however, is their apparent ability to reach out through the Force across galaxies, finding Morgan Elsbeth and inspiring her journey to Peridea in Ahsoka. Now that this trio of ancient Force witches has made their way back to the home of their descendants, a planet rife with powerful magick, they are sure to be a force to be reckoned with for the New Republic.

10. Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi did his best as the teacher of the “Chosen One,” while making his name as a powerful and formidable Jedi along the way. He and Anakin have gone toe to toe a number of times, and have turned out to be pretty equally matched. The only reason Obi-Wan isn’t closer to his former Padawan on this list is because of the years he spent in hiding from the Empire and growing rusty on Tatooine, a time during which Anakin continued to grow in power as Darth Vader. Obi-Wan was also an incredibly skilled military leader during the Clone Wars, often keeping both Count Dooku and General Grievous on their toes.

9. Kylo Ren

Of course a descendant of “the Chosen One” wouldn’t just be a typical Force user. Not only did he subvert expectations by turning to the Dark Side and becoming a terrifying warrior of the First Order, but he also turned out to be half of a mythical Force Dyad with Rey. He was able to subdue Rey with the Force when they first met and managed to kill Supreme Leader Snoke with essentially a flick of his wrist. He was also a skilled interrogator, using his Force capabilities to extract information from people through their memories.

8. Ahsoka Tano

Ahsoka Tano may have left the Jedi Order and halted her formal training at a young age, but she still remains one of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy. She has come back from death three times in her life, and has a strong connection to the old Mortis Gods as well as the mysterious domain the World Between Worlds. In forging her own connection to the Force, Ahsoka has become a powerful force for good across the galaxy, rivaling the skills of her former master Anakin Skywalker.

7. Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker is a legendary Jedi with incredible skills, but he also spent years closed off from the Force. However, in the time that he was active, he showed great power, not unlike that of his father. In his final moments, he was even able to project himself across the galaxy to fight his nephew Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi. The mighty effort was a ruse to distract the First Order so that the Resistance could escape the planet Crait and live on to fight another day. Even though it took all of his strength to do so, it was a powerful final act that allowed him reestablish his connection to the Force and make up for the mistakes of his past.

6. Mace Windu

Though a lot younger than Yoda, Mace Windu’s skills are fairly close to those of the great Jedi Master. He is incredibly adept at lightsaber combat, and was able to hold his own against Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith, possibly defeating him in a lightsaber duel (although there is some debate whether Palpatine intentionally feigned defeat for Anakin Skywalker’s benefit). While Mace wasn’t able to specifically sense that Palpatine was a secret Sith Lord, he was able to sense the Dark Side energy surrounding him, which was enough to rouse his suspicions and convince Yoda to help him confront the Chancellor.

5. Rey Skywalker

The other part of a mythical Force Dyad, Rey went from a simple scavenger on Jakku to one of the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy pretty quickly, training with Luke and Leia for only a year before she was skilled enough to match her other half, Kylo Ren, more equally. By the time she faced Darth Sidious, she had learned how to heal mortal wounds through the Force and was able to channel the power of all the Jedi before her in order to defeat him once and for all.

4. Yoda

Yoda is one of the oldest and wisest Jedi depicted on screen, having served on the Council for centuries from the time of the High Republic to the Jedi Order’s downfall. Because of his many years of training and strong connection to the Force, Yoda could see potential futures through the Force, though they weren’t always clear. He could also sense the allegiances of anyone he touched, whether they had strayed to the Dark side or not. His lightsaber skills alone were almost enough to defeat Palpatine before his final rise to power as Emperor in Revenge of the Sith. Yoda was even able to maintain his strength in exile, reaching out through the Force to Ezra Bridger on Lothal and training Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force before his death. And even in death, Yoda’s spirit was able to live on as a Force Ghost, a feat that not all Force users are able to achieve.

3. Bendu

Bendu is an ancient being of the Force who resides on the planet Atollan. He is incredibly Force-sensitive and claims to represent the center of the Force, between the Dark side and the Light. He has the ability to sense emotions as well as the power of foresight. He can also call forth powerful storms through the Force and has the ability to appear and disappear at will. It’s unclear in Star Wars: Rebels just how long Bendu has lived but he seems to be a being of immense power and fortitude.

2. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

Anakin’s Skywalker’s potential was both revered and feared by the Jedi Order when he was taken in as a boy. He was thought by many to be the “Chosen One” who would one day bring balance to the Force, but there were also those who thought that his strong emotions and reckless behavior could one day be a liability. And it turns out that both were right to an extent. Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side is infamous—one of the most powerful and skilled Jedi turned on his loved ones and became one of the most terrifying Sith Lords the galaxy had ever seen. But his son Luke eventually got through to him, and he helped overthrow the Emperor (quite literally), bringing about an era of peace across the galaxy, though he didn’t live to see it for himself.

1. Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious

Of course the man responsible for the downfall of the Jedi is going to be at the top of this list. His powers are great enough to mask his true nature from some of the Order’s most powerful Jedi, including Yoda, and he was patient enough to play the long game. We’ve seen many powerful Sith over the course of Star Wars’ history, but so many of them are prone to anger-fueled impulsivity. Where Palpatine has so many of them beat is his willingness to wait for what he wants. He spent years trying to perfect cloning before he was able to come back (at least sort of) in Rise of Skywalker. Unlike so many others, Palpatine won too. He forced the Jedi into hiding for nearly two decades and ruled over the Galaxy with an iron fist. 

Honorable Mention: The Mortis Gods

It’s hard to determine where the Mortis Gods—the Son (Dark Side), the Daughter (Light Side), and the Father (the balance between them)—should fall on this list. They are mythical beings of great power and mastery over the Force, so logically, they should be at the top. But there are also several Force wielders on this list who managed to outlive them, in more ways than one. There are theories that point to Ahsoka and Anakin becoming a new iteration of them. Ahsoka was brought back to life by the Sister’s sacrifice. Anakin was asked by the Father to look over his children and maintain the balance of the Force, something he ultimately did achieve by sacrificing himself to kill Darth Sidious.

The Mortis Gods represent a major unknown factor in the Force, something that Star Wars seems to be exploring more through Ahsoka and the iconography found on the extragalactic planet Peridea and the World Between Worlds. It didn’t feel fair to create this list and not mention them as they are incredibly powerful, but their role in this world is still being written and uncovered. Until we know the extent of their capabilities and whether they have or haven’t been partially reincarnated into other Force-wielders, it feels fair to keep them here. For now.