Best Sonic characters

2160 duels later, Shadow the Hedgehog is still #1 in the Sonic ranking, with Sonic the Hedgehog close behind at 1388 ELO points.

Shadow the Hedgehog edges out the franchise's titular hero by 49 ELO points, claiming the top spot with 1437 points and a 71% win rate across 214 duels. Sonic the Hedgehog lands at #2 with 1388 points, while Metal Sonic takes #3 at 1364 points. The sharpest divide in the ranking appears between Metal Sonic and Miles "Tails" Prower: 51 ELO points separate #3 from #4, marking the clearest gap in community preference across the podium. This places the mechanical rival firmly ahead of the franchise's more traditional heroes. At the bottom, Charmy Bee sits at #16 with 976 points and a 29% win rate, followed closely by Big the Cat at 986 points. Cheese lands at #14 with 987 points, suggesting these characters struggle to win over voters despite their recurring roles.

The ranking draws from 2160 duels submitted by 46 players across 16 contenders, updated on 12 October 2026. Shadow's dominance reflects a sustained preference for the darker, more complex character over Sonic himself, while the gap separating Metal Sonic from the classic supporting cast suggests voters prize edge and rivalry over nostalgia. Head to VAINKEURZ to cast your own duels and shape the ranking.

Updated on October 12, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →