There may be no dearth of vampires in universe, but the range sure is complex, and the strongest vampire in The Vampire Diaries universe has impressive skills. There are a few branches of supernatural understanding that need to be grasped before anyone can begin to understand how vampirism works in the universe and how it all began. Though the Originals were pegged as the most powerful vampires when they were first introduced, it became quite evident that they could be overpowered by certain people with unparalleled strength. Then there are hybrids, upgraded originals, doppelgängers, and even a tribrid.
While introduced its own mythology surrounding supernatural creatures, and expanded those stories for audiences. The two spinoff series introduced whole new backstories for some of the vampire lineages. With the conclusion of in 2022, however, the vampire stories in this universe have officially come to an end. Fans will likely continue to debate the power levels of different vampires for many years, but the most powerful vampire in universe is one that can truly stand on their own.
Caroline Forbes goes through a lot over the course of the original show. When she first becomes a vampire, like most vampires, she has trouble controlling her basic instincts, but she very quickly adjusts to life as a vampire. Caroline’s power largely comes from her intense control of herself, which is impressive.
She might not be the strongest vampire in , but she knows to surround herself with powerful allies, and she, surprisingly, holds her own against original vampires more than once.
Elena was quite formidable as a newborn vampire because not only was she the descendant of a doppelganger, but she had also received some combat training and thanks to Alaric's instruction. Elena went into being a vampire with a lot of knowledge that most vampires don't have right away.
It helped that she wasn't a clueless newborn, was aware of her situation, and was ready for the changes to her body, so barring some minor hiccups during the first days of her transition (her body rejected vampire blood as well as animal blood), Elena seemed to cope well with her change. If Elena hadn't chosen to become a human, she could have evolved into a really powerful vampire.
It has been implied in that Stefan didn’t entirely acquire the strength of a vampire who’s as old as him, as he refused to drink human blood. Of course, saw him survive on human blood almost exclusively, but irrespective of his diet, Stefan had an intimidating range of skill sets.
He was unusually gifted when it came to resisting compulsion since he could trick Klaus who was an Original. He could also manipulate dreams and had telepathic abilities. Not to mention super agility and excellent combat skills that he had mastered over decades.
In the pilot of it was suggested that Damon could turn into a crow or a dog, and could even manifest fog. Later on, in the show, his powers are more logically explained, but he's stronger than Stefan as he's on a steady human blood diet and is thus physically more intimidating than his brother.
He also has telepathic abilities that he often uses to communicate with Elena and some instances suggest that he was more agile and alert than Stefan because he was quick to act on a threat.
Lexi has some impressive strength and speed as a vampire since she's been around for a few hundred years when she is introduced in . She doesn't, however, just have the usual vampire strengths. She's also incredibly skilled at getting into someone's mind. Lexi can actually make people see and feel things that aren't there, something she does to Stefan occasionally just to mess with him.
Lexi even retains some of the skills she's learned as a vampire, like being able to get Stefan out of his Ripper state, as a ghost. That's not something often seen in the franchise, making Lexi one of the strongest vampires in universe.
Tristan and Aurora are some of the first sired vampires to ever exist. The original family of vampires created Tristan and Aurora. While Aurora was the first vampire turned by Rebekah, her brother Tristan was the first vampire turned by Elijah - in the year 1002.
With over 1,000 years of experience as vampires, even if most of that time was spent locked away and suffering, the two really know how to use their skills. Even though Aurora’s mind is fractured from everything that she’s endured, she manages to go up against Klaus and Hope multiple times, being smart enough to flee when she sees that she isn’t strong enough to beat them. While Aurora really seems to be the stronger fighter of the siblings, Tristan was able to control Aurora for much of their time together, making him even more powerful.
Of the Originals in universe, Finn is the least seen of the Mikaelsons. He spends most of his undead life daggered and in a coffin because he’s the sibling that Klaus has the least favorable relationship with. Because of that, he doesn’t have as much experience fighting as a vampire or living as a vampire as his siblings do. He might be the oldest male sibling of the family, and he did receive sword training from their father, but using a sword as a human is very different from using a vampire’s super strength and speed.
Finn and Kol have about the same level of raw strength, and they could probably fight to a stalemate, but Finn couldn’t outmatch his other siblings in one-on-one combat - or any other supernatural being with similar levels of strength.
Though Kol isn’t as active in universe as some of his other siblings, he doesn’t spend as much of his very long life daggered and held in a coffin as Finn does. As a result, he’s better versed in his abilities like sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat.
Kol is also extremely adept at magical skills even when he temporarily loses his Original Vampire abilities while his soul is in the body of a witch.
When first began, it didn’t seem like anyone could be more than one supernatural being at a time. Witches and vampires were separate creatures. Witches, however, could become vampires, and even still maintain a link to their magic in death.
That’s true of the Heretics, a coven of witches who were all turned by the mother of Damon and Stefan Salvatore. In life, they all had the ability to siphon magic from other sources, which is what seemingly allowed them to maintain the use of magic in death.
Technically, Lizzie Saltzman is a Heretic because she’s a witch (one of the last remaining of the Gemini Coven) who becomes a vampire in . She is, however, much more powerful than the average Heretic, and not just because new vampires tend to be incredibly strong as they adjust to their power level.
Lizzie’s magical abilities mean that she’s able to siphon magic from others around her, which means she’s now able to siphon magic from her sire - Hope - the only tribrid in existence who is a witch, vampire, and werewolf. Lizzie is the only known vampire to overcome her sire bond by sheer force of will in a short amount of time. She also has almost complete control over her abilities after first being turned, something that can take some vampires years to do.
A lot has been speculated about the source of Katherine's powers, but the fact that she was 500 years old gave her enough experience and wisdom to trick every vampire in the world.
Not only was she able to take over hell as its new ruler after Arcadius' death, but it was revealed that she was the one who had originally manipulated Arcadius. After spending centuries manipulating every single supernatural being in her life, it's no surprise that she could manipulate the devil of universe as well.
While The Original vampire siblings all largely have the same strengths and weaknesses in terms of raw power, Elijah is widely acknowledged by the siblings and their friends (and enemies) as the most powerful thanks to his intelligence. Klaus is technically more powerful than Elijah because of his hybrid status, but Elijah is often viewed as the better fighter.
That’s because Elijah is much more patient than his brother and a better strategist. While Klaus’ anger is a weakness for him because it causes him to lash out without thinking of the consequences, Elijah’s is a strength because he bides his time to harness his anger into a useful plan.
When it comes to raw strength, Rebekah is actually the strongest Original Vampire, which might be a surprise considering how often Klaus uses a white oak dagger to subdue her in her lifetime. When paying attention to key scenes in universe, however, it’s clear that her physical strength is actually stronger than her brothers. She’s able to hold her own against Klaus when he doesn’t surprise her with a dagger, and she’s even snapped Elijah’s neck before.
In fact, Rebekah is able to hold her own against almost an entire pack of werewolves - alone.
Marcel was already a vampire when he was turned into an which means his already competent skill sets were enhanced, and he became even more powerful. Marcel is more than two hundred years old, and he proved to be very skilled in vampiric combat as he has even overpowered Klaus occasionally. Of course, he learned a lot of his combat skills from Klaus and Rebekah, so it makes perfect sense that he would be an effective fighter.
It's also important to note that Marcel's powers were superior to the other Originals.
Initially, Alaric studied vampires and hunted them because he believed a vampire had murdered his wife. Because he already had so much knowledge about how to defeat vampires, he was an especially good fighter when he transitioned to become one himself.
Of course, his transition was tied to magic, and he was enhanced beyond just being a normal vampire. Alaric had the strength of an enhanced Original vampire, and then an Original vampire, before he was stripped of his supernatural connections. He might not have had the years of experience that Klaus or Elijah had, but he had the same level of strength and reflexes they did when he was a vampire.
Like Tristan and Aurora, Lucien is turned into a vampire in 1002, though he is turned by Klaus, and encouraged by Klaus to be a bit more reckless with his power.
Lucien also had another edge though. Thanks to an immortality spell, he had increased strength and stamina to make him on par with an enhanced, or upgraded, Original vampire. Lucien is even stronger than Alaric as a result.
Klaus was quickly established as the most fearsome vampire when he was introduced in
His blood also carried a powerful sire bond which enabled him to create an army of loyal hybrids, entirely subjected to his wishes. Plus, Klaus was also more invincible than the rest of the Originals since he could only be killed by the white oak stake.
Hope is a tribrid, activating her werewolf, vampire, and witch sides in
Her blood can already heal and can be used to sire vampires and hybrids, which is an ability only one other vampire has, her father Klaus, the hybrid. But considering Hope's age, she will need to work on channeling her powers at the Salvatore School to be able to master her strengths. She's the only known tribrid in The Vampire Diaries universe, which is enough to make her power potential mind-boggling.
Mikael has proved many times that he's stronger than Klaus, and of course much more powerful than his other children. Many fans have questioned this detail, but it makes sense. Mikael was already a revered Viking warrior when he was turned by Esther into an original vampire, while Klaus was an untriggered werewolf.
Upon turning, Mikael became the strongest of them all, considering his prowess in warfare. In the present day, Klaus is a deft hybrid who is in command of all his abilities, Mikael overpowered him quite easily, despite not being a hybrid.
Silas is the world's first immortal who's also the most powerful vampire in universe, although his powers have only been used as plot holes. His telepathic abilities are so heightened that he can create really convincing illusions; at one point he was able to make Klaus believe that he was dying, so he can make people see or believe whatever he wants.
He can also shape-shift and was a witch as a human so advanced sorcery is also part of his skill set and makes him such a feared supernatural being. With so many magical and supernatural abilities, it's easy to see why Silas is the strongest vampire in universe.
