Every Wizard In The Lord Of The Rings, Ranked By Power

Published Sep 20, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT

Once head of Screen Rant's Star Wars coverage and co-lead of Superheroes, Tom Bacon now works with the movies and books teams. He's a lifelong fan of the fantasy and sci-fi genres, and loves franchises such as Doctor Who and Marvel. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon, on LinkedIn @tabacon, or on Muckrack under tombacon.

Tom has a wide range of interests, and he continues to serve his university as a volunteer chaplain. He's heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he's into British politics too.

Sign in to your ScreenRant account

Wizards are among the most powerful beings in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Granted, in Tolkien's lore, wizards are far more than magicians and sorcerers; they're Maia, powerful beings sent to Middle-earth by Eru (Tolkien's version of God). Yes, that means these wizards are really angels, which explains both their vast power and their association with a specific colorscheme. White is often portrayed as a Biblical image of purity and power, and the greatest wizards shift to white robes.

According to Tolkien, five wizards were sent to Middle-earth to help in the battle against Sauron. The Rings of Power has complicated things somewhat, introducing both an enigmatic Dark Wizard and hinting Tom Bombadil is a source of magic in his own right. It's safe to assume the Dark Wizard will eventually be revealed as an alias of one of the established Tolkien wizards, though, and I doubt Tom Bombadil will ever be fully explaned; Tolkien was reluctant to do so, and it would be shocking to see the showrunners ignore that. So here are all the wizards, ranked by power.

5 The Blue Wizards

When it comes to ranking the wizards of The Lord of the Rings, we're faced with a simple problem; the story is predominantly concerned with Gandalf and his friends, meaning characters only really appear as he encounters them. The two Blue Wizards were sent to the East, rarely crossing paths with Gandalf. They're only really mentioned in Tolkien's notes and unfinished tales, which lay outside the rights for Peter Jackson's movies (explaining why Gandalf can't even remember their names). Tolkien even seems to have changed his mind over whether the Blue Wizards succeeded.

All this means the Blue Wizards really have to be ranked as the least powerful, simply because so little is known about them. Even their names are uncertain, with some evidence Tolkien considered different versions. The Rings of Power may change all this, though, because many believe the Dark Wizard is one of them. Only time will tell whether that theory is right.

4 Radagast the Brown

Radagast the Brown is one of the more enigmatic wizards. Although he did help greatly in the battle against Sauron, Tolkien himself hinted he believed Radagast had lost his way; his natural affinity for nature eventually led him to become far more concerned with the affairs of animals than of elves and men. Radagast appears to have vast telepathic powers, communing with wildlife and even successfully raising an animal army at one point. In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, he is seen performing a chant that apparently gives a telepathic boost to Gandalf.

It's reasonable to assume Radagast possesses a lot more power, though; there's one moment where he projects magical blasts of power in Tolkien's books. Gandalf referred to Radagast as the "master of shapes and changes of hue," which some games and tie-in media have taken to mean Radagast was a shape-changer too. Sadly, if he does indeed possess that power, it is never seen. Thus it's quite difficult to properly evaluate Radagast's power.

3 Gandalf the Grey

Even as a Grey, Gandalf was a phenomenally powerful wizard. Already his greatest powers appeared to lie in light and fire; Gandalf described himself as "a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor." Despite this, he had mastered a vast array of magics, manipulating everything from smoke to lightning, from the taste of beer to clouds of smoke. According to Tolkien, he had forgotten many of these spells over the millennia, but he still had enough power to challenge everything from Nazgûl to the Balrog.

The latter is surely the ultimate demonstration of Gandalf's power, his greatest feat. The scene itself is unforgettable, as the wizard stands alone against a creature formidable enough to level an entire civilization, and refuses to flinch from the battle. Even more impressive, he seems to match it, his own power equal to the Balrog's. It's quite clear Gandalf the Grey was one of the most powerful beings on Middle-earth, although he seems outmatched by both Sauron and Saruman.

While Gandalf had mastered a vast array of magic, it's important to note he was not necessarily the most skilled or powerful in every sphere. Although he could heal wounds, Gandalf himself admitted Elrond's healing magic was more powerful than his own. There may well be other areas where Gandalf's magic is less effective than another character's, although direct comparisons are few and far between. The most likely explanation is that wizards can practice most magics, but have specialisms.

2 Saruman

"Once he was as great as his fame made him," Aragorn declared of Saruman. "His knowledge was deep, his thought was subtle, and his hands marvelously skilled; and he had a power over the minds of others. The wise he could persuade, and the smaller folk he could daunt. That power he certainly still keeps. There are not many in Middle-earth that I should say were safe, if they were left alone to talk with him, even now when he has suffered a defeat. Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel, perhaps, now that his wickedness has been laid bare, but very few others."

That's pretty much the definitive account of Saruman's power, and readers will note that Aragorn believed the White wizard had diminished as he fell to the darkness. That again makes it hard to establish how powerful Saruman was, because the Saruman of The Lord of the Rings is a lesser man, and likely all the more dangerous because of it. His particular skill lies in enchantment, and he was able to bend all but the strongest minds to his will simply by speaking to them. If Aragorn is to be believed, though, many of Saruman's other magics had faded over time.

That's not to say the Saruman of The Lord of the Rings is some mere trickster, though. He was able to lend his own power to others, enchanting a group of orcs to enhance their speed and strength, and he successfully imprisoned Gandalf at one point. There can be no doubt that Saruman remained the greatest of the wizards, at least until Gandalf's return as the White. It was only then that Saruman was replaced, moved down this ranking because he now faced the man he should have been - would have been, had he not fallen to the shadow.

1 Gandalf the White

Image via MovieStillsDB

When Gandalf returned after his battle with the Balrog, it was as Gandalf the White. It's important to understand the significance of this robe; it was far more than just a change of clothes. White signifies power and authority, and the new colorscheme essentially confirmed that Gandalf had succeeded Saruman as the most powerful and most honored of the wizards. This incarnation of Gandalf possessed all the power of the Grey, but even more so; his magic is noticeably greater in scale, and he outmatches Saruman in magical battle. It's reasonable to assume Gandalf is what Saruman was.

Gandalf the White would still be no match for Sauron himself, of course, but he shows us what the greatest wizard of all looks like. He is the benchmark against which all other wizards should be ranked; he's the 10/10 power, if you like, and all others sit beneath him. He certainly proves that with the ease with which he dominates The Lord of the Rings, summoning radiant light to cast aside even the darkest shadows.