Character matchup
Sherlock Holmes vs L Lawliet: who is smarter?
Reviewed September 2026By the LifeScore Editorial TeamEditorial policy
Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Sherlock Holmes
165
range 155 to 175 · high confidence
Deduces the world from small details
Death Note
L Lawliet
160
range 150 to 168 · medium confidence
Reads a killer from thin data
Round by round
Six ratings out of ten for each, from the profiles. Sherlock Holmes takes 2 of the rounds, L Lawliet takes 1, and the higher overall estimate is Sherlock Holmes by 5.
| Round | Sherlock Holmes | L Lawliet | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deduction | 10/10 | 10/10 | Level |
| Strategy | 8/10 | 8/10 | Level |
| Knowledge | 7/10 | 8/10 | L Lawliet |
| Invention | 6/10 | 5/10 | Sherlock Holmes |
| Adaptability | 9/10 | 8/10 | Sherlock Holmes |
| Reading people | 9/10 | 9/10 | Level |
What settles it
Both reason from very little. Holmes builds a life story from a coat or a boot, and L picks out the killer's habits from the pattern of the killings. The difference is breadth. Holmes solves crimes of every kind across decades, with knowledge of chemistry, tobacco ash and the London underworld behind him, and L is mostly shown against a single opponent.
L has advantages Holmes lacks. He has police forces behind him, a support network and a computer. He also faces an opponent with a supernatural tool, and he still gets remarkably close. Holmes, by comparison, works with a notebook, a magnifying glass and Watson.
Both lose. Holmes is outwitted by Irene Adler in the original stories, and L loses to Light. We rate Holmes higher on deduction breadth and L close behind on the single hardest case either faces.
The strongest evidence for each
Sherlock Holmes
- The dog that did nothing (Silver Blaze)
- Working out the Speckled Band (The Adventure of the Speckled Band)
- Facing Professor Moriarty (The Final Problem)
L Lawliet
- The Lind L. Tailor broadcast (Death Note, opening Kira vs L arc)
- Narrowing Kira to the police families (Death Note, early Kira investigation)
Sherlock Holmes vs L Lawliet: common questions
Who is smarter, Sherlock Holmes or L Lawliet?+
Sherlock is a little ahead, on the strength of a longer and more varied record of deduction, and L is the more modern and better-resourced detective.
What is Sherlock Holmes's IQ compared with L Lawliet's?+
We estimate Sherlock Holmes at about 165 (range 155 to 175) and L Lawliet at about 160 (range 150 to 168). Both are fan-analysis estimates built from what each character does in their story.
Who would win a battle of wits, Sherlock Holmes or L Lawliet?+
On any crime with physical clues, Holmes. On a crime with no evidence and a suspect who covers his tracks, L would be the harder detective to fool.