Who are you smarter than?

Type your IQ and see which of 157 historical figures and 111 fictional characters you clear, from Newton and Tesla to Sherlock Holmes. Every number is an estimate, so each one comes with a range and a confidence level. Only curious about one man? Try the Einstein IQ test.

What's your IQ?

Take the IQ test

25 questions · about 12 minutes

What would you score? Try question 1.

Which option completes the grid? One tap, no sign-up.

Your IQ (mean 100, SD 15)

An IQ of 130: about 1 in 44 people score this high.

Do not know your IQ? Turn a score you already have into an estimate with the score converters.

At an IQ of 130 you clear

0 of 157

historical figures, and 5 of 111 fictional characters.

5
You clear: 91
Inside range: 172
Below

Breakdown for everyone, by estimated range.

That is the IQ you typed. Figures like these are guesses from history and fiction, so the comparison is only as good as your number. If you are not sure of it, measure how you reason with the IQ test.

William James Sidis250 (range 250 to 300) · Very low
Below their range: -120
Marilyn vos Savant228 (range 186 to 228) · Low
Below their range: -98
Terence Tao220 (range 220 to 230) · Very low
Below their range: -90
Kim Ung-yong210 (range 200 to 210) · Very low
Below their range: -80
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe190 (range 190 to 210) · Low
Below their range: -60
Bobby Fischer187 (range 181 to 187) · Very low
Below their range: -57
Francis Galton180 (range 178 to 200) · Low
Below their range: -50
Hannibal Lecter180 (range 170 to 190) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -50
Rick Sanchez180 (range 170 to 190) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -50
Mycroft Holmes178 (range 170 to 185) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -48
James Moriarty175 (range 165 to 185) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -45
Reed Richards175 (range 165 to 185) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -45
Christopher Langan174 (range 160 to 195) · Low
Below their range: -44
Alan Turing170 (range 155 to 180) · Very low
Below their range: -40
Carl Friedrich Gauss170 (range 160 to 180) · Very low
Below their range: -40
Doctor Doom170 (range 155 to 185) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -40
Emmy Noether170 (range 155 to 180) · Very low
Below their range: -40
Gottfried Leibniz170 (range 170 to 205) · Low
Below their range: -40
Grand Admiral Thrawn170 (range 155 to 180) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -40
John von Neumann170 (range 160 to 190) · Very low
Below their range: -40
Kurt Gödel170 (range 160 to 180) · Very low
Below their range: -40
Leonhard Euler170 (range 160 to 180) · Very low
Below their range: -40
Ozymandias170 (range 165 to 178) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -40
Pierre-Simon Laplace170 (range 170 to 190) · Low
Below their range: -40
Srinivasa Ramanujan170 (range 155 to 185) · Very low
Below their range: -40
Voltaire170 (range 170 to 190) · Low
Below their range: -40
Gandalf168 (range 160 to 175) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -38
Alexander von Humboldt165 (range 165 to 185) · Low
Below their range: -35
Archimedes165 (range 155 to 175) · Very low
Below their range: -35
Blaise Pascal165 (range 165 to 195) · Low
Below their range: -35
Bruce Banner165 (range 155 to 175) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -35
Ender Wiggin165 (range 150 to 180) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -35
James Clerk Maxwell165 (range 155 to 175) · Very low
Below their range: -35
Lex Luthor165 (range 150 to 180) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -35
Paul Dirac165 (range 155 to 175) · Very low
Below their range: -35
Senku Ishigami165 (range 155 to 175) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -35
Sherlock Holmes165 (range 155 to 175) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -35
Spock165 (range 155 to 175) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -35
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart165 (range 145 to 175) · Low
Below their range: -35
Elliot Alderson163 (range 155 to 170) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -33
Hercule Poirot163 (range 155 to 170) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -33
Lisbeth Salander163 (range 155 to 170) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -33
Albert Einstein160 (range 150 to 170) · Low
Below their range: -30
Albus Dumbledore160 (range 150 to 172) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -30
Aristotle160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low
Below their range: -30
Bertrand Russell160 (range 150 to 170) · Very low
Below their range: -30
David Hume160 (range 160 to 180) · Low
Below their range: -30
Dr. Eggman160 (range 145 to 175) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -30
Enrico Fermi160 (range 150 to 170) · Very low
Below their range: -30
Francis Bacon160 (range 160 to 180) · Low
Below their range: -30
Galileo Galilei160 (range 160 to 185) · Low
Below their range: -30
Immanuel Kant160 (range 155 to 175) · Low
Below their range: -30
Isaac Newton160 (range 160 to 190) · Low
Below their range: -30
Johann Sebastian Bach160 (range 145 to 170) · Low
Below their range: -30
John Milton160 (range 160 to 180) · Low
Below their range: -30
John Stuart Mill160 (range 160 to 180) · Low
Below their range: -30
L Lawliet160 (range 150 to 168) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -30
Leonardo da Vinci160 (range 160 to 180) · Low
Below their range: -30
Lord Byron160 (range 160 to 180) · Low
Below their range: -30
Ludwig Wittgenstein160 (range 150 to 170) · Very low
Below their range: -30
Nikola Tesla160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low
Below their range: -30
Noam Chomsky160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low
Below their range: -30
Plato160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low
Below their range: -30
René Descartes160 (range 160 to 180) · Low
Below their range: -30
Richard Feynman160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low
Below their range: -30
Shuri160 (range 146 to 172) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -30
Sosuke Aizen160 (range 148 to 172) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -30
Stephen Hawking160 (range 150 to 170) · Low
Below their range: -30
Tony Stark160 (range 148 to 170) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -30
Victor Hugo160 (range 160 to 180) · Low
Below their range: -30
Walter Bishop160 (range 145 to 172) · Fan estimate
Below their range: -30
William Shakespeare160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low
Below their range: -30
Adam Smith155 (range 150 to 170) · Low
Below their range: -25
Baruch Spinoza155 (range 155 to 175) · Low
Below their range: -25
Bill Gates155 (range 150 to 165) · Low
Below their range: -25
Christiaan Huygens155 (range 155 to 175) · Low
Below their range: -25
Elon Musk155 (range 140 to 165) · Very low
Below their range: -25
Friedrich Nietzsche155 (range 140 to 165) · Very low
Below their range: -25
J. Robert Oppenheimer155 (range 145 to 165) · Very low
Below their range: -25
Johannes Kepler155 (range 155 to 175) · Low
Below their range: -25

Showing the top 80. Search to find anyone else.

The number on the right is your IQ minus their estimate. It is blue when you clear their whole range.

The highest estimated IQs in history

Sorted by estimate. Above about 160 the numbers stop being measurable, because real tests run out of headroom, so treat the top of any list like this as an argument and not a score.

Historical figures with the highest estimated IQ
#	Figure	Estimate	Range	Confidence
1	William James Sidis	250	250 to 300	Very low
2	Marilyn vos Savant	228	186 to 228	Low
3	Terence Tao	220	220 to 230	Very low
4	Kim Ung-yong	210	200 to 210	Very low
5	Johann Wolfgang von Goethe	190	190 to 210	Low
6	Bobby Fischer	187	181 to 187	Very low
7	Francis Galton	180	178 to 200	Low
8	Christopher Langan	174	160 to 195	Low
9	Alan Turing	170	155 to 180	Very low
10	Carl Friedrich Gauss	170	160 to 180	Very low
11	Emmy Noether	170	155 to 180	Very low
12	Gottfried Leibniz	170	170 to 205	Low
13	John von Neumann	170	160 to 190	Very low
14	Kurt Gödel	170	160 to 180	Very low
15	Leonhard Euler	170	160 to 180	Very low
16	Pierre-Simon Laplace	170	170 to 190	Low
17	Srinivasa Ramanujan	170	155 to 185	Very low
18	Voltaire	170	170 to 190	Low
19	Alexander von Humboldt	165	165 to 185	Low
20	Archimedes	165	155 to 175	Very low

See the full ranking of historical figures, or the smartest fictional characters.

How the comparison works

You clear a figure when your IQ is above the top of their estimated range. You sit inside the range when your IQ falls between its ends, and the estimate cannot tell you apart. You are below when your IQ is under the low end.

That is stricter than comparing with the single headline number, and it is fairer, because none of these people ever sat a supervised test. The historical estimates are retrospective, built from documented achievement and, where it exists, historiometric research. They are described on each profile, with the evidence for and against.

Are you smarter than...? Common questions

Are you smarter than Einstein?

Einstein never took a recorded IQ test. The usual figure, 160, is a retrospective estimate with a plausible range of 150 to 170. Score above the top of that range on a proper test and you can say you cleared the estimate, though "smarter" is more than one number.

Do famous people have real IQ scores?

Almost never. Nearly every historical figure died before IQ tests existed, and even living celebrities rarely publish a verified score. Every figure here is an estimate from their documented achievements, shown with a range and a confidence level.

What IQ do you need to be smarter than most geniuses on this list?

On the standard scale, you would need an IQ above 160 to clear the whole estimated range of half the 157 historical figures here. Estimates for the very top of the list run higher than any test can reliably measure.

How were the estimates made?

They combine documented achievement records and, for a subset of figures, the historiometric estimates published by Catharine Cox in 1926, adjusted for later norms. The ranges and confidence labels show how uncertain each one is. The fictional characters use a separate, published five-part method.

What if I do not know my IQ?

Convert a score you already have (SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT and others) with the score converters, or measure how you reason with a short test. A number you guess will only give a guess.