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Photo Credit: Nintendo
Mario Kart World has the largest character roster yet, plus a new weight class and expanded kart customization — so you’ll need to be more strategic than ever if you’re going to keep winning. But which characters will rocket you onto the winner’s podium, instead of leaving you spinning your wheels in the banana peel brigade?
Choosing the best character in Mario Kart World is a lot like picking favorite pizza toppings — everyone’s got an opinion, and everyone else is wrong. But let’s have a look at the stats and see what we can figure out.
If we can find the stats, that is, since Mario Kart World seems to be repeating Mario Kart 8’s secretive stat-hiding tendencies, with some characters not performing as one might expect.
Understanding Mario Kart World Character Stats and Classes
As with previous Mario Kart releases, every character has their own speed, acceleration, handling and weight stats. Speed determines your top velocity, acceleration affects how quickly you reach that speed, handling controls how easily you steer through turns, and weight influences how much you get pushed around by other racers. Balancing these stats is key to finding your ideal character and kart combo.
The addition of the new featherweight class has mixed things up a little, but here’s what to know about the typical stat profile for each class:
- Featherweights have the best acceleration and handling, but lowest overall speed.
- Lightweight characters are similar, but variably have a higher speed or lower handling.
- Medium-weights have a balanced combination of speed, acceleration and handling.
- Heavyweights have the highest speed but lowest acceleration and handling.
That’s why choosing the best Mario Kart World character depends a lot on your gameplay style and on whether you are playing online, offline or in time trials.
Online Ranked Mode: S-Tier Lightweight Meta
As of June 2025, lightweight characters are meta for online, multiplayer games. The current trend for bagging as a strategy when playing online — lagging behind to focus on collecting special items, then racing to the front in the final lap — depends on strong acceleration and good handling.
Characters like Toad, Toadette and Koopa Trooper are all good choices here. Choosing one of these as your main will help you regain momentum after hits, execute quick cornering and handle complex shortcuts.
Offline and Time Trials: Heavyweights Dominate
If you like to play offline or time trials, raw top speed is king, and the S-tier roster reflects that. Bowser, Waluigi, Wario, Donkey Kong, King Boo and others currently top offline leaderboards everywhere you look.
Heavyweights generally have strong speed stats, and with plenty of straight sections on race tracks and less opponent-driven chaos, focusing on straightforward speed is easier.
User-shared statistics reveal that Bowser is the fastest driver in Mario Kart World — but he has the worst acceleration and handling, so he can be tricky. Waluigi, on the other hand, comes through with nearly as much speed but with better acceleration and handling. With a slimmer hitbox, he is also less vulnerable.
Hybrid Option and Casual Gaming: A-Tier Flexibility
For a jack-of-all-trades who handles both online and offline races well, look at the A-tier heavy to lightweight characters like Yoshi, Peach, Daisy and Bowser Jr. These characters all have balanced stats, so while they aren’t as fast or as agile as some, they do have decent speed, recovery and control. These versatile characters are great for casual gameplay across all modes.
Obstacle Characters: The Wild Cards
New to Mario Kart World, the obstacles characters — unlocked by the Kamek purple orb found in boxes — are great fun to experiment with. If you’re bored of the meta picks and want to catch your mates off guard, mastering a non-meta character is a badge of honor. Three of the best to try out are:
Pianta: A heavyweight with a twist, Pianta is hard to push around but has surprisingly good handling, especially on corners. Try him out on tracks with a mix of long straights and technical sections.
Goomba: The little mushroom is lightweight by stats, with high acceleration and nimble handling. He seems quite fragile, but if you love dodging items and outmaneuvering the competition, give him a go. He’s good at bagging and technical tracks.
Wiggler: Mimicking his in-game rage, Wiggler has unpredictable bursts of speed after being hit. This character is not universally loved and he has a large hitbox, but he’s big enough to bully lighter racers too. Give Wiggler a go if you like chaos and want to embrace a challenge.
Beyond Characters: The Importance of Kart and Combo
Character choice matters, but just as in Mario Kart 8, you need the best racer and vehicle combos to get the win. To get the hang of this, you’ll need to experiment. If you pair Bowser with a heavy kart like Stellar Sled, you’ll get maximum speed but pretty limited control. One of the best all-around combos for casual gamers is Toadette and the Reel Racer, a very balanced option. For maximum acceleration, try Baby Peach and the Mach Rocket, a combo that tends to leave others in the dust.
So — Mario Kart World Best Character? It Depends
There is no one single best character in Mario Kart World and who you choose depends on your playstyle and the modes you like to play. Experiment, follow the meta and see which character matches your style. Choosing tried and tested winning combos will get you on the roster for sure, but sometimes it’s fun to show up as a palm tree or a walking mushroom and leave everyone else wondering what just happened.
