Hello everyone. I've spent a lot of time coming up with this list, with many discussions with others all over the place. We all concluded that this list seems to be the most reasonable and true. Feel free to disagree or place your own list.
Going from weakest to strongest:
11. White Zetsu : Lacks intelligence and strength. That pretty much puts white Zetsu at the bottom of this list. While he can copy others, his abilities are significantly limited compared to the other akatsuki members.
10. Hidan : While possessing an incredible ability to reflect damage onto others, Hidan's weakness is his intelligence. His demeanor and knowledge place him low on this list, since he could easily be dragged into a trap or taken advantage of once his abilities are figured out, unlike the other akatsuki members which would take much more effort.
9. Deidara : Deidara's main strength is in the air. He can harass opponents from the sky and has a considerable amount of clay. However, Deidara's intelligence is questionable although greater than Hidan's and he also has an obvious weakness - lightning based attacks.
8. Kakuzu : Kakuzu has four hearts and is extremely versatile, using four different types of chakra based attacks. In addition to this, Kakuzu is relatively smart but is driven merely by cash. While Kakuzu is strong, he is somewhat slow to react as Kakashi was able to sneak behind him and take out a heart. Ultimately, Kakuzu is relatively intelligent, versatile, and durable, which puts him at 7.
7. Sasori : Known to take out a nation with puppets and arguably intelligent, Sasori has a lot of tools at his disposal. He can harass his enemies with needles, posion, iron sand, and fire to give him an edge. In addition, Sasori is extremely durable, being a puppet. It is also arguable whether or not genjutsu would work on him, since he is not really a human, but a puppet. In addition to all of this, Sasori is an intelligent shinobi, also praised by Deidara.
6. Konan : While Konan's ability of paper doesn't seem to be very strong on the surface, that's not where Konan's real strength lies. Her incredible abilities of analysis and intelligence rank her high on this list. Konan can decipher an enemies strength, and given the time, can prepare an executable attack that works. Water also doesn't work on her paper, one of paper's great weaknesses. I ranked Konan as number 5 for having a very high intelligence and a fast reaction time.
5. Kisame : On the surface, Kisame seems like a brute but has actually many incredible assets. A tremendous amount of chakra, high intelligence and great analysis, and powerful sheer physical strength. Kisame can assault many enemies at once, making water clones and harassing with water sharks and waves, while being able to take chakra with Samehada or even create a massive dome of water. Since many shinobi rely on chakra, Kisame is usually at a huge advantage given his chakra stealing tools. In a large scale fight, Kisame is one of the only Akatsuki members that can fight multiple enemies well given his huge pool of chakra.
4. Itachi : Itachi is one of the strongest akatsuki members, but not the strongest. Itachi has arguably the highest analytical ability, being able to quickly and remarkably find a way to defeat any enemy, no matter their technique. This makes Itachi a great teammate as he can create a strategy incredibly fast. His tools make him a top 1 on 1 fighter, using genjutsu in addition to quick taijutsu and long ranged fireballs and amaterasu. If all else fails, he can use Susanoo to seal an enemy or defend himself with Yata Mirror. All these reasons put Itachi at number 4.
3. Pain (All six paths) : Pain has the rinnegan, allowing him to use all the powers of the six paths. He can steal souls, fire lasers, manipulate gravity, absorb ninjutsu, and revive other paths of pain. This grants pain so much versatility that he can handle nearly anything. If that's not enough, he was one of the original members of the akatsuki, and his knowledge is tremendous. All of this puts pain at number 3.
2. Tobi/Obito : Tobi's ability to warp through space and time makes him invulnerable to nearly any attack that comes at him. Without knowledge of how his abilities work, he is nearly impossible to predict. Being one of the masterminds of the akatsuki, Tobi has proven that his intellect is very high and his chakra is also tremendous given his use of senju DNA combined with sharingan. While not entirely offensive and would most likely not take on a group of enemies, Tobi is all about defense and intellect, evading practically any attack and analyzing his opponent. All of this puts Tobi at number 2.
1. Black Zetsu : I know, you're probably freaking out, allow me to explain. Yes, Black Zetsu was seemingly crushed by Chojuro, but that didn't stop Black Zetsu from absolutely annihilating Sage Madara with one punch. I repeat, one punch. Why was he able to do that? Because Black Zetsu's strength lies in his ability to sneak. Black Zetsu can merge with nature and control it, but his real ability lies in Taking over others, as he was seen nearly taking over Sasuke and Naruto at their strongest form, but they just barely managed to escape him. Black Zetsu's knowledge goes back to the origin of shinobi, and his full capabilities are still unknown. I place him at number 1 since he is technically the brother of the Sage of Six Paths himself and because of that most likely has inherited an enormous amount of chakra and has more knowledge than nearly anyone else in Naruto.
Going from weakest to strongest:
11. White Zetsu : Lacks intelligence and strength. That pretty much puts white Zetsu at the bottom of this list. While he can copy others, his abilities are significantly limited compared to the other akatsuki members.
10. Hidan : While possessing an incredible ability to reflect damage onto others, Hidan's weakness is his intelligence. His demeanor and knowledge place him low on this list, since he could easily be dragged into a trap or taken advantage of once his abilities are figured out, unlike the other akatsuki members which would take much more effort.
9. Deidara : Deidara's main strength is in the air. He can harass opponents from the sky and has a considerable amount of clay. However, Deidara's intelligence is questionable although greater than Hidan's and he also has an obvious weakness - lightning based attacks.
8. Kakuzu : Kakuzu has four hearts and is extremely versatile, using four different types of chakra based attacks. In addition to this, Kakuzu is relatively smart but is driven merely by cash. While Kakuzu is strong, he is somewhat slow to react as Kakashi was able to sneak behind him and take out a heart. Ultimately, Kakuzu is relatively intelligent, versatile, and durable, which puts him at 7.
7. Sasori : Known to take out a nation with puppets and arguably intelligent, Sasori has a lot of tools at his disposal. He can harass his enemies with needles, posion, iron sand, and fire to give him an edge. In addition, Sasori is extremely durable, being a puppet. It is also arguable whether or not genjutsu would work on him, since he is not really a human, but a puppet. In addition to all of this, Sasori is an intelligent shinobi, also praised by Deidara.
6. Konan : While Konan's ability of paper doesn't seem to be very strong on the surface, that's not where Konan's real strength lies. Her incredible abilities of analysis and intelligence rank her high on this list. Konan can decipher an enemies strength, and given the time, can prepare an executable attack that works. Water also doesn't work on her paper, one of paper's great weaknesses. I ranked Konan as number 5 for having a very high intelligence and a fast reaction time.
5. Kisame : On the surface, Kisame seems like a brute but has actually many incredible assets. A tremendous amount of chakra, high intelligence and great analysis, and powerful sheer physical strength. Kisame can assault many enemies at once, making water clones and harassing with water sharks and waves, while being able to take chakra with Samehada or even create a massive dome of water. Since many shinobi rely on chakra, Kisame is usually at a huge advantage given his chakra stealing tools. In a large scale fight, Kisame is one of the only Akatsuki members that can fight multiple enemies well given his huge pool of chakra.
4. Itachi : Itachi is one of the strongest akatsuki members, but not the strongest. Itachi has arguably the highest analytical ability, being able to quickly and remarkably find a way to defeat any enemy, no matter their technique. This makes Itachi a great teammate as he can create a strategy incredibly fast. His tools make him a top 1 on 1 fighter, using genjutsu in addition to quick taijutsu and long ranged fireballs and amaterasu. If all else fails, he can use Susanoo to seal an enemy or defend himself with Yata Mirror. All these reasons put Itachi at number 4.
3. Pain (All six paths) : Pain has the rinnegan, allowing him to use all the powers of the six paths. He can steal souls, fire lasers, manipulate gravity, absorb ninjutsu, and revive other paths of pain. This grants pain so much versatility that he can handle nearly anything. If that's not enough, he was one of the original members of the akatsuki, and his knowledge is tremendous. All of this puts pain at number 3.
2. Tobi/Obito : Tobi's ability to warp through space and time makes him invulnerable to nearly any attack that comes at him. Without knowledge of how his abilities work, he is nearly impossible to predict. Being one of the masterminds of the akatsuki, Tobi has proven that his intellect is very high and his chakra is also tremendous given his use of senju DNA combined with sharingan. While not entirely offensive and would most likely not take on a group of enemies, Tobi is all about defense and intellect, evading practically any attack and analyzing his opponent. All of this puts Tobi at number 2.
1. Black Zetsu : I know, you're probably freaking out, allow me to explain. Yes, Black Zetsu was seemingly crushed by Chojuro, but that didn't stop Black Zetsu from absolutely annihilating Sage Madara with one punch. I repeat, one punch. Why was he able to do that? Because Black Zetsu's strength lies in his ability to sneak. Black Zetsu can merge with nature and control it, but his real ability lies in Taking over others, as he was seen nearly taking over Sasuke and Naruto at their strongest form, but they just barely managed to escape him. Black Zetsu's knowledge goes back to the origin of shinobi, and his full capabilities are still unknown. I place him at number 1 since he is technically the brother of the Sage of Six Paths himself and because of that most likely has inherited an enormous amount of chakra and has more knowledge than nearly anyone else in Naruto.