Here are the Tier Lists for the Best Leaders and Best Civilizations per Age and the Best Leader and Civ combos in Civilization VII (Civ 7). See all the Leaders ranked based on their abilities and Civilizations ranked based on how they perform on their respective Age's Legacy Paths in this guide!

Best Civ 7 Leaders

Civ 7 Leaders Tier List

	・ Catherine the Great ・ Confucius ・ Trung Trac ・ Xerxes (The Achaemenid)
	・ Amina ・ Ashoka (World Renouncer) ・ Ashoka (World Conqueror) ・ Augustus ・ Benjamin Franklin ・ Charlemagne ・ Harriet Tubman ・ Hatshepsut ・ Ibn Battuta ・ Lafayette ・ Machiavelli ・ Tecumseh ・ Xerxes (King of Kings) ・ Napoleon (Emperor) ・ Himiko (Queen of Wa) ・ Jose Rizal
	・ Isabella ・ Pachacuti ・ Napoleon (Revolutionary) ・ Friedrich (Baroque) ・ Friedrich (Oblique) ・ Himiko (High Shaman)

Note: Leaders may become stronger or weaker depending on the Civilizations and strategies used.

Leaders List and All Abilities

S-Tier Leaders

Leader	Explanations
Catherine the Great	・Best Culture Leader ・Focusing on Culture will also increase her Science output ・Gets extra Great Work slots, which means more Culture
Confucius	・Best Science Leader ・High growth rate means more Specialists and Science ・Very easy to use and scales well with every Age
Trung Trac	・Best Military Leader ・Early and fast Commander levels snowball your military ・Science bonuses lets you unlock unit upgrades quickly
Xerxes (The Achaemenid)	・Best Economic Leader ・Gets a ton of Resources from having extra Trade Routes ・Gains Culture and Gold whenever a Trade Route or Road is made

A-Tier Leaders

Leader	Explanations
Amina	・Plains and Deserts are very common tiles, but are not guaranteed when expanding ・Cities can hold a lot of Resources, which in turn means more Gold
Ashoka (World Conqueror)	・Production bonuses lead to more military units ・Guaranteed Celebrations when declaring Formal Wars ・Celebrations may expire before or during a city siege
Ashoka (World Renouncer)	・Happiness bonuses mean more Celebrations and growth ・Flexible playstyle once a strong core empire is built ・May get outpaced by Leaders with clear victory paths
Augustus	・Unique Ability supports having a few Cities and a ton of Towns ・Can easily build up Towns with reduced purchasing costs ・Doesn't need to convert towns to cities to get Culture buildings
Benjamin Franklin	・Can quickly gain high Production and Science ・Gets more Endeavors, which means more Science ・Influence can become scarce, especially in the late-game
Charlemagne	・Happiness bonus helps offset unrest and war weariness ・Celebrations spawn 2 free non-Unique Cavalry Units ・Celebration bonus may run out at a bad time during war
Harriet Tubman	・Great at defending from wars declared towards her ・Disrupt opponents with reduced Espionage costs ・Can't go on the offensive or she'll lose her War Supply bonus
Hatshepsut	・Strong Production bonus on cities next to Navigable Rivers ・Gains a ton of Culture from importing resources ・Can get annoying if the Navigable River floods
Himiko (Queen of Wa)	・Gets a ton of Science from Endeavors and positive relationships ・Saves Influence when supporting Endeavors since it's free ・Lowered Science gains once relationships are bad or Civs get eliminated
Ibn Battuta	・Flexible playstyle thanks to free Attribute Points every age ・Can quickly reveal the map with Scouts and Endeavors ・Can get outpaced by Leaders with clear victory paths
Jose Rizal	・Gets a ton of Culture and Gold from Narrative Events ・More Happiness towards Celebrations, which also last longer
Lafayette	・Extra Policy Slots are always useful for more bonuses ・Gains extra Culture and Happiness for each Settlement ・Can buff up armies with every Tradition in the Government
Machiavelli	・Only Leader that gets a bonus to Influence gains by default ・Gains more Gold if Diplomatic Actions are rejected compared to when they're accepted ・Becomes weaker the more City States and players are eliminated
Napoleon (Emperor)	・Reduce the amount of trade routes rival Leaders' get ・Ton of Gold per Turn for every negative relationship you have ・Trade Routes with a Leader get cancelled if at war with them.
Tecumseh	・More Food, Production, and Combat Strength for every City-State you're a Suzerain of ・Heavily reliant on City-States, and can become crippled the more of them are eliminated
Xerxes (King of Kings)	・Gets bonus Combat Strength when fighting in non-friendly territories ・Gains a ton of Gold from settlements founded by other civs ・Has to go on the offensive to make use of his Unique Ability

B-Tier Leaders

Leader	Explanations
Friedrich (Baroque)	・Capturing Settlements grants you a free Great Work ・Building Culture buildings simultaneously builds your army ・Requires a ton of cities since you can't purchase Culture Buildings in towns
Friedrich (Oblique)	・Army Commanders get the +1 Command Radius upgrade for free ・Building Science buildings simultaneously builds your army ・Requires a ton of cities since you can't purchase Science Buildings in towns
Himiko (High Shaman)	・Gets a Culture boost at the cost of Science, doubled during Celebrations ・Happiness bonuses leads to more Celebrations ・Quickly falls behind in Science unless counteracted
Isabella	・Gains a flat amount of Gold whenever she discovers a Natural Wonder ・Can create or buy a massive navy that also has a reduced maintenance cost ・Highly reliant on Natural Wonders, which are always random
Napoleon (Revolutionary)	・Gains Culture whenever an enemy unit is defeated ・All Land Units gain an extra movement point ・Requires going to war to make use of his Unique Ability
Pachacuti	・Gets extra Food whenever a building's placed beside a mountain ・Saves Happiness when assigning Specialists next to a mountain ・Reliant on Mountains, which aren't always guaranteed when expanding

Best Civ 7 Civilizations

Antiquity Age Civs Tier List

Jump to Age
Antiquity	Exploration	Modern

	・ Egypt ・ Han China ・ Maurya India ・ Maya ・ Persia
	・ Aksum ・ Khmer ・ Mississippian ・ Rome
	・ Greece

List of All Civs (Civilizations)

S-Tier Civs

Civilization	Explanations
Maya	・Lots of Science bonuses on Cities abundant in Vegetated tiles ・Unique Quarter gives Production whenever you research a Tech, which can be abused by repeating Future Tech
Egypt	・Improving tiles on navigable rivers and slotting the Riches of the Duat Tradition makes quick work on the Culture Legacy Path ・Gold obtained from unique infrastructures can be used to buy Buildings or military units
Han China	・Having an additional population on every first Growth Event is a huge advantage in the early game ・Influence buffs can support Science output through multiple Research Collaborations
Maurya India	・Having two Pantheons is huge in any playstyle ・Gain access to the bonus of your choice by triggering Celebrations more frequently
Persia	・Specializes in capturing enemy Settlements ・Immortals recover health when defeating enemy units

A-Tier Civs

Civilization	Explanations
Aksum	・Working on the Economic Legacy Path amasses Gold quickly, which you can use to buy Buildings instead of Production ・Spam Hawilts with Gold to increase Culture output
Khmer	・Unique ability keeps the Food yield of Rivers for the occupying Urban Districts ・Building a Baray on a Settlement with lots of Floodplains allows you to create Specialists fast
Mississippian	・Burning Arrows are good substitutes for Siege units Buildings next to Resource tiles gain bonus Food and Gold
Rome	・Legion gets stronger the more Traditions you slot in ・Traditions also add Culture and Gold yields to the Forum unique Quarter

B-Tier Civs

Civilization	Explanations
Greece	・Not much advantage in the early game towards the Legacy Paths ・Various sources of Influence allow you to befriend Independent Powers faster than most Civs to get the Suzerain bonus and prevent them from raiding your Settlements ・A group of Hoplites can overwhelm enemies

Exploration Age Civs Tier List

Jump to Age
Antiquity	Exploration	Modern

	・ Abbasid ・ Hawai'i ・ Mongolia ・ Shawnee ・ Spain
	・ Inca ・ Majapahit ・ Ming China ・ Norman
	・ Chola ・ Songhai

List of All Civs (Civilizations)

S-Tier Civs

Civilization	Explanations
Abbasid	・A solid choice for the Science Legacy Path due to most of its bonuses enhancing Specialists ・Investing a bit on Food allows you to place more of their amplified Specialists to improve District yields
Hawai'i	・Expanding to a Marine tile grants Culture ・Culture-focused Civ and can pick a Religion with the desired Reliquary early ・Rewards having more Farms and Fishing Boats, both of which are necessary for quick expansions
Mongolia	・Creates a Cavalry unit whenever you capture a Settlement ・Unique Commander and Ranged unit combo can be an unstoppable army ・Conquered Settlements in the Homeland still count towards the Exploration Age Military Legacy Path
Shawnee	・An all-rounder Civ for the Exploration Age ・Settling next to a navigable river allows faster expansion
Spain	・Score Treasure Fleet points faster with increased movement on Treasure Fleets ・Distant Land Settlements gain increased Food and Production ・The Plaza unique Quarter gives bonus Gold for every Distant Land Settlement

A-Tier Civs

Civilization	Explanations
Inca	・Gains most of its bonuses from Mountain tiles, which already give adjacencies to most Buildings ・The Chasqui unique Scout unit can easily reveal areas in the Distant Lands
Majapahit	・The Pedanda unique Missionary unit provides Culture when converting a Settlement ・Provides bonus Culture on Quarters with multiple Exploration Age Buildings ・Increased Production towards Overbuilding with the tier 2 Wayang Civic
Ming China	・Science boost in your capital remains as long as you slot only Traditions to your Social Policy slots ・The Baojia Tradition adds Science to every Resource assigned to your Cities
Norman	・Increased movement for embarked units makes it easier to settle in the Distant Lands ・Unique Settler unit also builds a wall in the City Center when founding a Settlement

B-Tier Civs

Civilization	Explanations
Chola	・Can create lots of Trade Routes for the Resource bonuses ・Advantages of the unique naval units can secure your journey to settling in the Distant Lands
Songhai	・Reliant on navigable rivers for bonuses ・Caravanserai unique Improvement paired with Mines gives large Gold outputs

Modern Age Civs Tier List

Jump to Age
Antiquity	Exploration	Modern

	・ America ・ French Empire ・ Meiji Japan
	・ Buganda ・ Mexico ・ Prussia ・ Qing China ・ Russia
	・ Mughal ・ Siam

List of All Civs (Civilizations)

S-Tier Civs

Civilization	Explanations
America	・Get the Buildings and Units that you need early through the Gold and Production bonuses ・A great Civ choice for any of the Legacy Paths
French Empire	・Avenue unique Quarter helps manage penalties from war weariness ・Unique ability allows you to choose any of the Modern Age Celebrations ・Grouping Garde Imperiale unique Infantries, who can also perform ranged attacks, with Commanders grant them even more Combat Strength
Meiji Japan	・Zaibatsu unique Quarter focuses on increasing Gold and Production ・Replacing old Age Buildings gives Science ・Increased Production towards Naval and Aircraft units and can also receive Science equal to a portion of their Production cost

A-Tier Civs

Civilization	Explanations
Buganda	・Abambowa unique Infantry heals when pillaging tiles, increasing survivability when capturing Settlements ・Increased yields from pillaging and gain additional Culture ・Commanders gain experience when units within their command range pillage tiles
Prussia	・Perfect for warmongering as all Cities gain Production when at war through the Mediatization Tradition ・Increased Combat Strength to all units for every negative relationships with other Civs
Qing China	・Lots of bonuses from creating Trade Routes with other Civs and assigning Resources to Settlements ・Influence can be used for the Research Collaboration to make up for the lack of Science bonuses
Russia	・Emancipation Reform and Westernization Traditions are great for rushing Buildings and Techs, especially if your Cities are already well developed ・Settlements placed on Tundra tiles get the most out of their unique ability and Civics
Mexico	・Specializes in Culture and can complete the Civic Trees fast ・Unique Celebrations from their own Government have powerful effects ・Stacking Traditions greatly increase Science, Culture, and Happiness

B-Tier Civs

Civilization	Explanations
Mughal	・Mayurasana Tradition decreases Gold cost of anything purchasable ・Sepoy unique Infantry can use Bombard attacks ・Might struggle in unlocking nodes in the Tech and Civic Trees due to the reduced yields from their unique ability
Siam	・Can instantly become a Suzerain of an Independent Power at a higher Influence cost ・High Influence output can be used to consistently start and support Endeavors

Best Leader and Civilization Combos

Jump to Victory Condition
Culture	Military	Science	Economic

Best Culture Combo

Leader		Civilizations
Catherine the Great		Egypt Hawai'i Russia / Mexico
Mementos
Great Imperial Crown	Cities gain +5% Science per Great Work on Display (Max 25%)
Altar Set	+1 Culture and Gold from Specialists

Catherine excels at being able to push for a Cultural victory without falling behind in tech thanks to the Science bonus she gets from her Cultural output. This lets her quickly unlock both technologies and civics at the same time.

To supplement her playstyle, you'll want to use the Great Imperial Crown and Altar Set Mementos to further increase the Science and Culture she gets respectively. Alternatively, you can swap out Great Imperial Crown with a different Culture or Growth Memento instead.

Civ 7 Culture Victory Guide

Best Military Combo

Leader		Civilizations
Trung Trac		Persia / Rome Spain Buganda / France
Mementos
The Art of War	+10% Commander Experience, +50% when your Commander is within the Command Radius of a higher level Commander
Great Imperial Crown	Cities gain +5% Science per Great Work on Display (Max 25%)

Trung Trac excels at training Commanders, which are the most important military units in the game since they carry over promotions between ages. Because of this, you'll want to use Civs that rely on grouping around Commanders, along with The Art of War, to quickly train up new Commanders.

Aside from that, she has a generally good bonus to Science, which helps you unlock stronger unit upgrades quickly. To further increase her Science yields, you'll want to use Grand Imperial Crown to stack multipliers and gain even more Science bonuses.

When picking which Civilization to use in the next age, choose one that utilizes units that benefit from your Commander promotions. For example, if your Commanders have Infantry, Land, and Melee promotions. This means you'll want to follow up with Civs whose units can utilize those bonuses as well.

Civ 7 Military Victory Guide

Best Science Combo

Leader		Civilizations
Confucius		Han Ming Qing
Mementos
The Analects Brush & Scroll	+1 Science per Specialist +5% Growth Rate in Cities for every Specialist in that City (Max 25%)
Great Imperial Crown	Cities gain +5% Science per Great Work on Display (Max 25%)

Confucius' strategy revolves on rapidly growing cities to gain Specialists and more Science. Because of this, you'll want to use the Chinese Civilizations, whose Traditions help increase Science and Growth gains.

Another upside of this combination is that it's very easy to use due to Confucius' Unique Ability is simple and straightforward, as well as having both the Ming and Qing Civilizations unlocked by default.

For the Mementos, The Analects and Great Imperial Crown stack upon Confucius and the Chinese Civilizations' Science boosts. However, you can also go with Brush & Scroll over The Analects if you want extra Growth Rate instead.

Best Economic Combo

Leader		Civilizations
Xerxes (The Achaemenid)		Aksum Songhai America
Mementos
Gold Fluted Phiale	+1 Trade Route Limit with all other leaders
Green Colonel's Jacket	+1 Gold per Age per Trade Route, doubled if you have the highest number of Trade Routes

Xerxes, the Achaemenid, is amazing for an Economic Victory due to the extra Trade Routes he gets. This means he gets more resources for his cities, as well as more Culture and Gold thanks to the second part of his Unique Ability.

Since he gets extra Trade Routes, you'll want to support it by using the Gold Fluted Phiale and Green Colonel's Jacket Mementos. However, you could also swap out Gold Fluted Phiale with Lotus Blossom so that you don't fall too far behind in Science and Culture.

Civilization VII (Civ 7) Related Guides

Civilization VII Wiki

All Recommended Guides

Recommended Guides
How to Play Civ 7	Early Game Strategy Guide
The New Ages	Diplomacy Guide
Best Science Mementos	Best Military Mementos
Best Culture Mementos	Ground Combat Guide
Naval Exploration and Combat Guide	What Does Happiness Do
How to Win Wars	-
Leader and Civ Guides
Best Leaders and Civilizations Tier Lists	Best Science Leaders
Best Military Leaders	Best Culture Leaders
Best Economic Leaders and Civs	Best Science Civs
Best Culture Civs	Best Culture Civs
Best Economic Mementos	-
List Pages
List of Mementos	List of All Governments
List of Policies	List of Pantheons
All Unique Units	-