Best How i Met your Mother characters

565 duels later, Barney is still #1 in the How I Met Your Mother ranking, with Robin close behind at 1216 ELO points.

Barney dominates with 1361 ELO points and a 74% win rate across 46 duels, but the real story sits just below. A 145-point gap separates him from Robin in second place, the widest margin in the entire ranking. From there, the race tightens: only 9 points divide Robin from Lily in third, and Marshall trails in fourth with 1113 points. Ted lands at the bottom with 1080 ELO and a 33% win rate, a stark reminder that being the narrator doesn't win you fans. The community has spoken, and the guy who told the story for nine seasons finishes last among the core five.

This ranking draws from 565 duels cast by 80 players across all 5 contenders, updated on 11 October 2026. Barney's lead looks solid, but Robin and Lily are neck and neck, and every new vote reshapes the middle of the pack. Head to the How I Met Your Mother TopList and pick your favorite in a direct duel—your choice shifts the ELO scores and decides who climbs or falls. The ranking stays live as long as the votes keep coming.

Updated on October 11, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →