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Top 10 Planets and Dwarf Planets by Number of Moons

The ten planets and dwarf planets in our Solar System with the most confirmed moons, ranked by the number of known natural satellites in orbit.

Updated July 23, 2026 10 ranked 3 sources

Quick answer: 1. Saturn, 2. Jupiter, 3. Uranus, 4. Neptune, 5. Pluto, 6. Mars, 7. Haumea, 8. Earth, 9. Eris, 10. Makemake.

Of the Solar System's eight planets and five IAU-recognized dwarf planets, most are known to be orbited by at least one natural satellite — or moon. The giant planets Saturn and Jupiter dominate the ranking with hundreds of moons each, while the inner planets Mercury and Venus have none. New moons continue to be discovered, especially around Saturn and Jupiter, as telescope technology improves. This list reflects confirmed moon counts as of 2025–2026.

Confirmed moons

Confirmed moons
Saturn
293 moons
Jupiter
115 moons
Uranus
29 moons
Neptune
16 moons
Pluto
5 moons
Mars
2 moons
Haumea
2 moons
Earth
1 moon
Eris
1 moon
Makemake
1 moon

The ranking

1

Saturn

The ringed giant has the most moons of any planet in the Solar System, with 293 confirmed moons as of 2025. It has seven moons large enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, including Titan — the second-largest moon in the Solar System, with its own thick atmosphere. New irregular moons continue to be discovered around Saturn each year.

type: Planet (gas giant)diameter_km: 120536largest_moon: Titan (5,150 km diameter)notable_moons: Titan, Enceladus, Mimas, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Iapetus
2

Jupiter

Jupiter is the second most moon-rich planet with 115 confirmed moons. Its four largest — the Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto — were discovered by Galileo in 1610. Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System at 5,268 km in diameter, larger than the planet Mercury. Europa is a prime candidate in the search for extraterrestrial life due to its subsurface ocean.

type: Planet (gas giant)diameter_km: 142984largest_moon: Ganymede (5,268 km diameter)notable_moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
3

Uranus

Uranus has 29 known moons, all named after characters from the works of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. The five major moons — Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon — are large enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium. The rest are tiny irregular moons discovered by the Voyager 2 flyby and later by the Hubble Space Telescope.

type: Planet (ice giant)diameter_km: 51118largest_moon: Titania (1,578 km diameter)notable_moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon
4

Neptune

Neptune has 16 known moons. By far the largest is Triton, which accounts for more than 99.5% of all mass orbiting the planet. Triton is unique among large moons for its retrograde orbit, suggesting it was a dwarf planet captured by Neptune's gravity. It is also one of the coldest known bodies in the Solar System at -235°C.

type: Planet (ice giant)diameter_km: 49528largest_moon: Triton (2,707 km diameter)notable_moons: Triton, Nereid, Proteus, Naiad
5

Pluto

Though reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, Pluto has a surprisingly complex moon system with five confirmed moons. The largest, Charon, is more than half as large as Pluto itself, forming a binary system where both bodies orbit a point outside Pluto's surface. The other four — Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra — were discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope.

type: Dwarf planetdiameter_km: 2377largest_moon: Charon (1,212 km diameter)notable_moons: Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, Hydra
6

Mars

The Red Planet has two small, irregularly shaped moons: Phobos and Deimos (Greek for 'fear' and 'dread'). They are likely captured asteroids from the nearby Main Belt. Phobos, the larger at about 22 km across, is slowly spiraling toward Mars and will either crash into the planet or break apart into a ring in about 30–50 million years.

type: Planet (terrestrial)diameter_km: 6792largest_moon: Phobos (22 km diameter)notable_moons: Phobos, Deimos
7

Haumea

This elongated dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt has two known moons: Hi'iaka and Namaka, named after Hawaiian goddesses. Haumea is notable for its rapid rotation (less than four hours), which gives it its distinctive football-like shape. Its moons are thought to have formed from a collision that also created Haumea's icy ring system.

type: Dwarf planetdiameter_km: 1240largest_moon: Hi'iaka (~310 km diameter)notable_moons: Hi'iaka, Namaka
8

Earth

Earth has one large natural satellite — simply called the Moon. At 3,474 km in diameter, it is the largest moon relative to its planet in the Solar System and the fifth-largest moon overall. The Moon is believed to have formed from debris after a Mars-sized object collided with the early Earth. It is the only celestial body beyond Earth that humans have visited.

type: Planet (terrestrial)diameter_km: 12756largest_moon: The Moon (3,474 km diameter)notable_moons: The Moon
9

Eris

Eris is the most massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the largest body yet found in the scattered disc of the Kuiper Belt. It has one known moon, Dysnomia, named after the daughter of the Greek goddess Eris. The discovery of Eris in 2005 was the catalyst that led the IAU to create the dwarf planet classification and reclassify Pluto.

type: Dwarf planetdiameter_km: 2326largest_moon: Dysnomia (~700 km diameter)notable_moons: Dysnomia
10

Makemake

This Kuiper Belt dwarf planet was discovered in 2005 and named after the creation deity of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island. It has one known moon, provisionally designated S/2015 (136472) 1 and nicknamed MK2, discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2015. Makemake's surface is covered in frozen methane and ethane, giving it a reddish appearance.

type: Dwarf planetdiameter_km: 1430largest_moon: MK2 / S/2015 (136472) 1notable_moons: MK2

Full comparison

# Name typediameter_kmlargest_moonnotable_moons
1 Saturn Planet (gas giant)120536Titan (5,150 km diameter)Titan, Enceladus, Mimas, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Iapetus
2 Jupiter Planet (gas giant)142984Ganymede (5,268 km diameter)Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
3 Uranus Planet (ice giant)51118Titania (1,578 km diameter)Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon
4 Neptune Planet (ice giant)49528Triton (2,707 km diameter)Triton, Nereid, Proteus, Naiad
5 Pluto Dwarf planet2377Charon (1,212 km diameter)Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, Hydra
6 Mars Planet (terrestrial)6792Phobos (22 km diameter)Phobos, Deimos
7 Haumea Dwarf planet1240Hi'iaka (~310 km diameter)Hi'iaka, Namaka
8 Earth Planet (terrestrial)12756The Moon (3,474 km diameter)The Moon
9 Eris Dwarf planet2326Dysnomia (~700 km diameter)Dysnomia
10 Makemake Dwarf planet1430MK2 / S/2015 (136472) 1MK2

How we ranked this

Ranking metric: number of confirmed moons (natural satellites) with known orbits, as cataloged by NASA's Solar System Exploration program and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The count includes all confirmed moons, from major spherical bodies like Ganymede and Titan down to small irregular satellites only a few kilometers across. Objects are ranked by total confirmed moons, highest first. Ties are broken by object type (planet before dwarf planet).

FAQ

Which planet has the most moons?

Saturn has the most moons with 293 confirmed as of 2025, surpassing Jupiter's 115 moons. Saturn's moon count continues to grow as new irregular satellites are discovered.

Which planets have no moons?

Mercury and Venus have no moons. Earth has one, Mars has two, and the outer planets have dozens to hundreds each.

What is the difference between a planet and a dwarf planet?

According to the IAU, a planet must orbit the Sun, have enough mass to be round, and have cleared its orbital neighborhood of other debris. Dwarf planets meet the first two criteria but have not cleared their orbits. The five recognized dwarf planets are Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.

Why do the giant planets have so many more moons than the inner planets?

Gas giants have much stronger gravitational fields that allow them to capture passing asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects as irregular moons. Their larger Hill spheres (the region where their gravity dominates) also help them retain more satellites.

Sources