Elden Ring - Greataxes

Greataxes deliver the biggest single physical number short of Colossal Weapon prices, weighing 8.5 to 15 and carrying the highest raw base physical damage outside the colossal tiers.

Combat

Pros

The Greataxe itself has the highest base physical damage in the class at 151 and reaches 369 attack rating at maximum standard upgrade, higher than any Greatsword, Halberd or Great Hammer.
Stance damage sits a full tier above Axes and Hammers, at 150 to 184 at maximum standard upgrade against 94 to 128 for Axes and 84 to 130 for Hammers.
Several greataxes enter under 25 Strength (Bonny Butchering Knife 16, Butchering Knife 16, Great Omenkiller Cleaver 23, Death Knight's Longhaft Axe 23), so the class is usable well before a 30 Strength investment.
Build variety at the top is genuine, with 151 physical on the Greataxe, 120 holy on Gargoyle's Black Axe, 73 lightning on Death Knight's Longhaft Axe and D Arcane on the Putrescence Cleaver.

Cons

Weight is the real cost, from 8.5 (Bonny Butchering Knife) to 15 (Executioner's Greataxe), against 2.5 to 7.5 for Axes.
Strength requirements run from 16 to 34, and the two best raw-damage picks are the two most expensive, the Greataxe at 30 Strength and the Executioner's Greataxe at 34.
Stance damage of 150 to 184 is still well below Great Hammers (154 to 218) and Colossal Weapons (Giant-Crusher 224), so this is the wrong class when stance-breaking is the goal.
Scaling is unremarkable at +0. The best Strength grade is C (Rusted Anchor, Executioner's Greataxe, Gargoyle's Great Axe, Bonny Butchering Knife) and the best Dexterity grade is C on the Butchering Knife alone.

Builds

There are two clean stopping points.

At 24 Strength and 8 Dexterity the Longhaft Axe (146 base) and Gargoyle's Great Axe open up, and at 30 Strength and 8 Dexterity the Greataxe itself, the class's damage ceiling.
Going to 34 Strength only buys the Executioner's Greataxe, which costs 4 more Strength and 2 more weight for 16 extra stance damage and a 115 critical rating over the Greataxe, worth it only for stance-breaking or riposting.
Dexterity builds have one real option in 20 Dexterity for the Butchering Knife or Bonny Butchering Knife.
Faith builds want 22 Faith for Gargoyle's Black Axe or 18 Faith for Death Knight's Longhaft Axe.
Heavy affinity is not worth taking for the letter grade alone, since standard affinity beats it on attack rating for every greataxe.

Build	Weapon	Optimal Stats
Hardest physical hit	Greataxe	151
Best for a Dexterity build	Butchering Knife	C scaling
Best for critical hits	Executioner's Greataxe	115 critical

Best Weapons

Weapon	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc
Greataxe	151	13	30	8	-	-	-
Executioner's Greataxe	150	15	34	8	-	-	-
Rusted Anchor	147	12.5	26	9	-	-	-
Bonny Butchering Knife	134	8.5	16	20	-	-	-
Butchering Knife	134	8.5	16	20	-	-	-

Notes

Greataxes deal large damage and break guards easily, but their slow attacks leave the wielder open, and they truly shine with charged heavy attacks.
Stance damage at maximum standard upgrade is 150 on the Great Omenkiller Cleaver and Winged Greathorn, 160 on the Butchering Knife, Bonny Butchering Knife, Gargoyle's Great Axe, Gargoyle's Black Axe and Axe of Godrick, 164 on Death Knight's Longhaft Axe, 168 on the Greataxe, Longhaft Axe, Crescent Moon Axe and Rotten Greataxe, 176 on the Rusted Anchor and Putrescence Cleaver, and 184 on the Executioner's Greataxe.
A Heavy affinity buys stance damage rather than attack rating, taking the Rusted Anchor from 176 to 193 and the Executioner's Greataxe from 184 to 202.
Damage type is Standard across the class except the Rusted Anchor (Pierce) and Putrescence Cleaver (Slash), so only the Rusted Anchor can land a thrusting counterattack.
The Bonny Butchering Knife, Death Knight's Longhaft Axe and Putrescence Cleaver belong to the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.

All Greataxes

The table below lists all Greataxes in Elden Ring.

Name	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Axe of Godrick	142 50	0 35	0 35	0 35	0 35	100 35	11	D 34	D 22	0	0	100	I Command Thee, Kneel!
Bonny Butchering Knife	134 58.0	0 31.0	0 31.0	0 31.0	0 31.0	100 37	8.5	C 16	D 20	0	0	0	Hone Blade
Butchering Knife	134 58	0 31	0 31	0 31	0 31	100 37	8.5	E 16	C 20	0	0	200	Barbaric Roar
Crescent Moon Axe	146 68	0 36	0 36	0 36	0 36	100 44	12.5	D 25	D 15	0	0	100	War Cry
Death Knight's Longhaft Axe	113 61.0	0 32.0	0 32.0	73 46.0	0 32.0	100 43	11.5	D 23	E 10	D 18	0	0	Blinkbolt: Long-hafted Axe
Executioner's Greataxe	150 74	0 40	0 40	0 40	0 40	115 48	15	C 34	E 8	0	0	200	War Cry
Gargoyle's Black Axe	100 49	0 27	0 27	0 27	120 54	100 37	8.5	D 24	E 8	D 22	0	200	War Cry
Gargoyle's Great Axe	123 58	0 31	0 31	0 31	0 31	100 37	8.5	C 24	E 8	0	0	200	War Cry
Great Omenkiller Cleaver	142 63	0 33	0 33	0 33	0 45	100 42	11	D 23	D 12	0	0	200	Wild Strikes
Greataxe	151 69	0 37	0 37	0 37	0 37	100 45	13	D 30	D 8	0	0	100	Barbaric Roar
Longhaft Axe	146 68	0 36	0 36	0 36	0 36	100 44	12.5	D 24	D 8	0	0	100	War Cry
Putrescence Cleaver	141 66.0	42 44.0	0 38.0	0 38.0	0 38.0	100 46	13.5	D 28	E 10	0	D 15	0	Spinning Guillotine
Rusted Anchor	147 68	0 36	0 36	0 36	0 36	100 44	12.5	C 26	E 9	0	0	200	Barbaric Roar
Winged Greathorn	130 50	0 35	0 35	0 35	0 35	100 35	11	D 30	D 20	0	0	100	Soul Stifler