The team with the most AFL/VFL premierships (i.e., Grand Final wins) is a three-way tie: Collingwood, Essendon and Carlton have each won 16 premierships.

Quick Scoop: Who’s on top?

When people ask “who has won the most AFL Grand Finals?”, they almost always mean clubs, not individual players. On that measure, it’s a shared throne:

  • Collingwood – 16 premierships.
  • Essendon – 16 premierships.
  • Carlton – 16 premierships.

All three built their tallies across the old VFL era and the national AFL era, and they are still treated together in official records.

At a glance (clubs)

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Club</th>
      <th>Premierships (Grand Finals won)</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Collingwood</td>
      <td>16</td>
      <td>Only team to win four Grand Finals in a row (1927–1930).[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Essendon</td>
      <td>16</td>
      <td>One of the oldest and most successful Victorian clubs.[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Carlton</td>
      <td>16</td>
      <td>Dominant in several eras, especially mid‑20th century.[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

If you meant individual players

Records for individual players’ Grand Final wins are a bit more specialised, but several modern and historical players have four premierships, such as Shaun Burgoyne and Isaac Smith , who each collected flags across different eras and clubs. However, the most commonly quoted “who has won the most AFL Grand Finals” answer in media and trivia is this three‑club tie at 16 flags.

In footy forums and pub debates, when someone throws out “who’s won the most Grand Finals?”, the conversation almost always swings to Collingwood vs Essendon vs Carlton and who will “break the tie” in the next decade.

Little bit of story flavour

Across Australia, Grand Final week still sparks arguments about whether Collingwood’s early‑20th‑century run, Carlton’s big‑club swagger, or Essendon’s long‑term consistency deserves the crown as the “true” powerhouse, even though the record books show them locked together on 16 premierships each. Social media lights up every September with fans revisiting those old dynasties and predicting which club will be the first to hit 17.

TL;DR:

  • Most AFL Grand Finals won (clubs): Collingwood, Essendon, Carlton – 16 each.
  • This three‑way tie is the standard answer to “who has won the most AFL Grand Finals?”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.