Buff Doge vs Cheems

2020Image macro / comparison templatesemi-active

Also known as: Swole Doge vs Cheems · Chad Doge vs Cheems

Buff Doge vs Cheems is a 2020 comparison image-macro meme pairing a buff and weaker Shiba Inu to contrast superior past versions of things with their inferior modern equivalents.

Buff Doge vs Cheems is a two-panel comparison meme that places a muscular Shiba Inu ("Swole Doge" or "Chad Doge") next to a smaller, less impressive Shiba Inu ("Cheems") to contrast something impressive from the past with its weaker modern equivalent. The format first appeared on Facebook in February 2020 and went massively viral across Reddit and Twitter by May 20202. It mirrors the Virgin vs. Chad template but swaps in two beloved Doge characters, making it one of the most popular comparison memes of the early 2020s1.

doge family memestwo panel memescomparison memesnostalgia memesshiba inu memes

Overview

The meme uses a side-by-side format with two Shiba Inu characters. On one side stands Swole Doge, a cartoonishly muscular dog with a ripped human body and the face of Kabosu, the original Doge Shiba Inu1. On the other side is Cheems, a round-faced Shiba Inu named Balltze, often depicted as small, meek, or holding a cheeseburger1. The left panel (Swole Doge) typically represents something from the past portrayed as strong, competent, or cool. The right panel (Cheems) represents the modern-day version of the same thing, shown as weak, soft, or diminished. Text labels describe each side's traits.

The format taps into a common nostalgia-driven joke structure: things used to be tougher, better, or more intense, and now they're not. It works for everything from comparing historical warriors to modern soldiers, old-school video games to current ones, or past generations to present ones.

The Swole Doge character came first. On July 7, 2019, Reddit user purnya232 posted the original muscular Doge illustration to the r/Dogelore subreddit1. The character took Kabosu's iconic face and stuck it on an absurdly buff humanoid body. Early uses of Swole Doge were surprisingly wholesome, with the muscular dog making progressive and supportive statements rather than aggressive ones1.

The actual comparison format pairing Swole Doge against Cheems didn't appear until months later. On February 5, 2020, the Facebook page Doges artesanales published what appears to be the earliest version of the two-character meme2. That post pulled in over 10,000 shares, 3,300 reactions, and 510 comments within four months2.

Both characters draw from real dogs. Swole Doge's face comes from Kabosu, the Shiba Inu owned by Atsuko Sato whose photo first circulated online on February 13, 20101. Cheems is based on Balltze, a different Shiba Inu entirely1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (Swole Doge character, 2019), Facebook (combined format, 2020)
Key People
purnya232, Doges artesanales
Date
2020

The Swole Doge character came first. On July 7, 2019, Reddit user purnya232 posted the original muscular Doge illustration to the r/Dogelore subreddit. The character took Kabosu's iconic face and stuck it on an absurdly buff humanoid body. Early uses of Swole Doge were surprisingly wholesome, with the muscular dog making progressive and supportive statements rather than aggressive ones.

The actual comparison format pairing Swole Doge against Cheems didn't appear until months later. On February 5, 2020, the Facebook page Doges artesanales published what appears to be the earliest version of the two-character meme. That post pulled in over 10,000 shares, 3,300 reactions, and 510 comments within four months.

Both characters draw from real dogs. Swole Doge's face comes from Kabosu, the Shiba Inu owned by Atsuko Sato whose photo first circulated online on February 13, 2010. Cheems is based on Balltze, a different Shiba Inu entirely.

How It Spread

The format sat relatively quiet for about three months after its Facebook debut. The breakout moment came on May 13, 2020, when Twitter user @olvidam_ese posted a variation that racked up over 12,300 likes and 1,300 retweets. Other Twitter users including @therealbuni and @unhilo followed with their own versions, pushing the template further into viral territory.

Reddit caught on fast. On May 16, 2020, Redditor DiegoGamer25 posted a version comparing his dad at 17 to himself at 17, pulling 13,900 upvotes on r/animemes and over 38,400 upvotes on r/dankmemes in a single week. Three days later, Redditor PEKE19 dropped a meme about priests in 1450 versus 2020 that exploded to over 83,900 upvotes, triggering a massive surge of new posts using the format.

The template spread rapidly across both platforms through late May 2020. Users applied it to compare everything from historical figures to anime characters. On May 20, a Hatsune Miku version by Redditor ElCreeperX hit 11,400 upvotes on r/animemes. On May 23, Twitter user @PrinceT0xic compiled four format examples into a single tweet that pulled 25,800 retweets and 69,600 likes, sparking another wave of adoption on Twitter.

Facebook kept pace throughout this period. Reposts by users like Kusraevi Klei and Seiba brought the format back to the platform where it originated, collecting hundreds of reactions and shares each.

Platforms

TwitterRedditTikTokInstagramYouTube

Timeline

2019

Buff Doge vs Cheems format emerges

2020

Becomes one of the most popular meme formats

2021-01-01

Buff Doge vs Cheems reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

2022-01-01

Brands and companies started using Buff Doge vs Cheems in marketing

2024

Is still going strong and extremely popular

2025-01-01

Buff Doge vs Cheems is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The format follows a simple two-panel structure:

1

Pick a category or group that exists in two time periods (or two contrasting versions)

2

Place Swole Doge on the left representing the "superior" or past version

3

Place Cheems on the right representing the "inferior" or modern version

4

Add text labels describing each side's characteristics

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

Buff Doge vs Cheems became one of the defining meme formats of 2020, arriving right as pandemic lockdowns kept millions of people online and hungry for shareable content. The format's appeal came from its versatility. Any two things that could be compared on a strong-vs-weak axis fit the template, from serious historical comparisons to completely absurd ones.

The meme also extended the lifespan of both the Doge and Cheems characters, keeping them relevant in meme culture well beyond their individual viral peaks. It introduced Cheems to a much wider audience and helped establish Swole Doge as a distinct character separate from the original Doge.

Fun Facts

Swole Doge's earliest appearances on r/Dogelore featured him making unexpectedly progressive statements, not flexing superiority over anyone.

The format sat dormant for over three months between its February 2020 Facebook debut and its May 2020 viral explosion.

Swole Doge and Cheems are based on two completely different real-life Shiba Inus: Kabosu and Balltze.

The single most viral Reddit post using the format (the priests comparison) got nearly 84,000 upvotes in one week.

Derivatives & Variations

Numerous comparison variations

A variation of Buff Doge vs Cheems

(2019)

Custom buff doge vs weak versions

A variation of Buff Doge vs Cheems

(2019)

Extended comparison formats

A variation of Buff Doge vs Cheems

(2019)

Frequently Asked Questions

Buff Doge vs Cheems

2020Image macro / comparison templatesemi-active

Also known as: Swole Doge vs Cheems · Chad Doge vs Cheems

Buff Doge vs Cheems is a 2020 comparison image-macro meme pairing a buff and weaker Shiba Inu to contrast superior past versions of things with their inferior modern equivalents.

Buff Doge vs Cheems is a two-panel comparison meme that places a muscular Shiba Inu ("Swole Doge" or "Chad Doge") next to a smaller, less impressive Shiba Inu ("Cheems") to contrast something impressive from the past with its weaker modern equivalent. The format first appeared on Facebook in February 2020 and went massively viral across Reddit and Twitter by May 2020. It mirrors the Virgin vs. Chad template but swaps in two beloved Doge characters, making it one of the most popular comparison memes of the early 2020s.

doge family memes two panel memes comparison memes nostalgia memes shiba inu memes

Overview

The meme uses a side-by-side format with two Shiba Inu characters. On one side stands Swole Doge, a cartoonishly muscular dog with a ripped human body and the face of Kabosu, the original Doge Shiba Inu. On the other side is Cheems, a round-faced Shiba Inu named Balltze, often depicted as small, meek, or holding a cheeseburger. The left panel (Swole Doge) typically represents something from the past portrayed as strong, competent, or cool. The right panel (Cheems) represents the modern-day version of the same thing, shown as weak, soft, or diminished. Text labels describe each side's traits.

The format taps into a common nostalgia-driven joke structure: things used to be tougher, better, or more intense, and now they're not. It works for everything from comparing historical warriors to modern soldiers, old-school video games to current ones, or past generations to present ones.

The Swole Doge character came first. On July 7, 2019, Reddit user purnya232 posted the original muscular Doge illustration to the r/Dogelore subreddit. The character took Kabosu's iconic face and stuck it on an absurdly buff humanoid body. Early uses of Swole Doge were surprisingly wholesome, with the muscular dog making progressive and supportive statements rather than aggressive ones.

The actual comparison format pairing Swole Doge against Cheems didn't appear until months later. On February 5, 2020, the Facebook page Doges artesanales published what appears to be the earliest version of the two-character meme. That post pulled in over 10,000 shares, 3,300 reactions, and 510 comments within four months.

Both characters draw from real dogs. Swole Doge's face comes from Kabosu, the Shiba Inu owned by Atsuko Sato whose photo first circulated online on February 13, 2010. Cheems is based on Balltze, a different Shiba Inu entirely.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (Swole Doge character, 2019), Facebook (combined format, 2020)
Key People
purnya232, Doges artesanales
Date
2020

The Swole Doge character came first. On July 7, 2019, Reddit user purnya232 posted the original muscular Doge illustration to the r/Dogelore subreddit. The character took Kabosu's iconic face and stuck it on an absurdly buff humanoid body. Early uses of Swole Doge were surprisingly wholesome, with the muscular dog making progressive and supportive statements rather than aggressive ones.

The actual comparison format pairing Swole Doge against Cheems didn't appear until months later. On February 5, 2020, the Facebook page Doges artesanales published what appears to be the earliest version of the two-character meme. That post pulled in over 10,000 shares, 3,300 reactions, and 510 comments within four months.

Both characters draw from real dogs. Swole Doge's face comes from Kabosu, the Shiba Inu owned by Atsuko Sato whose photo first circulated online on February 13, 2010. Cheems is based on Balltze, a different Shiba Inu entirely.

How It Spread

The format sat relatively quiet for about three months after its Facebook debut. The breakout moment came on May 13, 2020, when Twitter user @olvidam_ese posted a variation that racked up over 12,300 likes and 1,300 retweets. Other Twitter users including @therealbuni and @unhilo followed with their own versions, pushing the template further into viral territory.

Reddit caught on fast. On May 16, 2020, Redditor DiegoGamer25 posted a version comparing his dad at 17 to himself at 17, pulling 13,900 upvotes on r/animemes and over 38,400 upvotes on r/dankmemes in a single week. Three days later, Redditor PEKE19 dropped a meme about priests in 1450 versus 2020 that exploded to over 83,900 upvotes, triggering a massive surge of new posts using the format.

The template spread rapidly across both platforms through late May 2020. Users applied it to compare everything from historical figures to anime characters. On May 20, a Hatsune Miku version by Redditor ElCreeperX hit 11,400 upvotes on r/animemes. On May 23, Twitter user @PrinceT0xic compiled four format examples into a single tweet that pulled 25,800 retweets and 69,600 likes, sparking another wave of adoption on Twitter.

Facebook kept pace throughout this period. Reposts by users like Kusraevi Klei and Seiba brought the format back to the platform where it originated, collecting hundreds of reactions and shares each.

Platforms

TwitterRedditTikTokInstagramYouTube

Timeline

2019

Buff Doge vs Cheems format emerges

2020

Becomes one of the most popular meme formats

2021-01-01

Buff Doge vs Cheems reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

2022-01-01

Brands and companies started using Buff Doge vs Cheems in marketing

2024

Is still going strong and extremely popular

2025-01-01

Buff Doge vs Cheems is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The format follows a simple two-panel structure:

1

Pick a category or group that exists in two time periods (or two contrasting versions)

2

Place Swole Doge on the left representing the "superior" or past version

3

Place Cheems on the right representing the "inferior" or modern version

4

Add text labels describing each side's characteristics

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

Buff Doge vs Cheems became one of the defining meme formats of 2020, arriving right as pandemic lockdowns kept millions of people online and hungry for shareable content. The format's appeal came from its versatility. Any two things that could be compared on a strong-vs-weak axis fit the template, from serious historical comparisons to completely absurd ones.

The meme also extended the lifespan of both the Doge and Cheems characters, keeping them relevant in meme culture well beyond their individual viral peaks. It introduced Cheems to a much wider audience and helped establish Swole Doge as a distinct character separate from the original Doge.

Fun Facts

Swole Doge's earliest appearances on r/Dogelore featured him making unexpectedly progressive statements, not flexing superiority over anyone.

The format sat dormant for over three months between its February 2020 Facebook debut and its May 2020 viral explosion.

Swole Doge and Cheems are based on two completely different real-life Shiba Inus: Kabosu and Balltze.

The single most viral Reddit post using the format (the priests comparison) got nearly 84,000 upvotes in one week.

Derivatives & Variations

Numerous comparison variations

A variation of Buff Doge vs Cheems

(2019)

Custom buff doge vs weak versions

A variation of Buff Doge vs Cheems

(2019)

Extended comparison formats

A variation of Buff Doge vs Cheems

(2019)

Frequently Asked Questions