Who has the most MLS Cup titles?

Find out who has the most MLS Cup championships, including a list of the top-winning teams and their trophy records.

First played in 1996, MLS Cup is the championship match that decides Major League Soccer’s playoff winner each season.

The game brings together the winner of the Eastern Conference Final and the winner of the Western Conference Final, following several rounds of knockout matches. Unlike leagues decided purely by table position, MLS uses this postseason format to crown its champion.

Winning the MLS Cup carries more than just bragging rights. The champion earns a place in the following season’s Concacaf Champions Cup, provided the club is based in the United States, adding continental qualification to domestic success.

Because the title is decided in a playoff rather than across a full season, MLS Cup history tells a slightly different story from league tables. Some teams have dominated the regular season without lifting the trophy, while others have built their legacy almost entirely through postseason success.

That’s what makes MLS Cup records worth digging into.

Who has won the most MLS Cup titles?

LA Galaxy are the most successful club in MLS Cup history, with six titles.

They won the MLS Cup in:

• 2002

• 2005

• 2011

• 2012

• 2014

• 2024

No other club comes close to matching that total. LA Galaxy have also appeared in 10 MLS Cup finals, more than any other team in the league’s history

LA Galaxy’s success is special, as it didn’t come from one golden generation. It stretched across different eras, different coaches, and very different squads. That kind of longevity is rare in MLS, which makes their record stand out even more.

The MLS clubs with multiple MLS Cup wins

Only a small group of clubs have managed to win MLS Cup more than once:

• LA Galaxy – 6

• D.C. United – 4

• Columbus Crew – 3

• Sporting Kansas City – 2

• San Jose Earthquakes – 2

• Houston Dynamo – 2

• Seattle Sounders – 2

After that, the list opens up quickly. Many clubs have won once, and a surprising number have never lifted up the cup at all.

How many MLS Cups has Inter Miami won?

Inter Miami won their first MLS Cup in 2025, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3–1 in the final.

It was a landmark moment for a club that only joined MLS in 2020. The win capped a season shaped heavily by Lionel Messi’s influence, but it wasn’t a one-man operation. Miami navigated a long schedule, heavy expectations, and playoff pressure to get over the line.

They now sit among MLS Cup winners, but history suggests the harder task comes next…staying at the top. 

Why winning MLS Cup repeatedly is so difficult

The regular season rewards teams that can stay steady over months, but the playoffs work very differently. 

A team can look strong all year and still be knocked out by one bad performance. There’s very little room to recover once the playoffs start and injuries, suspensions, and fixture congestion all matter more when there’s no time to reset.

On top of that, MLS is built to prevent long runs of dominance. The spread of winners isn’t accidental, it’s by design. MLS is built around competitive balance, with salary caps, roster rules, allocation mechanisms, and expansion drafts all work to limit long-running dominance, for better or for worse. 

That’s why MLS Cup winners change so often, and why clubs that manage to lift the trophy multiple times stand out.

What MLS Cup records actually tell us

MLS Cup totals don’t always identify the “best” team in any given season. It just highlights clubs that handled pressure well when the margins were smallest.

It also shows which organizations adapted across eras. Rule changes, expansion, and tactical shifts have reshaped the league several times. Clubs that kept winning did so by adjusting tactics and changing their game, instead of standing still.

That’s why LA Galaxy’s record still carries weight, even as newer teams start adding titles of their own.

Play along with the MLS Cup’s biggest moments with Match Bingo

Follow how the game is taking shape while it’s still being played. And even when the result doesn’t land where you hoped, there’s still something to follow from kickoff to the last whistle.

Download Match Bingo and stay connected throughout the MLS Cup.