Hottest Peppers in the World, Ranked by Scoville Heat
Pepper X is the hottest pepper in this ranking at 2,693,000 SHU. 4,243 chili pepper varieties are ranked here by Scoville heat units, hottest first.
Ranks 1–20 of 4,243 · browse the full database
- 1Pepper XC. chinense2,693,000 SHU
- =2Dragon's BreathC. chinense2,480,000 SHU
- =2Dragon's Breath StingerC. chinense2,480,000 SHU
- =4Carolina ReaperC. chinense1,641,183–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Big Black Mamba × Reaper BrownC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4BOC × ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Chocolate ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Clavo Red × ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Faddas Reaper PerfumeC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Golden ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Jays Pink Reaper Lemon PeachyC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Kaos × Purple ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Leopard ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Maroon ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Mustard ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Naga ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Nagabrain × Reaper ChocolateC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Obeah × ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4Orange ReaperC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
- =4PDN × Reaper OrangeC. chinense1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU
How to read these numbers
Ranked on the upper Scoville figure held for each variety. Capsaicin content swings with the seed line, the soil, the weather and where on the plant a pod grew, and two labs testing the same harvest can return different numbers. Very few of these varieties have ever been through a certified test; most figures trace to a breeder or a seed seller rather than a laboratory.
No warranty. WikiPepper publishes these figures as reported and warranties none of them. Treat a Scoville number as a claim about one harvest, not a property of the variety, and do not rely on it for anything that matters.
A rank marked = is shared: those varieties hold the same upper figure, usually because one breeder’s published number was applied across a family, so their order on the page carries no meaning. 958 varieties have no Scoville figure recorded at all and are not ranked; they still appear in the database. Spotted a figure you can source? Tell us.