Chilli heat,
verified.
The world's hottest peppers, ranked by lab-tested Scoville heat. Every number links to its source.
See the rankingHow much hotter?
Typical values from our sourced dataset; real pods vary. Read the full comparison →
The hottest pepper in the world is Pepper X, at an average of 2,693,000 Scoville heat units (Guinness World Records, 2023), about 539× a typical jalapeño. The Carolina Reaper is second at 1,641,183 SHU.
The verifiedranking
| 1 | SuperhotPepper X | Guinness record | 2,693,000 → |
| 2 | Carolina Reaper | Guinness record | 1,641,183 → |
| 3 | Trinidad Scorpion Butch T | Guinness record | 1,463,700 → |
| 4 | Naga Viper | Guinness record | 1,382,118 → |
| 5 | Trinidad Moruga Scorpion | Lab tested | 1,200,000 → |
| 6 | Infinity | Guinness record | 1,176,182 → |
| 7 | 7 Pot Douglah | Lab tested | 1,170,000 → |
| 8 | Ghost Pepper | Lab tested | 1,001,304 → |
| 9 | Extremely hotDalle Khursani | Lab tested | 393,950 → |
| 10 | Very hotRed Savina | Guinness record | 248,556 → |
| 11 | Habanero | Lab tested | 225,000 → |
| 12 | Scotch Bonnet | Lab tested | 225,000 → |
| 13 | Datil | Lab tested | 200,000 → |
| 14 | HotKanthari | Lab tested | 80,640 → |
| 15 | Bird's Eye Chilli | Lab tested | 75,000 → |
| 16 | Cayenne | Lab tested | 40,000 → |
| 17 | Tabasco | Lab tested | 40,000 → |
| 18 | Guntur Chilli | Lab tested | 36,160 → |
| 19 | MediumKashmiri Chilli | Lab tested | 20,800 → |
| 20 | Serrano | Lab tested | 15,000 → |
| 21 | Byadgi Chilli | Lab tested | 10,000 → |
| 22 | Jalapeño | Lab tested | 5,000 → |
Ranked on one comparable typical figure: a certified average or lab mean where one exists, otherwise the middle of a published range. How we rank · Full Scoville chart
Claimed, never lab-tested:
Apollo, Dragon's Breath, 7 Pot Primo, Komodo Dragon, 7 Pot Brain Strain, Dorset Naga, Naga Morich, Fatalii.Their numbers come from breeders, sellers or news reports. Each has a page explaining the claim, but none enters the ranking until a lab test is published.
Grow
Heat starts in the plant. Genetics, weather and stress can make one plant of a variety twice as hot as the next.
Measure
Labs grind dried pods, measure capsaicinoids by HPLC and multiply parts per million by about 16 to get Scoville units.
Verify
Every figure carries its status: Guinness record, lab tested, breeder claim or unverified, and a link to its source.
Rank
Only Guinness and lab-tested figures enter the ranking, each on one comparable typical value.
Head
to head
The Carolina Reaper is about 1.4× hotter than the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. See the comparison.
More match-ups
Questions people ask
What is the hottest pepper in the world?
Pepper X, at an average of 2,693,000 SHU certified by Guinness World Records in 2023. That is about 539× a typical jalapeño. The test was commissioned by its breeder and no independent lab has published a result yet.
Is the Carolina Reaper still the hottest pepper?
No. Carolina Reaper held the Guinness record from 2013 until Pepper X replaced it in 2023. Its certified average is 1,641,183 SHU.
What about Dragon's Breath and Apollo?
Both have been reported as hotter than Pepper X, but neither has a published lab test, method or report. We list them as claims, not in the ranking.
Why do different sites give different Scoville numbers?
Heat changes with genetics, weather and plant stress, and sites mix averages, single hottest pods and marketing claims. We rank only on one comparable typical figure per pepper and show where each number comes from.
What is the hottest chilli in India?
The ghost pepper (Bhut Jolokia) from Northeast India, at about 1,001,304 SHU in New Mexico State University tests. It held the Guinness record in 2007.
Is the Scoville scale logarithmic?
No, it is linear. Pepper X at 2,693,000 SHU is about 1.6× as hot as the Carolina Reaper, not 3× as some news reports said.