Top 15 Hottest Peppers in the World, Ranked 2024 (Much Hotter than Ghost Reppers)

#1.                            Apollo Pepper 

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 3,200,000 

At the top of the list of unofficial hottest peppers in the world is the Apollo pepper. This pepper was also created by Ed Currie, who created the Carolina Reaper pepper. To make this pepper, he crossbred the Carolina Reaper pepper with his other creation, Pepper X. 

Unfortunately, there is not a lot out there about this pepper, but it is said to be earthy and fruity in flavor, with a powerful kick of heat. Although there are no official photos of the pepper, one can infer that the pepper will likely be wrinkly in appearance and orangish-red in color when fully mature.

The Last Dab: Apollo is the only sauce in the world made with the Apollo Pepper. 

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#2.                            Pepper X

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 3,180,000 

Remember that spicy pepper strong enough to singe your airways and numb your skin as effectively as medical-grade anaesthesia? It's been only a few short months, but the Dragon's Breath chile has already been knocked off its flaming throne: Say hello to Pepper X.

Unlike the Dragon's Breath, though, you can actually try Pepper X for yourself—if you're dumb brave enough. You can find it inside The Last Dab, a special-edition hot sauce produced by hot sauce company Heatonist and First We Feast. Apparently, the sauce itself is hotter than raw Carolina Reapers.

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According to First We Feast, the satanic pepper has been in development for the past decade by cultivator Ed Currie. Just consider this a bit of payback—Currie was the one who originally developed the Carolina Reaper, which for a while claimed the title of hottest pepper until the Dragon's Breath stole the spotlight.

At 3.18 million Scoville units, Pepper X eclipses the already (stupidly) fiery Dragon's Breath by more than 500,000 units. Again, to put things in perspective, the everyday jalapeño maxes out at a lowly 10,000 on the Scoville scale, meaning Pepper X is around 300 times as spicy. (It's also around 30 times as hot as the already-excruciating habanero, which is enough to leave us sweating the rest of the afternoon.)

The Last Dab hot sauce's "Pepper X" has a heat beyond anything we've ever seen. Smokin' Ed Curry, the inventor of the Carolina Reaper, came up with this latest pepper creation. With double the heat of the Reaper, it easily blows the world's current hottest chili, the Dragon's Breath, out of the water. Hot Ones' custom sauce isn't all just heat, however. It's got notes of mustard, ginger, coriander, and turmeric for a flavorsome burn that caps off every episode.

#3.                            Dragon’s Breath Pepper 

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 2,480,000 

Dragon’s Breath is one of the hottest chilli peppers in the world, coming in at a whopping 2.48 million SHUs (Scoville Heat Units), and was aptly named because it can potentially burn the consumers’ airways and send them into anaphylactic shock. This pepper is strictly for admiring at a distance, as we wouldn’t recommend putting it in any of your dishes – that would just be cruel and unusual punishment for some brave but unfortunate diners!

#4.                            CAROLINA REAPER

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,400,000 to 2,200,000

• Officially the world’s hottest pepper as certified by Guinness World Records.

The Carolina Reaper is currently the official Guinness World Record holder for the hottest pepper in the world, coming in at 2.2 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The Carolina Reaper pepper was created by “Smokin” Ed Currie of the Puckerbutt Pepper Company in South Carolina. It is a hybrid of a La Soufiere pepper from St. Vincent and the Naga Viper pepper from Pakistan, which by themselves are both incredibly hot peppers.

The Carolina Reaper pepper is not only scary to eat, but also looks pretty gnarly with it’s wrinkly skin and a tail that looks like the curved tail of a scorpion. The shape of the pepper is a warning, alerting you to the danger ahead.

On the Scoville Heat Scale, the Carolina Reaper ranges from 1,400,000 to 2,200,000 SHU. Since 2013, the Carolina Reaper has been the hottest known chili pepper in the world. It’s the only pepper on our list to have surpassed its own record. Three years after being named the World’s Hottest Pepper for the first time, the Carolina Reaper upped its game with an even hotter Scoville Heat Unit score.

Ed Currie of PuckerButt Pepper Company in South Carolina was the first person to cultivate this super-hot pepper. It’s a cross between a red ghost pepper and a red habanero. Together, these peppers created a fiery red pepper with an unmistakable heat. The Carolina Reaper has hints of cinnamon and chocolate in its flavor profile.

Given its, quite frankly, insane SHU, the Carolina Reaper is often favoured by those looking to really push the limits of what they can handle. Appearing in plenty of hot sauces, and even challenges such as eating a singular tortilla chip coated in a powdered form of Carolina Reaper, it only takes a quick YouTube search to see the devastating (but often hilarious) results of what this pepper can do. So if you're thinking of tackling this one, best exercise some extreme caution.

#5.                            Komodo Dragon Pepper

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,400,000 – 2,200,000

With a spiciness that rivals (but doesn’t quite beat) the Carolina Reaper, this super-hot chili is no doubt for extreme eaters only. Like the ghost pepper, it has a “sneaky heat”, a slow burn that allows a lovely fruity flavor to set before knocking your socks off. And unlike most other super-hots, the Komodo Dragon pepper has a place on the supermarket aisle – at least in the United Kingdom where it’s carried in Tesco supermarkets throughout the country.

Put it this way, this pepper is well-named. It’s like dragon fire made into chili form. Their heat is comparable to the Carolina Reaper – 1.4 million to 2.2 million Scoville heat units, though the Komodo Dragon tends to fall more often to the lower to middle end of the spectrum. Compared to our jalapeño pepper reference point, it’s in a different stratosphere: 175 to 880 times hotter than a jalapeño. This is not a hot pepper for the masses.

The Komodo Dragon packs a prolonged punch: the spiciness is slow to come on and it’s long to linger, like the ghost pepper (though the super-hot ghost pepper comes nowhere near the minimum heat of this chili, topping out at just over a million SHU).

Like many other super-hots, there’s a tasty fruitiness to the flavor. During the slow build-up you can actually enjoy this chili’s fruitiness, until the hammer falls. Then, the flavor is simply heat…and lots of it.

#6.                            Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 2,009,231 

The Moruga Scorpion, the first pepper ever to break 2 million SHU, held the world record for spiciness for several years and hails from, you guessed it, Trinidad. Each fruit is about the size of a golf ball and contains as much capsaicin as 25 milliliters of police-grade pepper spray. This is the spiciest naturally occurring pepper known to man, but, like the Douglah, it’s also famously fruity and flavorful. Fans recommend adding a small amount to any dish for an explosion of flavor, as well as the endorphin rush that accompanies the consumption of something that spicy.

#7.                            Chocolate Bhutlah 

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 2,000,000 

Following the scorpion tail of the Carolina Reaper is the Chocolate Bhutlah pepper, which measures in at around 2 million SHUs. This pepper once held the title of the hottest pepper in the world, and like the Carolina Reaper, its appearance warns of its heat. This pepper was created by Chad Soleski in Wisconsin by crossing a 7 Pot Douglah pepper with a Bhut Jolokia, or ghost pepper. This explains the name Bhutlah, a combination of Bhut and Douglah.

Unlike the Carolina Reaper, these peppers are longer in shape, much like ghost peppers. They are also wrinkly and gnarled in appearance, starting off green and maturing in to their cholcate brown final color. The peppers grow to be about 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cms) in length.

Like the Carolina Reaper and most 7 Pot varieties, the Chocolate Bhutlah tends to have a bit of sweetness to it. But don’t be fooled by the word chocolate in its name – this is solely derived from its color rather than its flavor! People who have tried these peppers raw often describe them as having a nutty and earthy flavor, followed by a wallop of heat. The heat does not build up over time in these peppers but hits you almost right away.

#8.                            7 Pod Douglah (aka Chocolate 7 Pot)

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 923,000-1,853,396

The mean sister of the 7 Pot Chili, the Douglah (also known as the Chocolate 7 Pot) is characterized by heavily textured dark brown or even purple skin. This pepper comes agonizingly close to two million SHU, so one would imagine flavor is the last thing anyone’s thinking about as they’re lying on the floor, weeping. This pepper is far into the heat range that you need to seriously consider wearing gloves and goggles if you plan on handling them in any capacity. And yet, many say the Douglah is one of the most deliciously flavored peppers, with a full-bodied fruitiness unmatched by others of its spice level. Hailing from Trinidad, land of the brutal pepper, this variety can be found in many of the same dishes as the other Caribbean contenders.

#9.                            Dorset Naga

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,000,000 – 1,598,227

The Dorset Naga – like the Naga Morich – is a close cousin to India’s infamous ghost pepper. That’s super-hot even before you consider the selective breeding for the Dorset Naga. It weighs in from 1,000,000 to nearly 1,600,000 Scoville heat units. That’s the potential to be ever so slightly hotter than the Naga Morich at the top end of its scale. Plus, the heat of the Dorset Naga tends to grow even more slowly than the Naga Morich which makes it feel even hotter.

In terms of our jalapeño reference point, the Dorset Naga is at least 125 times hotter (hottest jalapeño, mildest Dorset Naga), and it can tip the scales at 639 times hottest when comparing mildest to hottest. It’s easily one of the hottest peppers in the world, which means take all precautions when handling – gloves are a must.

#10.                            Death Spiral Pepper 

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,500,000

The panel is out on the Scoville heat range of this chili. Some say 1,300,000 Scoville heat units, others say 1,500,000 SHU or even higher. We’ll call it, 1,400,000 SHU for argument’s sake. It’s all over the place because, as a newer chili strain, it isn’t always consistent from seed to seed, in heat, looks, and flavor (as you’ll see.) What is known is this is one super-hot chili pepper that rivals the other hottest peppers in the world, even without the official title.

For instance, the Carolina Reaper’s range runs from 1,400,000 to 2,200,000 SHU. The Death Spiral lands somewhere on par with it, at least on the lower end of its heat range.

And the spiciness makes sense, as the Death Spiral is a hybrid of a Naga Bubblegum (over 1,000,000 SHU) and a Naga Viper (900,000 to 1,382,118 SHU.) It’s a child of extremes, and 100% a child who acts out in the brattiest of ways. The burn hits the front of your mouth quickly, so there’s no doubt as to the spiciness held within. There’s little build up before the extreme heat lands.

Of course, compared to our jalapeño reference point, this is a no contest in the spiciness department. Jalapeños range from 2,500 to 8,000 SHU. If we use 1,400,000 SHU as the median heat, the Death Spiral pepper is between 175 and 560 times hotter than a jalapeño.

Note: This level of spiciness is significant, so any handling of Death Spiral peppers should be done with utmost care. Use gloves, kitchen glasses, and other precautions to keep oils from this pepper off your skin.

It’s one gnarly looking pepper, that’s for sure, in all the best ways. The outside is twisted and pocked, featuring brain-like folds reminiscent of the 7-Pot Brain Strain. Though, it’s like the Brain Strain melted and folded under the strength of its own capsaicin oils.

The length can vary, just like the heat. But there’s often a stinger tail that certainly alerts you to the pain within (if the brain-like texture wasn’t enough.)

What’s quite unique about the Death Spiral’s looks is its color variations. Just like everything else about this chili, the colors vary from fruit to fruit. They start green, and run through hues of peach, orange, and red. But often, the fruit stops somewhere in the middle of that path. So, some Death Spiral chilies will have a peach-like color, while others will be distinctly red.

Of course, heat is the predominant experience of any super-hot pepper, but just like many others, there’s a delicious fruity sweetness here that borders on citrusy.

Though that’s apt to morph from one pod to the next as well (or even person to person.) Some get a more floral sweetness in the taste. Either way, there’s a lot of extreme spiciness sitting between you and the flavor, so you’ll have to be able to handle a lot of pain to nitpick on the flavor.

#11.                            Naga Morich

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,000,000 – 1,500,000

Hailing from the same region of the world, the Naga Morich and the ghost pepper (Bhut Jolokia) are close cousins and very similar in overall heat. But the Naga Morich beats it out. With a range from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 Scoville heat units, only the hottest ghost peppers can compare to the mildest Naga Morich. Really the Naga Morich is more in line with the heat of the Infinity pepper (1,067,286 to 1,250,000 SHU) and the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion (1,200,000 to 2,000,000 SHU).

 Of course, for most, this is splitting hairs. All peppers are intensely hot at the upper reaches of the Scoville scale. Let’s compare it instead to a chili most know – the jalapeño pepper. Compared to this popular medium heat chili, the Naga Morich is at least 125 hotter, with the potential for a throat-scorching 600 times hotter if you compare the mildest possible jalapeño to the hottest possible Naga Morich. Few peppers are hotter, only the likes of the Scorpion pepper and the soul-eating Carolina Reaper.

These super-hots are all chilies that need full safety precautions when preparing. Use gloves, kitchen goggles, and even consider covering your arms. A simple brush against skin can lead to severe chili burn and a lot of uncomfortableness for hours.

#12.                            Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T”

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,463,700

The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T is a previous Guinness World Record Holder (2011) from Australia.

No doubt it’s insanely hot, but other peppers have been proven to be hotter.

It’s aptly named due to the scorpion stinger found at the tip of the pepper and also the creator, Butch Taylor.

The burn from this pepper is unlike any other. The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper burns like you swallowed a 1,000 suns.

#13.                            Naga Viper 

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,382,118

Hailing from the United Kingdom, the Naga Viper is a hybrid that can potentially burn your mouth with its 1.3 million SHU rating. It once held the world record for the world’s hottest chilli in 2011, and was developed after years of cross pollination attempts. 

#14.                            7 Pot Brain Strain 

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,000,000 – 1,350,000

Mind erasing is right. Comparing the Brain Strain (1 million to 1.35 million Scoville heat units) to our jalapeño reference point (2,500 – 8,000 SHU), it’s a whopping 125 to 540 times hotter. At its minimum, it’s as hot as the hottest possible ghost pepper. And at its peak, it blows past the more common Trinidad 7 Pot peppers to become as hot as some Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers (1.35 million Scoville heat units). Granted – they are all super-hots, so great care needs to be taken with this or any other scorching chili pepper. If you plan to handle the Brain Strain, wear gloves and kitchen goggles to keep extreme chili burn at bay, and know what to do if that chili burn happens.

#15.                            7 Pot Barrackpore

• Scoville heat units (SHU): 1,000,000 – 1,300,000

Coming in bigger and a little hotter than a traditional Trinidad 7 Pot pepper, the 7 Pot Barrackpore sits prevalently among the hottest peppers of the world. Though in terms of flavor, the Barrackpore variety tends towards a little more bitterness and slightly less sweetness than other 7 Pot peppers (and other super-hots as well). This super-hot gets its name from the town in which it was originally discovered – Barrakpore, Trinidad.

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