Best Hot Sauce Subscriptions of 2023

Photo composite of hot sauce bottles and a grain bowl with hot sauce on top. — Simply Recipes / Design by Amelia Manley

Hot sauces are a great way to add flavor to your home-cooked recipes and hot sauce subscriptions are popping up everywhere. The best options allow some customization, reliable delivery, and a broad range of hot sauces.

Depending on what you are looking for in a hot sauce subscription, there are a variety of companies to fit your needs. Are you gifting the subscription? Interested in a variety of flavors? Seeking smaller, sampler bottles? Is it important to know where your hot sauce is sourced from? Continue reading for the best options.

Best Hot Sauce Subscriptions of 2022

Best Overall: Fuego Box
Best for Variety: Heat Hot Sauce
Best for Small-Batch Hot Sauce: Doc Hotties

Best Overall: Fuego Box

Fuego Box

Key Specs
Price: $13 to $30 per box
Customizable: Some customization for heat
Hot Sauces Included: 1, 2, or 3 bottles

Why We Chose It: Fuego Box focuses on delivering excellent hot sauces with flexibility for your heat level and on a flexible schedule. The quarterly subscription is a nice option.

Pros
Focus on flavor rather than gimmicky heat levels
Monthly and quarterly subscription options
Extra hot “Pain Seeker” option

Cons
Less customizable than other services
Single bottle subscription is expensive

Fuego Box was founded in 2015 by Mike McAdams, an entrepreneur and longtime hot sauce fan. This subscription service offers a glimpse into some of the more interesting hot sauces through its regular deliveries. Fuego Box focuses on flavor rather than intense heat, although you can order that if you like.

Fuego Box has three basic subscription models, from one to three bottles, and you can choose whether to receive deliveries monthly or quarterly. The price varies from $13 to $30. The cost per bottle goes down if you order the three-bottle option. The company's website is easy to use, making it simple to navigate the world of hot sauces (which can sometimes be overwhelming) and guarantees delivery of the most interesting and enjoyable hot sauces out there.

The boxes you will receive come in simple containers to protect the bottles and if you have any issues with your order, you can email Fuego Box with your concerns. The brand also has a very active presence on Instagram.

Best for Variety: Heat Hot Sauce

Heat Hot Sauce

Key Specs
Price: $15 to $36 per month
Customizable: Yes
Hot Sauces Included: 1 or 3 bottles

Why We Chose It: Heat Hot Sauce offers multiple subscriptions based on the spice level in each sauce.

Pros
Competitive cost per bottle
Excellent subscription options
Prepay or pay as you go

Cons
No two-bottle option
Support only via email

Heat Hot Sauce was started by two self-described "chile heads" in California. The website offers a great assortment of by-the-bottle hot sauces that can be filtered in a variety of ways to find exactly what you are wanting. The hot sauce subscription doesn’t let you specifically pick the hot sauces you get, but it does allow you to choose a level of hotness, the number of bottles per delivery (one or three), and the delivery frequency (monthly or quarterly).

Heat Hot Sauce Shop offers competitive pricing on its subscriptions and the pay-as-you-go option provides the convenience of paying over time, rather than upfront. The highest cost per bottle is the one bottle extra hot subscription, which is $17 per bottle. You can get that cost down to $10 per bottle by going with three bottles in the classic subscription. The cost is the same per bottle if you choose monthly or quarterly delivery, and includes shipping.

Best for Small-Batch Hot Sauce: Doc Hotties

Doc Hotties

Key Specs
Price: $8 to $26 per box
Customization: No
Hot Sauces included: 1 or 3 bottles

Why We Chose It: Most hot sauces are made in small batches, but Doc Hotties seems to have the best selection of hot sauces that you just won’t be able to find in stores.

Pros
Variety of heat levels
Excellent pricing

Cons
No free shipping

Doc Hotties was started by a family who became obsessed with trying new hot sauces as they traveled. The Doc Hotties site is very user-friendly and allows you to purchase a wide range of individual bottles of hot sauce, filtering by heat level or even individual pepper. The hot sauces are competitively priced and have simple, flat-rate shipping.

Doc Hotties offers three subscriptions: Flavorfully Mild Hot Sauces, Hot Sauce Lover, and Masochist — Extra Hot. All subscriptions auto-renew until you cancel. Prices range from $8 per box for single-bottle options to $26 for the three-bottle option.

Final Verdict

For ease of use, variety of subscriptions, and range of products, Fuego Box is our pick for best overall subscription. That said, don’t overlook some of the other companies in the market as they offer great products as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Do Hot Sauce Subscriptions Cost?

Hot sauce subscriptions are some of the more economical subscription services available online, based on our research. A subscription can run $8 to $36 per month and offer you between one and three bottles per delivery. Some companies require you to pay for multiple months up front while some offer pay-as-you-go plans.

Are Hot Sauce Subscriptions Worth It?

The bottles you buy in the subscription service are definitely more expensive than what you will find in the grocery store. That said, you are getting small-batch hot sauces that you will never be able to find in your local stores.

What Comes in a Hot Sauce Subscription Box?

All subscription companies offer one to three bottles of hot sauce in each box, delivered monthly or quarterly. Some companies also offer snacks, small samplers, recipe cards, and other freebies.

Methodology

We researched a multitude of hot sauce subscription boxes before filtering out several options based on the overall variety of hot sauce, pricing, customization, and website ease of use. We also considered customer reviews and features like whether the sauces are made in small batches.