The Best Hot Sauce Clubs

Sunday, February 5th

2023 Hot Sauce Club Reviews

HEAT Hot Sauce Shop

• Cost: From $13.99 per month (1 bottle)

HEAT's Hot Sauce Shop offers it all: premium hot sauce, customizability to meet individual needs, competitive pricing, and most of all - devotion to the sauce. What started as innocent zeal for all foods spicy and flavorful for a young couple from California, turned into a profitable business that has earned a remarkable reputation for itself - and quite quickly too. With built-in family values, and immense local community support, HEAT prides itself on connecting artisanal, small-batch sauces with consumers who otherwise might not have access.

More than just hot sauce

However, it's not simply a product with a powerful punch they're supplying - HEAT also incorporates numerous small touches for customers that showcase thoughtfulness and a respect for the demographic. Whereas other competitors on this list promise product, but may want for more, HEAT does an excellent job woo-ing the customer. Their website makes a point to provide education on the history of hot sauce, science behind its making, and even lasting health benefits.

Free shipping

HEAT also offers several customizable options that some of HEAT's competitors lack. For instance, included in your first shipment are bonus "freebies" (fun!); you will receive early releases on new sauces not yet sold in the store; you are guaranteed free shipping off any purchase in their online store; you are able to opt-in or out of automatic renewal services; and they even make sure to include a personalized, printable gift note you can include if you are gifting the subscription to a loved one.

Competitive pricing

HEAT's prices are reasonable without requiring too large of a commitment up front. We appreciate this transparency offered to customers who can continue to choose HEAT after falling in love with that first shipment. And if you, or your hot sauce recipient, are located outside the U.S., HEAT also provides international shipping (although this is at an additional cost).

Membership Overview:

• Hot Sauce Selection: "Mild/Medium", "Classic"- all heat levels, "Extra-Hot"
• Amount: Can choose between 1 bottle per shipment or 3 bottles per shipment
• Duration: 1, 3, 6, 12 months - with ability to pay as you go, or pre-pay in full
• Frequency: Can choose either monthly or per quarter (1 shipment every 3 months equaling 4 shipments total for the year)
• Shipping: Free (Also free for entire online store)

Top rating

When it comes to hot sauce clubs, HEAT Hot Sauce Shop may be a new kid on the block. But HEAT brings to the table quality products, genuine care both for product and customer, and a fun passion that is hard to beat. We are excited to see how this company continues to grow, and are eager to learn how they will continue to wow as they evolve. We especially admire their dedication to creating thoughtful consumer experiences. With HEAT, your hot sauce subscription truly cannot be beat.

Hot Sauce Depot

• Cost: From $14.91 per month (1 bottle)

The Hot Sauce Depot comes in blazing hot at close second on our list. As a family-owned business, Hot Sauce Depot began with one man's love affair with hot sauce, and eventually grew into an ingenious organization representing more than 40 brands of hot sauce, and eventually incorporating all foods hot and spicy - such as sauces, salsas, dry rubs and spices, specialty foods, and snacks - oh my!

Repurchase benefit

Similar to our top ranked seller, the Hot Sauce Depot displays a level of attentiveness to both product and customer experience, that is as comforting as the flavor profiles are bold. With any subscription package, individuals are given an automatic 5% off all orders through the online store, just so you can re-purchase all your favorite sauces tried in the subscription package.

Bonus items

Twice per year, they'll also surprise you with "a different topic of spicy food, such as BBQ sauce, wing sauce, seasoning rub, or spicy snack". Each box you receive will come with information on the hot sauce delivered, a flavor profile, a brief biography of the sauce producer, and tasting notes/cooking tips. Hot Sauce Depot isn't simply bringing the heat - they're bringing the whole dang fire.

Limited to only 1 bottle

With such amazing products and considerate features, we only wish more of the product could be delivered to customers each month. If one bottle of sauce is enough to satiate your appetite, then the Hot Sauce Depot may very well be the perfect choice for you. However, if your taste buds crave that extra flavor profile all day, every day, then a subscription with more product per shipment might be ideal.

Membership Overview:

• Hot Sauce Selection: "Mild/Medium", "Hot", "Surprise Me!"- all heat levels
• Amount: 1 bottle per shipment
• Duration: 6, 12 months
• Frequency: Monthly
• Shipping: Free

Excellent choice

Overall, Hot Sauce Depot cultivates a valuable Hot Sauce Club experience for customers. They carry an extensive variety of sauces, from the small-batch producers to the biggest, well-known names. They incorporate playful touches that draw the customer in; and Hot Sauce Depot never repeats any sauces previously delivered. That being said, an upfront commitment of 6 month or 12 months is a steep ask of customers, especially with a return policy that only allows for unopened, unused goods. But if that long of a delivery program is what you're looking for, Hot Sauce Depot is an excellent choice.

Fuego Box

• Cost: From $14.95 per month (1 bottle)

Looking for a hot sauce subscription packing flavor, zest, and a fever? For those unknowing, Fuego translates to "fire" in Spanish - and that's exactly what Fuego Box is packing in their monthly service to hot sauce fanatics. Their three different sauce "levels" allows customers to choose just how bold they're feeling. Fuego Box advertises its goal, as connecting individuals to new hot sauces that are flavor focused, without being gimmicky.

Hot sauce taken seriously

In fact, Fuego Box is so serious about their hot sauces, that they even include a warning for pickier, or novice, sauce connoisseurs to look elsewhere for a suitable subscription match. They even make sure to avoid selling sauces containing pepper extracts (which can be known to contain a chemical-bitter taste), and contain their inventory to craft, premium, small-batch hot sauces. Delivered sauces are further determined via company "tasting parties", where not only staff, but customers and all hot sauce lovers are welcome to have a voice. With Fuego Box, making a quick buck just isn't the priority - but partying it up with friends and flavor? Now that sure is.

A little pricey

Fuego box does acknowledge a higher price point than other ranked competitors on our list. We like the transparency, and understand they are truly selling a valuable product. If Fuego Box feels worth the extra investment, we encourage you to enjoy - but we do wish Fuego Box was a little more accessible to the average customer.

Membership Overview:

• Hot Sauce Selection: "Dip Your Toe In"- 1 bottle of mild-hot flavoring, "Sauce Lover"- 3 bottles of mild to hot flavoring, or "Pain Seeker"- 2 bottles, extra-hot
• Amount: Ranges from 1, 2, 3 bottles
• Duration: 1, 3, 6, 12 months. Ability to pay as you go or pre-pay in full.
• Frequency: Monthly or once every 3 months (4 shipments per year total)
• Shipping: Free

For an additional cost Fuego Box can ship internationally.

A bold choice

While Fuego Box does rank at the higher end of price points for hot sauce subscriptions, they do include a few bonuses to "sweeten" the deal. For example, a recipient's first box includes a mini-tasting notebook. They are the only hot sauce company on our list advertising ability for individuals to "Skip a Shipment" at their discretion. And an immediate coupon was offered for $10 off when exploring the website. Fuego Box is simply bold - maybe in cost, but also in customer care, quality of product, and passion for production.

Amazing Clubs

• Cost: From $19.95 per month (2 bottles)

Amazing Clubs offers a solid hot sauce subscription for hot sauce novices and nuts alike. The company, which has been in business since 2003, provides a reputable and dependable experience for consumers. Rated the #1 hot sauce subscription company for 7 years in a row by the Wal Street Journal, you are guaranteed a gourmet product from small-batch, specialty boutiques.

2 bottles each month

With an Amazing Clubs subscription, you will receive 2 new and different hot sauces each month. The upside: this will come with a Hot Sauce Lover's Newsletter each month, detailing fun facts, tips, and tricks for all your hot sauce needs. Your purchase also includes a "They'll Love It!" guarantee, which literally guarantees your satisfaction or they'll refund the entire order - a service not necessarily offered by all their competitors.

Missing hot sauce club options

However, Amazing Clubs lacks in any customizability options for the product, as two random bottles are sent each month. We wish they allowed customers to at least indicate a preference for mild, hot, or exploratory, as many other ranked companies on our list do provide. Additionally, the minimum duration for a subscription from Amazing Clubs is 3 months, which could be a steeper commitment for individuals just looking to try something new; and unfortunately, they offer no international shipping at this time.

Membership Overview:

• Hot Sauce Selection: Sauces chosen for you each month, meant to represent a wide array of hot sauce options
• Amount: 2 bottles
• Duration: 3, 6, 12 months. Ability to pay as you go or pre-pay in full.
• Frequency: Monthly or once every 3 months (4 shipments per year total)
• Shipping: Free

Free shipping, satisfaction guarantee

While the price set by Amazing Clubs claims to be the "most affordable" hot sauce club on the market, we found their prices fairly comparable to many of the competitors on our list. They do offer free shipping, which we appreciate, and display a commitment to customer satisfaction via the "They'll Love It!" guarantee, that is almost unparalleled. We hope Amazing Clubs will offer more unique packages to consumers that can meet individual needs, but still endorse Amazing Clubs as a strong option to consider.

Armadillo Pepper

• Cost: From $15 per month (1 bottle)

Armadillo Pepper affords customers a fun and playful hot sauce shopping experience. Their zeal for this business, shines through a thoughtful and creative website design. Advertising a "Keep Calm and Sauce On" tag line, Armadillo Pepper originated in the deep south of the country, and they are not afraid to be bold in their knowledge of all things hot and spicy.

Satisfaction guarantee

Armadillo Pepper offers some basic customization options, and, most excitingly, provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back. This confidence portrayed by the company is alluring and draws customer attention. Armadillo Pepper also wants you to know the company's core values, and how that translates to their business services. That kind of confidence and transparency earns trust.

Minimum 6-month plan

We were disappointed to see that Armadillot Pepper asks their customers to invest in either a 6 or 12-month subscription plan (for 1 bottle per month). While the amount of money per bottle comes out to be quite low with these plans, it's an upfront investment on behalf of the customer, before they've even had a chance to try the product. With so many competitors offering 1 or 3-month subscription plans, it's not a completely fair request to make.

Membership Overview:

• Hot Sauce Selection: 1 or 2 bottles of the standard subscription; 1 or 2 bottles of the "Super Hots" subscription
• Amount: 1-2 bottles per shipment
• Duration: 6, 12 months for 1 bottle; 3, 6, 12 months for 2 bottles
• Frequency: Monthly
• Shipping: Free with orders more than $69 (most affordable plan meets this)

Still a strong choice

Aside from limited and length duration periods of the subscription, we still Armadillo Pepper offers an enjoyable and tasty experience for consumers. Standard subscription not hot enough for ya? The "Super Hots" club includes only sauces with Ghost, Scorpion, or Carolina Reaper peppers - now that's HOT!

Cratejoy

• Cost: From $13.99 per month (1 bottle)

Cratejoy provides a satisfactory subscription service for hot sauce. They offer some customization, hold fair reviews for their products online, and even offer a couple perks not provided by some of our higher ranked companies - such as international shipping, and ability to opt-in to automatic renewals.

3 heat levels

With Cratejoy, you can choose between a Mild/Medium sauce subscription, a Classic subscription, or even an Extra Hot subscription. They also had an immediate coupon pop up for $5 off any $50-dollar order - something our wallets certainly appreciated. With a confusing ordering system and vastly wide-ranging costs of different subscriptions, however, the customer experience was disorganized and lacking in direction.

Confusing options

For instance, Cratejoy offers either 1 bottle per month or 1 bottle per quarter (every 3 months); or, 3 bottles per month or 3 bottles per quarter - this felt odd, and as though the company was flopping from one extreme of frequency and amount, to the other. Prices reflected this extremeness as well, ranging from as low as $13.99 for one bottle one month, to $419.88 for 3 bottles of the extra hot sauce per month for a year. It's too much to ask customers to keep track of in the age of streamlined information.

Membership Overview:

• Hot Sauce Selection: "Mild/Medium", "Classic", "Extra Hot"
• Amount: 1 bottle or 3 bottles per shipment
• Duration: 1, 3, 6, or 12 months. Pay in full upon order.
• Frequency: Monthly or once every 3 months (4 shipments per year total)
• Shipping: Free

Missing focus

You will likely be satisfied with a Cratejoy hot sauce subscription, as other reviews have indicated. Due to the nature of Cratejoy's business, which is to sell subscription packages reflecting a wide arrange of products, there is a loss of true passion for their product. This translates to the customer's experience of a more disorganized and directionless feel. We recommend checking out some of our higher rated companies.

Month Club Store

• Cost: From $14.33 per month (1 bottle)

Month Club Store delivers a generic subscription package for hot sauces. Most of the customizability options are contained to frequency and duration of shipments, with seemingly little consideration given to the actual product. Month Club Store does carry an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, so the corporation is reputable - but the website lackluster design procures a yawn, rather than mouth-watering heat.

Disappointing customer experience

Sauces are chosen by employees "attending food shows, tasting prospective selections, meeting people who created the sauces, and listening to their stories". This is fine, but we wish that knowledge then translated into the customer experience somehow, and drew them into the sauces chosen each month. They offer no international shipping, and you must commit to a minimum 3-month subscription.

Cancel at any time

You can select the start month of your subscription, send a personalized greeting to the recipient, and prices are pretty comparable to our middle of the road options. The best commodity offered by Month Club Store is their allowance for customers to cancel at any time, and receive a refund for unused portions of the membership.

Membership Overview:

• Hot Sauce Selection: Standard subscription package
• Amount: 1, 2 bottles
• Duration: 3, 6, 9, 12 months. Pre-pay in full.
• Frequency: monthly, every other month, every 3rd month, every 4th month
• Shipping: Free

Lacking imagination

Month Club Store provides an available option to consumers, but we were disappointed and expected more investment, professionalism, and engagement from their large and reputable corporation. The hot sauce plans felt generic and lacked imagination. We recommend checking out our higher rated companies for a valuable hot sauce subscription experience.