Scoville Heat Converter

Compare pepper and hot sauce heat levels using the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) scale

Heat Analysis

5.0K SHU

Medium-Hot

Closest match: Jalapeño

vs Jalapeño (5K)

1x

vs Cayenne (40K)

0.13x

vs Habanero (225K)

0.02x

Scientific Data

Capsaicin Concentration

0.031250%

Dilution Factor

1:5.0K

parts water to neutralize

Pepper Heat Scale

Bell Pepper0 SHU
Banana Pepper0 - 500 SHU
Pepperoncini100 - 500 SHU
Poblano1.0K - 2.0K SHU
Anaheim500 - 2.5K SHU
Jalapeño2.5K - 8.0K SHU
Chipotle2.5K - 8.0K SHU
Serrano10.0K - 25.0K SHU
Cayenne30.0K - 50.0K SHU
Tabasco30.0K - 50.0K SHU
Thai Chili50.0K - 100.0K SHU
Habanero100.0K - 350.0K SHU
Scotch Bonnet100.0K - 350.0K SHU
Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia)855.0K - 1.04M SHU
Trinidad Scorpion1.20M - 2.00M SHU
Carolina Reaper1.40M - 2.20M SHU
Pepper X2.69M - 3.18M SHU
Pure Capsaicin16.00M SHU

Hot Sauce Reference

Tabasco Original2.5K SHU
Sriracha2.2K SHU
Frank's RedHot450 SHU
Cholula3.6K SHU
Texas Pete750 SHU
Tapatio3.0K SHU
Crystal800 SHU
Louisiana Hot Sauce450 SHU
Da Bomb Beyond Insanity135.6K SHU
The Last Dab2.00M SHU

About Scoville Heat Units

The Scoville scale measures the heat of peppers based on capsaicin concentration. Created by Wilbur Scoville in 1912.

Originally, the test involved diluting pepper extract until the heat was no longer detectable by a panel of tasters. Modern tests use high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for precision.

Pure capsaicin measures 16 million SHU. Police pepper spray typically ranges from 2-5 million SHU.