Quick Answer

What is the best store-bought buffalo sauce?

Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce is the best all-around option for most people — it's the standard for a reason. The formula is close to the classic homemade version, the flavor balance is well-established, and it's available everywhere. For wings specifically, Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce has a thicker texture that coats better. For a cleaner ingredient list with no seed oils, Primal Kitchen or Chosen Foods are the premium choices. If heat is the priority, Crystal Buffalo delivers noticeably more capsaicin per serving than Frank's.

Ten buffalo sauces, tested head-to-head across the same criteria: heat level (measured against Scoville ratings and actual heat perception), tang (acidity balance and vinegar character), texture (viscosity and coating behavior on wings), sodium content (per 2-tablespoon serving), and value (price per ounce).

The buffalo sauce market has expanded significantly in the past five years — what was once a category dominated by Frank's and a handful of regional brands now includes better-for-you reformulations, restaurant originals, and sweet-heat crossovers. Not all of them deserve their shelf space. This guide covers who does the job best and why, so you can make a confident purchase without buying ten bottles yourself.

Note: if you want complete control over heat, texture, and ingredient quality, the answer is always making your own. But for convenience, for the right occasion, and for sauces that do things homemade can't (shelf stability, consistent heat), the best store-bought options are worth knowing.

Top Picks at a Glance

  • Best Overall: Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce
  • Best for Wings: Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce
  • Best Clean Label: Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce
  • Best Heat: Crystal Buffalo Hot Sauce
  • Best Splurge: Anchor Bar Original Buffalo Wing Sauce
  • Best Sweet Heat: Mike's Hot Honey Buffalo

How We Evaluate Buffalo Sauce

Each sauce is rated on four dimensions, scored 1–10, then combined into an overall score:

  • Heat (1–10): Capsaicin intensity, from mild (1) to very hot (10). Calibrated against published Scoville ratings where available.
  • Tang (1–10): Acidity and vinegar character. Higher scores mean brighter, more acidic. Lower scores mean mellower, sweeter.
  • Texture (1–10): Viscosity and coating behavior. Higher scores mean thicker sauces that stay on wings better.
  • Sodium per 2 tbsp: Lower sodium earns higher marks for dietary awareness.

1. Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce

Editor's Pick — Best Overall

Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce

8.4/10
Heat
5/10 Tang
8/10 Texture
6/10
Sodium: 880mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$4–5 / 12 oz
The standard. Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce is the pre-mixed version of the recipe America has been using for sixty years — Frank's Original plus butter, already combined. The tang is well-balanced, the heat is approachable, and it coats wings evenly. Sodium is on the high side. For most use cases, this is the benchmark everything else gets measured against.

Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce is not the same as Frank's RedHot Original (the plain hot sauce). This product has butter already mixed in — it's the finished buffalo sauce, not the ingredient. The ingredient list confirms it: distilled vinegar, aged cayenne red peppers, water, salt, garlic powder, and natural butter flavor.

The tang is the sauce's strongest trait — bright, vinegar-forward, clean. Heat sits at roughly 450–500 SHU (similar to the Original), which is mild on an absolute scale but appropriate for broad appeal. The texture is medium — it coats wings adequately but thinner than what you'd get from a homemade version made with real butter. The Scoville rating and sodium count are why some buyers seek alternatives, but as an all-purpose option, nothing in this price range beats it.

2. Anchor Bar Original Buffalo Wing Sauce

Best Splurge

Anchor Bar Original Buffalo Wing Sauce

8.1/10
Heat
5/10 Tang
7/10 Texture
8/10
Sodium: 720mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$8–10 / 12 oz
The historical original. Anchor Bar is the Buffalo, NY restaurant where buffalo wings were invented in 1964, and their bottled sauce is the official commercial version of that original recipe. It's slightly thicker and richer than Frank's, with a less acidic profile and a more buttery finish. Worth the premium if you want the closest thing to the source.

Anchor Bar's sauce is noticeably different from Frank's — less vinegar-forward, more butter-forward, with a thicker texture from added stabilizers. The heat level is comparable (mild-medium), but the flavor profile has more depth. This is a sauce that tastes like it was made in a restaurant kitchen, which makes sense given the source.

The premium price ($8–10 vs. $4–5) is hard to justify for large batches, but for serving as a dipping sauce where the quality will be noticed, Anchor Bar earns its place. Sodium is lower than Frank's, which is a bonus.

3. Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce

Best for Wings

Moore's Original Buffalo Wing Sauce

7.9/10
Heat
4/10 Tang
7/10 Texture
9/10
Sodium: 760mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$3–4 / 12 oz
The best-coating sauce in this test. Moore's is slightly milder than Frank's but has a noticeably thicker texture that sticks to wings better than anything else in this range. If your primary complaint with other buffalo sauces is that the sauce slides off wings, Moore's solves that problem. The heat is gentler — suitable for guests who find Frank's too sharp.

Moore's uses a similar vinegar-and-cayenne base to Frank's but adds thickeners (xanthan gum) that produce a more viscous sauce. That viscosity is the differentiator — where Frank's drips off wings, Moore's coats and clings. The tradeoff is a slightly gummier mouthfeel that some tasters notice.

4. Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce

Best Clean Label

Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce

7.5/10
Heat
4/10 Tang
6/10 Texture
7/10
Sodium: 310mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$7–9 / 9 oz
The clean-label leader. Primal Kitchen uses avocado oil instead of seed oils or dairy butter, qualifies as Whole30-approved, and delivers a noticeably lower sodium count than any other sauce on this list. The flavor is milder and slightly less sharp than Frank's — it has a more rounded, less acidic profile. Worth the premium for anyone with dietary requirements or who cooks for a health-conscious crowd.

Primal Kitchen's ingredient list is genuinely short and clean: aged cayenne pepper sauce, avocado oil, water, coconut aminos, honey, spices. No preservatives, no seed oils, no artificial flavors. The coconut aminos add a mild umami note that works well, and the honey provides just enough sweetness to balance the cayenne.

The sodium reduction is dramatic — 310mg per serving vs. Frank's 880mg. If sodium is a concern, this is the sauce to use. The tradeoff is a milder, more subdued flavor profile — it tastes more like a clean, well-made condiment than an assertive buffalo sauce.

5. Chosen Foods Buffalo Sauce

Chosen Foods Buffalo Sauce

7.3/10
Heat
4/10 Tang
6/10 Texture
7/10
Sodium: 380mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$7–8 / 9 oz
Similar territory to Primal Kitchen — avocado oil base, clean ingredients, low sodium — but slightly tangier. The flavor has more vinegar character than Primal Kitchen's, making it feel more like traditional buffalo sauce. The price-per-ounce is comparable. Choose Chosen over Primal Kitchen if you want more tang; choose Primal Kitchen if you want a cleaner sweetness.

6. Tessemae's Buffalo Sauce

Tessemae's All Natural Buffalo Sauce

7.1/10
Heat
3/10 Tang
6/10 Texture
6/10
Sodium: 250mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$8–10 / 10 oz
The mildest sauce in the test — almost too mild for traditional buffalo wing use. Tessemae's markets to the Whole30/paleo crowd and has a very gentle heat level and subdued vinegar character. Best as a dipping sauce rather than a wing coating sauce. The sodium is the lowest in the test, and the clean ingredient list is impressive. Not a replacement for traditional buffalo sauce, but a worthwhile option for sensitive palates.

7. Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo Wing Sauce

Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo Wing Sauce

6.8/10
Heat
4/10 Tang
5/10 Texture
8/10
Sodium: 800mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$3–4 / 12 oz
Decent texture, high sodium, and a sweeter profile than traditional buffalo sauce. Sweet Baby Ray's made their name in BBQ sauce and it shows — the sweetness that works in barbecue applications slightly misaligns with the sharp, tangy profile buffalo sauce should have. Good for buffalo-ish applications where sweetness is welcome (glazed cauliflower, sweet-heat dips), but not the right choice for traditional wings.

8. Mike's Hot Honey Buffalo Sauce

Best Sweet Heat

Mike's Hot Honey Buffalo Sauce

7.6/10
Heat
5/10 Tang
6/10 Texture
7/10
Sodium: 640mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$6–7 / 12 oz
The best sweet-heat crossover in this category. Mike's Hot Honey is a brand built on infusing honey with chilies, and their buffalo sauce applies that philosophy — it's genuine buffalo sauce character with a honey sweetness and an additional chili heat note that goes beyond standard cayenne. Works beautifully as a wing glaze and in dips. Not a traditional buffalo sauce, but the best version of what it is.

9. Ken's Steak House Buffalo Wing Sauce

Ken's Steak House Buffalo Wing Sauce

6.6/10
Heat
4/10 Tang
6/10 Texture
7/10
Sodium: 820mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$3–4 / 16 oz
Solid value for the price-conscious buyer. Ken's delivers acceptable buffalo sauce flavor at the lowest price-per-ounce on this list. The flavor is less developed than Frank's or Moore's — flatter, less complex — but for large-batch cooking where cost matters more than nuance, it's functional. High sodium is a drawback.

10. Crystal Louisiana's Buffalo Wing Sauce

Best Heat

Crystal Louisiana's Buffalo Wing Sauce

7.4/10
Heat
7/10 Tang
8/10 Texture
5/10
Sodium: 680mg per 2 tbsp Price: ~$4–5 / 12 oz
The hottest and tangiest sauce in the test. Crystal's plain hot sauce is more cayenne-forward and acidic than Frank's, and their buffalo sauce carries that character — higher heat, sharper vinegar bite, thin texture. Good for people who find Frank's too mild. The texture is thin and doesn't coat wings as well as Moore's or Frank's. Best suited for dipping or recipes where the heat needs to be assertive.

Full Comparison Table

All 10 Buffalo Sauces Compared

BrandScoreHeatTangSodiumBest For
★ Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce 8.4 Medium High 880mg All-purpose
Anchor Bar Original 8.1 Medium Medium-High 720mg Dipping
Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce 7.9 Medium-Low Medium-High 760mg Wings
Mike's Hot Honey Buffalo 7.6 Medium Medium 640mg Glazing
Primal Kitchen Buffalo 7.5 Medium-Low Medium 310mg Health-conscious
Crystal Louisiana's Buffalo 7.4 High High 680mg Heat seekers
Chosen Foods Buffalo 7.3 Medium-Low Medium 380mg Clean eating
Tessemae's All Natural 7.1 Low Medium 250mg Mild dipping
Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo 6.8 Medium-Low Low-Medium 800mg Sweet applications
Ken's Steak House Buffalo 6.6 Medium-Low Medium 820mg Budget batches

Frequently Asked Questions

No — these are two different products. Frank's RedHot Original is a plain cayenne hot sauce with no butter. Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce is a pre-made buffalo sauce with butter already added. The Original is what you use to make homemade buffalo sauce. The Wing Sauce version is ready to use directly. Don't add more butter to the Wing Sauce version — it already has the right fat balance built in.