What’s the best bag of potato chips you can buy? We tried 12 top-sellers.

What’s the best bag of potato chips you can buy? We tried 12 top-sellers.

A big bag of potato chips is always welcome at a gathering, whether it's a backyard barbecue or a picnic - or even a fancy shindig. (Trust me, salty chips are fantastic with champagne.) And, of course, they're a stellar anytime snack or lunchbox treat, too.

But which bag to grab? The supermarket aisle is packed with options, but their quality is as varied as the shards at the bottom of the bag. To figure out which brands were worth their salt, we put them to the test.

The lineup: This test was slightly different from our usual effort to get as apples-to-apples a comparison as possible. For this one, we mixed styles, pitting kettle, wavy and classic chips against one another. To determine the lineup, we used data from Chicago-based market research firm Circana (which gets its numbers from grocery, drug, mass-market, convenience, military, and select club and dollar retailers) to identify the top-selling brands, and bought their widely available unflavored versions. Store brands are popular, too, but we didn't include any in this test, to keep the list manageable.

The judging: We conducted a blind taste test in which eight colleagues tasted all 12 samples without knowing which bags were which. Tasters tried each sample on its own and were given a ramekin of classic onion dip (each taster got their own; no double dipping!) to see how the chips performed. Judges awarded each sample a score of 1 to 10, based on texture, saltiness and overall flavor. The maximum possible score was 80.

So which spuds were duds, and which were more ap-peel-ing? Here's where the chips fell:

Most of our tasters recognized this as the brand that famously comes in a tube - and they weren't impressed. Pringles are made differently than most other chips, using a process that involves shaping potato dough into chip-like shapes, and our tasters unanimously agreed that these Franken-chips aren't worth the effort. "Not a chip," one complained. Whatever it is, they didn't like them: These bland, soft bits of "salted cardboard" got a thumbs-down.

(Price: $2.27/5.2-ounce tube at Walmart; 44 cents/ounce)

11. Boulder Canyon Thin & Crispy Classic Sea Salt

Several tasters thought this "insubstantial" entrant tasted stale, and a few wondered if it had been baked, not fried. "Almost tastes like a health food imitation of a chip," one thought. "Not a good dipper," another said. "Collapses in the mouth," said another critic.

(Price: $4.46/6.75-ounce bag at Walmart; 66 cents/ounce)

Another flimsy fella that failed to impress. "Cardboard dust compressed into what looks like a potato chip" was one slam. "Zero flavor" was another. "Too thin … not a great structure," said one underwhelmed judge.

(Price: $3.39/8-ounce bag at Target; 42 cents/ounce)

This ubiquitous brand also suffered from the lack of heft that doomed the rest of the duds. Several noted that they broke in the dip, and a few thought the chips themselves were too diminutive. "Teeny, tiny baby chips," as one put it. Many tasters appreciated, though, that it had a good salt level, and a couple thought the relatively slim profile read as pleasantly "airy."

(Price: $2.97/8-ounce bag at Walmart; 37 cents/ounce)

Tasters liked that the ridges offered dip-ability. But this chip didn't offer much else beyond condiment conveyance. "Bland," complained one. And several, even a couple who declared themselves to be fans of salt, found this sample overly saline.

(Price: $3.27/7.75-ounce bag at Walmart; 42 cents/ounce)

More heft and flavor earned this classic more praise. "Cut thicker than others. Solid," noted one. "Good potato flavor," said another. But there was division in the ranks, and a few dinged them for being "greasy."

(Price: $4.29/8.5-ounce bag at Target; 50 cents/ounce)

Our tasters clearly leaned toward the kettle style, and this one outperformed most of the less-hefty competition. And it had a couple of fans who liked the uneven, read natural, texture and bits of potato skin. But it turns out you can have too much of a good thing, as several tasters thought this version was tougher than it needed to be: "Too crunchy," noted one.

"Too sturdy, like I'd cut my tongue on it" and "tears up your mouth" were sample complaints.

(Price: $5.29/8-ounce bag at Food Lion; 66 cents/ounce)

This name-brand variant was the highest-performing non-kettle option, so if you're looking for a lighter chip, Lay's might be the one for you. Tasters thought this sample was optimized for dipping, with a strong shape and ridges that help the dip cling. "Good chip if you prefer a ruffle," said one. "Would happily slam them at a party," said one fan. A couple of people thought it leaned a touch salty, though.

(Price: $2.97/7.75-ounce bag at Walmart; 38 cents/ounce)

This variety is a bit of an outlier - it's both kettle-cooked and wavy, which is an anomaly in the chip aisle. But tasters liked the hybrid, which they thought was pleasantly crisp, given the texture from both the kettle-drying process and its ridged shape. "Good bubbling," one noted.

(Price: $5.29/16-ounce bag at Food Lion; 33 cents/ounce)

Tasters thought this was relatively light for a kettle chip, which one noted gave it "excellent crunch." A couple thought it needed a touch more salt, though one taster said it was a welcome option for those who prefer a lighter use of the shaker. "Not that salty and I actually like that," they said.

(Price: $4.79/8-ounce bag at Food Lion; 60 cents/ounce)

This bag received high scores from many for nailing the chip trifecta: crunch, salt and flavor. Several noted that it had a potato-forward profile that still wouldn't overpower a dip. And they thought it wasn't too greasy - "the perfect amount of oil," according to one. Two tasters, though, dinged it for a slight aftertaste that one described as "smoky."

(Price: $4.99/5-ounce bag at Food Lion; $1/ounce)

Tasters had many of the same compliments for this chip as they did for the runner-up - namely, that it checked all the boxes at once. Miss Vickie's, which originated on an Ontario potato farm in 1987 and is now produced by Frito-Lay, was a "Great chip all around," said one taster. "I taste potato!" enthused a spud-loving fan. "Potato flavor is on point," said another. A pleasingly bubbly texture and natural good looks - including a "golden" hue and clinging bits of skin - also helped make it a bingeable favorite. Said one: "I could eat a lot of these."

(Price: $5.99/7.5-ounce bag at Safeway; 80 cents/ounce)

Video: To figure out which brands of potato chips were worth their salt, we put them to the test. Here are the best (and worst).(c) 2026 , The Washington Post