13 Popular Cracker Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Whether you're hosting a charcuterie party or you're just looking for a quick and easy snack to take on the go, crackers will always have you covered. They're relatively shelf stable (meaning you can keep them on hand for whenever you need them), and they make for an excellent accompaniment to any basic cheese board. But with so many different cracker brands on the market, how do you choose which ones are best?

To answer that question, I taste-tested 13 different cracker brands to deliver the 411 on the current state of the cracker landscape. With these rankings, I hope to give you a better idea of which popular cracker brands you'd like to put out at your next party or pack in your lunch for a simple workday snack.

For these rankings, I focused on the most basic flavor offering I could find from each cracker brand. I judged them on flavor, paying careful attention to saltiness, though texture was considered, as well. Take a deeper dive into this ranking before your next charcuterie night, and your cracker game will be unmatched.

There's certainly a time and a place for Carr's Original Table Water Crackers. However, this isn't the product I would suggest when you want a particularly enjoyable and flavorful cracker. These barely had any flavor to them at all, so they're not really enjoyable on their own.

Carr's Original crackers seem like they requires toppings to really shine, functioning more as a structural base for a snack rather than a snack all on its own. This isn't necessarily a bad thing if you need a super neutral-tasting base for a particular recipe. But it also means these crackers won't really offer anything in the way of flavor, while providing very little in terms of texture. They're light and crisp but flat rather than airy, like many of the other crackers on this list.

In addition to forming a basic, neutral base for an hors d'oeuvre, you could serve these to someone who's sick and can't stomach many other foods. Other than that, though, these crackers don't have a lot to offer, so this brand comes in last.

As a store brand, Signature Select products can be pretty hit or miss. Sometimes, they're just as good as — if not better than — name brand products. In the case of these Delectables Baked Crackers, though, they're not quite as delicious as the competition. These rectangular crackers aren't particularly bad, especially if you're not tasting them alongside other crackers. However, they just don't offer the same buttery flavor as other, better crackers on this list. They have a hint of saltiness to them, but that salt doesn't make up for the fact that the crackers themselves taste incredibly bland.

The texture isn't ideal, either. These crackers are harder and more crumbly than most on this list, without the subtle moistness that helps hold them together and give them more integrity to serve as a base for other ingredients. Overall, they're not a terrible option if you're looking for a cheaper cracker, but unless you're specifically looking for a budget product, there are much better cracker varieties to choose from.

Are Club Original crackers a step up from the Signature Select version of essentially the same product? Sure. They have a slightly more buttery flavor, which is further highlighted by the sprinkling of salt you find on top. That being said, while this popular cracker deserves to rank above Signature Select's offering, they aren't markedly better. In fact, you might not be able to tell the difference unless you tasted them side by side.

Still, in addition to that buttery flavor, Club Original crackers stay intact better than its lower-ranked counterpart, which may justify its slightly higher price. However, this brand is still offering pretty bland crackers, the type which won't do your charcuterie board any favors. If they're all your local grocery store has to offer, you shouldn't be too disappointed, but they won't add much to your snack plate beyond a structural base for the other ingredients.

One of the most recognizable cracker brands on the market, Ritz crackers can also be used in many creative ways. These round, ultra-buttery crackers are rich and flavorful, but they seem to have a slight sweetness to them. While this works nicely with some ingredients, it doesn't work as well with others, which is why this brand ranked relatively low.

The richness of Ritz crackers can clash with certain ingredients, meaning they aren't ideal for a charcuterie situation. Then again, they're better than many other crackers when you serve them all on their own, which may be appealing if you're looking for a rather neutral, nondescript snack to munch on mindlessly. Additionally, I opted for the Fresh Pack box, which offers a nice packaging scheme. Instead of getting one or two long sleeves of crackers, you get smaller, individually-sized packs of crackers instead.

I love this form of packaging because it ensures your crackers don't become stale after spending too much time in the pantry. While this doesn't exactly make up for Ritz' relative lack of deliciousness (or help it rank higher), more cracker brands may want to adopt this type of packaging in the future to maximize freshness.

If shopping at one of the best grocery stores in the U.S for organic foods is important to you, but you're looking for crackers that are similar to Ritz, you may want to check out O Organics Classic Round Crackers. Not only are these crackers organic, but they also have a slight leg up on classic Ritz in the flavor department (though they're largely indistinguishable texture-wise).

This O Organics product still has the buttery richness you'd want in this style of cracker, but it seems slightly toned down, meaning fewer ingredients are likely to clash with these crackers when paired. Ultimately, this popular crackers brand still ranks in the bottom half of this list because the crackers aren't actively appealing when eaten solo.

These crackers won't taste horrible when eaten on their own, which pushed O Organics above Ritz. While these crackers are worth a try for anyone who really prizes organic products, if you're mainly looking for the most flavorful and enjoyable cracker, keep reading, as this brand couldn't best the more delicious options ranked above it.

Any gluten-sensitive individuals who need to buy gluten-free snack options know how difficult it can be to find a cracker brand that offers a decent product. Admittedly, Blue Diamond Artisan Nut Thins aren't the best gluten-free crackers I tried for this ranking. But this isn't a bad option if you're actively trying to avoid gluten, and is hardly the worst cracker brand I sampled.

These multi-seed crackers are made from a base of brown rice, which gives them a crispy (not crunchy) texture. In fact, those seeds are a nice addition because they make these crackers significantly more flavorful than any of the other lower-ranking crackers on this list. Plus, it provides the crackers with some extra texture.

What I don't like about this variety of crackers, though, is that they really do, in fact, taste like almonds. If you truly love that nutty flavor, that may not be a big problem for you. But I found it so overpowering that it sort of drowns out the nuanced flavors from the other mix of ingredients. Give this cracker brand a try if you especially like seedy, nutty crackers, or skip them if you prefer a milder flavor for a higher-ranked entry.

Maybe I'm biased since I grew up eating Nabisco Original Premium Saltine Crackers. But I also think these are an absolute pantry staple worth keeping on hand. Does this brand offer the most flavorful cracker option on the market? No, of course not. Then again, saltine crackers have many creative uses because they're supposed to be light with a neutral flavor, which is how I'd describe these iconic crackers.

The especially mild flavor of this brand's crackers makes them ideal for pairing with a wide variety of foods, from cheese to tinned fish. Plus, the crackers' intense saltiness highlights the flavors of whatever else you pair them with. Although they may not be the boldest crackers on their own, they're ideal for when you're not feeling well, and you just want to get something starchy in your stomach.

That being said, these crackers are by far the crumbliest of the bunch, which was a factor in its middle-of-the-pack ranking. In fact, if you're eating on the go and trying to avoid crumbs, these aren't the crackers for you. They might not be ideal if you're looking for crackers that pack a lot of flavor on their own, either, but the ubiquity, accessibility, and utter neutrality of this popular cracker means they're a good pick for many (if not most) of your cracker needs.

Chicken in a Biskit Original Crackers may be the strangest product in this cracker lineup, but honestly, I'm here for it. These salty crackers are super flavorful — significantly more flavorful than most of the others on this list, in fact, with a dusty coating of dried ingredients that really makes the flavor pop. Given that, this popular cracker brand comes in sixth place.

These crackers are made with onion powder and dehydrated cooked chicken (for some reason), which explains the name. Those ingredients, along with sugar, salt, and others, give these crackers a savory flavor profile that makes them easy to enjoy all on their own.

Because these crackers are already heavily seasoned, they definitely don't pair well with everything. If you're working with really delicate, subtle toppings, for example, the flavor of these crackers will likely overpower any more delicate notes. Since you can eat them straight out of the box totally unadorned, though, this brand earns a place in the top half of this ranking. These are the kinds of crackers that make a quick and easy addition to a kid's lunch box – not necessarily next to a charcuterie board at a swanky event.

Crispy, buttery, and basic enough to work with essentially any ingredient, Toasteds Classic Buttercrisp Crackers are among the best all-purpose crackers on this list. They can legitimately be paired with just about anything, and taste delicious by themselves, as well.

The taste is mild — there are no unexpected flavors here — which makes them perfect for pairing with a charcuterie board if you're working with a wide range of different flavors. They're also quite a bit saltier than some other brands, which only further enhances the flavors of whatever you pair the crackers with.

This popular brand's crackers are crispy with just the right amount of moistness to keep things interesting, so they're a win on the textural front, as well. These aren't the most exciting cracker of the group, but that's also not what they're for. Even if there are a handful of higher-ranking crackers on this list, Toasteds is a brand I'll definitely go back to again.

Town House Original Crackers are a rather ubiquitous product, so chances are good you've encountered them before. The brand is everywhere for a reason: It produces some of the best crackers on the market. Out of all the buttery, crispy crackers I tried in this lineup, these were my absolute favorite, earning it a fourth place ranking.

The buttery flavor is super pronounced here. That makes these crackers more than flavorful enough to enjoy sans other ingredients, though there's no sweetness to drown out the addition of salt on the top of the crackers. Texture-wise, these crackers are successful, as well. They have a nice crisp to them, but don't crumble in your hands as soon as you take a bite.

Town House Crackers are also a good option if you plan on stacking other ingredients on top of them. For example, because they're oblong, you can fit more onto them than you'd be able to on a round cracker. If you haven't yet tried these crackers and are looking for a good multipurpose variety, this is definitely a great brand to check out (even if it didn't crack the top three).

Mary's Gone Crackers are some of the priciest crackers on this list, but once you taste them? You'll understand why. These gluten-free crackers absolutely delicious. Rather than wheat, this brand's crackers are instead made with brown rice, flax seeds, quinoa, and sesame seeds. This mixture of seeds and grains gives these crackers a unique flavor that's simultaneously neutral and quite interesting, helping it come in third place.

You can pile these crackers high with other ingredients, use them to scoop up your favorite dips, or simply snack on them straight out of the bag. Although they don't come with a layer of salt on top like many other crackers on this list, they do contain tamari, which gives the product a slightly salty, umami flavor (which you can taste throughout the cracker). That extra hint of flavor seriously takes them to a whole new level.

Although these crackers are gluten-free, you shouldn't write them off if you don't have a problem with gluten. This product isn't an alternative to something else that tastes better. Instead, it stands out from the rest by offering a cracker that's both deeply flavorful and versatile enough to function in any setting.

On the gluten-free cracker front, chances are good you'll see a lot of rice-based crackers on the market. Consequently, it's not every day that you come across a corn-based cracker. But that's exactly what you're going to get when you try Good Thins Gluten-Free Sea Salt Crackers. These super tiny, super thin crackers have a yellow hue to them that lets you know they're made from corn. However, it's the flavor (not the color) that really makes them stand out from the pack — hence it's second place ranking.

One bite of these, and you'll feel like you're digging into a bag of crispy cornbread. The buttery, bread-y, sweet corn flavor is out of this world, and it's complemented by the addition of plenty of salt. The small size of these crackers means they're better suited for dipping instead of stacking, but honestly, they taste so good on their own that you may simply prefer to enjoy them without anything else. Gluten-free or not, this is a cracker brand you absolutely need to seek out, and was only bested by a single brand.

Products made with almond flour don't always taste that great. Given that, you might be pleasantly surprised when you get your hands on Simple Mills Fine Ground Sea Salt Almond Flour Crackers. These crackers don't taste like they're made with almond flour at all — rather, they're essentially indistinguishable from normal wheat-based crackers. What sets this Simple Mills product apart from the average wheat cracker, though, is the flavor profile, which explains why it took the top spot.

Now, these crackers are subtle, which makes them ideal for serving with other ingredients. But this popular cracker brand also contains onion and garlic, which gives them a savory touch that you won't find from most other brands.

Small, salty, and absolutely crisp, these are the crackers you need to have on hand for those times when guests come over, or when you just need a simple snack to pair with your cheese plate. Since these crackers are gluten-free, corn-free, and grain-free, as well, just about anyone can enjoy them. Give them a try if you're on the hunt for flavorful crackers that work well in just about any setting.

For this ranking, I selected a variety of cracker brands available at my local grocery store. I prioritized the most basic version of each brand, to avoid comparing any wildly different flavors. During the tasting process, I tried each cracker, one by one, in a single sitting. I wrote down my perceptions after each cracker, before ranking the included brands once the tasting was complete.

The criteria for ranking included flavor — which played the biggest role in determining where each brand landed on this list — along with texture. I also considered how each cracker brand might be used. For example, I evaluated more flavorful crackers, which were more likely to be enjoyed on their own, slightly differently than crackers that seemed best when used with other ingredients.