20 Popular Chocolate Bars, Ranked

The world of chocolate is a vast and infinitely diverse one. From the inexpensive options at the convenience checkout counter to the fancy single-origin bars found on specialty store shelves, chocolate can promise as many flavors and variations as red wine.

Naturally, everyone has preferences when it comes to this cocoa confection. Some like it dark and complex, others like it milky and sweet, and certain among us prefer their chocolate packed with crunchy fillings and unique seasonings. A good brand can provide all of these things at once, but it can be difficult pinpointing the very best when there are so many options available. How do you decide which bars are really worth your hard-earned cash? I assessed and ranked a wide assortment of chocolate bars to determine the ones you should turn to when the cravings strike and, perhaps even more importantly, those you should forget about altogether. 

A spin-off of the famed cupcake bakery franchise, this Sprinkles milk chocolate bar had an exciting pedigree. Launched in March 2024, the company first rolled out four flavors, three of which were inspired by the classic flavors of red velvet, salted caramel, and sprinkle (a birthday/confetti cake-like flavor). I went with the plain Jane milk chocolate to see what the base formula tasted like. 

Though I had high hopes for this brand, the milk chocolate flavor felt off and exuded what seemed like a slightly stale aroma. If you've ever had chocolate that's gone way past its best-by date, you'll be familiar with this taste. It was also unbearably sweet, practically causing my teeth to ache. Sprinkles cupcakes are fine, but this chocolate bar is a pass. 

Lily's is a big brand for those who have a sweet tooth but are cutting back on sugar, evidenced by the proud "no sugar added" label. Though the brand offers many flavors, I opted for the Sea Salt Extra Dark Chocolate bar.

This is a divisive brand, as alternative sweeteners like stevia definitely affect the traditional flavor of chocolate. But even if we set that unfamiliarity aside, the sheer salt content in this bar makes it practically inedible. Add that to the regrettable stevia aftertaste and I have to say that Lily's will not be getting my business in the near future. 

This is definitely one of the more expensive brands on the list — I paid $5.99 for a 2.5 ounce bar. But Taza makes a lot of interesting promises about its chocolate. Offering a vegan and dairy-free product, Taza uses a stone ground method to make its chocolate bars. For testing, I opted to try the 60% dark chocolate with toffee almond and sea salt. 

Upon opening, I noticed that the bar had a white, dusty coating of chocolate bloom — but that's less the fault of the brand and likely due to how the chocolate was stored. Still, my main issue with Taza is its chalky texture — perhaps because of the stone ground process it's so proud of? — that I just can't get behind. It feels gritty rather than smooth on the palate. The flavor was fine, but texture is half the pleasure of chocolate, so Taza loses points on that.

A famed brand in the United Kingdom, Cadbury can feel like a somewhat special find in the candy aisle stateside. Perhaps most famous for its milk chocolate, which you can buy from the Dairy Milk subset, it also makes dark chocolate and a caramelized white chocolate known as Caramilk (harder to find stateside). I stuck with the classic Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, paying $3.49 for a 3.5-ounce bar at CVS — a reasonable price considering the amount of chocolate here. 

I expect any milk chocolate to be sugary, but this bar was off the charts. With something so saccharine, it's hard to eat more than one square at a time, even if it has a pleasantly smooth texture. There are more palatable milk chocolates out there, so Cadbury won't be my first choice when I'm craving it.

YouTube megastar MrBeast is well-know for his food forays, and he's got quite the chocolate brand line with Feastables. Like other MrBeast ventures, this one has an underlying philanthropic goal — in this case, it's offering up ethically sourced chocolate that helps invest in the communities and environments that the chocolate comes from. So did the brand's dark chocolate taste as sweet as its mission? 

While this chocolate wasn't bad, it certainly didn't taste like dark chocolate. Instead, I imagine this is what a kid might think a dark chocolate would be: marginally less sweet than a milk chocolate bar, but certainly not dark. It had a slightly weird aftertaste as well — not necessarily unpleasant, but off. In all, I'd say you can skip this brand for something better.

A Swiss mainstay, Toblerone is known for its iconic pyramid-like shape and formula. While it offers several different flavors, the most classic is the milk chocolate with honey and almond nougat. For the uninitiated, nougat is a confection typically made from honey, whipped egg whites, and nuts. It can be as sticky and chewy as taffy, and it's what really sets Toblerone apart from the other candy bars. 

While I think the Toblerone offers something for the ardent sweet tooth, it's really too cloying for the average chocolate eater, requiring you to break it up into a few triangles per serving. Also, you have to be a nougat fan to really enjoy this. For those who don't care for toffee- or meringue-like treats, you're better off with another bar.  

Hu chocolate has a very long list of what it doesn't use including soy, palm oil, lecithins, cane sugar, refined sugar, and emulsifiers. What it does use is organic grass-fed milk (in its milk chocolate, at least; its other chocolates are dairy-free) and coconut sugar in combination with fair trade cocoa beans. All this leads to a very pricey chocolate bar –  I spent $6.79 for a mere 2.1 ounce bar on Instacart.

While this chocolate certainly delivered a nice texture and sweetness level, the bar had a slightly acrid, almost burnt milk flavor to it. Blame it on the coconut sugar or perhaps the grass-fed milk, but something wasn't right. This underlying flavor (not to mention the price) was strong enough to put me off, even if it hit some of the right notes. 

Though most people think of Ferrero Rocher as only offering gold foil-wrapped truffles, the brand does indeed offer a bar form of its classic blend of hazelnut and milk chocolate. For those interested in trying something a bit different than the standard, it also offers dark chocolate and white chocolate hazelnut varieties. 

As expected, the bar delivered all of the Nutella-esque richness that you would hope from Ferrero Rocher. The milk chocolate flavor is sweet but not overwhelming, and every bite has plenty of crunchy hazelnut morsels. Even the texture is soft and aerated like the brand's classic truffle. However, its top selling point is also its main limitation. Although I enjoy hazelnut flavor in chocolate, it's one that can lose its charm after several bites, and that's what happened here.

As the brand name implies, Alter Eco is very devoted to green and environmentally friendly practices. But brand missions and flavor don't necessarily always line up. I selected the 70% Cacao Brown Butter Dark Chocolate to see if Alter Eco's would.

First off, I love the central flavor idea here. Brown butter makes everything better, and this chocolate is no exception. However, this is still an extremely strong dark chocolate, barely packing enough sugar to qualify as a chocolate bar. While I can personally appreciate this intensity, I believe it's still too bitter to be enjoyed like some of the other bars on this list. 

Launched by Walmart in April 2024, bettergoods offers a more premium option than Great Value brands of ice cream, cheese, and, of course, chocolate. The packaging and design definitely called to mind Target's Good & Gather branding. I selected the off-the-wall Cookie Butter Filled Milk Chocolate bar, which claimed to be both Fair Trade Certified and made in Switzerland — two prized distinctions in the realm of chocolate. 

This was a rather sweet candy bar, but I expected that. The chocolate exterior was nice and creamy, exactly what I would want from a Swiss chocolate, and the cookie butter filling had crunchy cookie bits — a nice touch in my book. It wasn't the strongest offering overall, but I'm open to trying more bettergoods chocolate in the future.   

Unless you've lived a life of extreme chocolate ignorance, chances are you know exactly what a Hershey's bar tastes like. Whether you first tried it sandwiched in a s'mores or as a miniature Halloween treat, Hershey's is an indelible part of American chocolate identity. And it's stayed pretty cheap, too, at just $1.32 for 1.55 ounces. But how does this classic brand hold up?

If you can qualify nostalgia as a flavor, Hershey's has it in spades. It's a familiar, sentimental choice for the chocolate lover, if not exactly sensational. It beats Cadbury in my opinion, and I think part of its success lies in the thinness of the bar, which lets you enjoy its heavy sweetness without getting sick of it. Basically, if you loved it as a kid, you'll probably still enjoy it as an adult. 

I love a lot of Trader Joe's versions of sweets, from the crowd-pleasing Hold the Cone Tips to the chocolate-covered edamame it offered back in the day. Naturally, I've often indulged in the plain Trader Joe's chocolates as well. This time around, I sampled the Mini 70% Dark Chocolate Bars. What intrigued me about this bar is that it promises only 100 calories, and not through cutting out sugar, dairy, or fat. Instead, it just makes the portion-size perfectly petite. 

As a chocoholic who tries not to go overboard, I found this to be a delicious, slim bit of chocolate. It had a complex enough flavor to qualify as dark chocolate but wasn't too bitter to enjoy. Simply put, this bar gets the job done without sacrificing flavor or texture.  As long as the store keeps churning out quality chocolate bars, I'll keep trying them. 

Endangered Species is another chocolate brand trying to mix a bit philanthropy in with the bar, pledging 10% of its profits to various charities and environmental organizations devoted to aiding — you guessed it — endangered species. While it has a wide variety of chocolates, I selected the Smooth 72% Cocoa Dark Chocolate, as I was hoping to get a taste of sophisticated, intense chocolate with plenty of silky texture. 

When I opened it up, I could see its iconic elephants on each square. Though I could definitely detect the slight fruitiness of a high-cacao chocolate, I found this to be much milder than the average dark variety. As it mentioned on the wrapper, it is indeed smooth, which probably aided this mild flavor. This was a fine dark chocolate, but better was yet to come. 

Though other brands on this list work hard to incorporate an eco initiative into the business, none goes to the lengths that Blue Stripes does. The brand takes great pains to be sustainable for production, making items like granola and cacao water out of the many neglected parts of the cocoa pod. Of course, it also makes high quality chocolate bars, too. I went with Whole Cacao Pure Dark, which was a fairly expensive bar of chocolate, ringing up at $5.59 for 2.3 ounces.

Unlike other dark chocolates, Blue Stripes did not hide its robust cocoa flavor. The rich, fruity notes were bold without being bitter, and I feel like it would be at home served on a charcuterie board with wine and cheeses. In other words, this is a highly sophisticated chocolate. It may not be for everybody, but it's a real treat for those who like it bold. 

Based out of Seattle, Washington, Theo is a chocolate brand that I used to covet as a teenager on the rare visits I'd make to the Fresh Market. Using organic, non-GMO, and fair trade cocoa, it always felt like a high-end chocolate to me. Though there are numerous flavors to chose from, I went with the Salted Toffee Dark Chocolate. 

This bar stood out in areas where other brands fell short. Unlike the Lily's chocolate, the salt was very well balanced. Contrary to the Alter Eco brand, the dark chocolate was not strong enough to drown out the toffee flavor. And in a step up from the Toblerone, the toffee hardly ever got stuck in my teeth. Theo just seems to do chocolate better than most (but not all). 

A thoroughly German chocolate, Ritter Sport is one of those brands that has a slightly confusing name: Is it a chocolate bar or a protein bar? Well, according to the Ritter Sport website, it has to do with the distinctive shape of the chocolate, which makes it perfect to fit and not break in a sport's jacket pocket. I've enjoyed the marzipan-filled flavor over the years, but this time around I tried the Dark Chocolate with Whole Hazelnuts. 

Immediately, I was impressed by the quality of both the chocolate and the hazelnuts nestled within. It's like the adult version of the Ferrero Rocher candy bar — everything was more subtle and nuanced. Keeping the whole hazelnut plain seems like a simple touch, but doing so allows both the dark chocolate and the nuts stand on their own. When I want a refined chocolate experience, I'll return to Ritter Sport.

When I see the neon packaging of Tony's Chocolonely, I immediately get Willy Wonka vibes, an association I'm pretty sure the brand was going for. Known for selling hefty chocolate bars with whimsical flavors — I chose the Caramel Cookie Milk Chocolate Bar – I expected this to be a bit on the juvenile side when it came to taste. Delightfully, I was wrong. 

This a nicely balanced milk chocolate bar, complete with high quality mix-ins. Like Toblerone, the crunchy bits can still get stuck in your teeth, but this was better distributed than the Swiss giant's sugar bomb. I really dig the toffee-like texture here. Sure, you're getting a lot of chocolate in one bar, but that just made it more affordable in my book. Though I'd avoided Tony's in the past, I'll be giving more of the brand's bars a try.

Colorado-based Chocolove swears the secret to its success lies in the surrounding Rocky Mountain cold air, the American version a brisk Swiss Alpine breeze. Beyond that, the brand also works hard to source fair trade cocoa that is also non-GMO verified. Though the brand offers some exciting flavor combos, I went with the classic Milk Chocolate. 

It's fitting that each square on this bar is adorned with little hearts as it was made for the milk chocolate lovers. I found it to be a top tier chocolate bar, with credit to its smooth, creamy texture and flavor that wasn't too sweet. No breaks are needed when eating this bar, and it was easily my favorite milk chocolate option of those I sampled.

Known for making delightful truffles as well as quality chocolate bars, Lindt is a company that you're probably already familiar with. Though I could have chosen one of a hundred options, I decided to go for a divisive flavor: Lindt Excellence Intense Orange Dark Chocolate with almond slivers. 

Excellence, indeed. I'm already a fan of the orange and chocolate combo, but this bar takes the flavor pairing to a whole new level. The dark chocolate has an intense, smooth taste, while the sweet and sharp citrus cuts through to complement it perfectly. The final note of almond crunch sends it into overdrive. And that's not even considering Lindt's many other glorious milk chocolates and plain dark chocolates. Where some brands deliver less bang for your buck, Lindt does the opposite, supplying a lot for a little.

A San Francisco icon, Ghirardelli has been producing chocolate in the Bay Area since 1852. Though I've long loved the brand's milk chocolate and caramel-filled bars, I decided to give Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate a chance in the spotlight. 

This is the true Goldilocks of dark chocolate, offering a richly nuanced flavor that doesn't overwhelm the tastebuds. And that's just this bar. Whether it's milk chocolate or dark chocolate, Ghirardelli delivers something delicious and at a price point that makes it endlessly attractive. I love that the cacao percentage is always listed on the bar as well, which can help me determine exactly how intense the chocolate will be. Across the board, I'd go for Ghirardelli every time. 

This is a broad overview of chocolate bars available to me in my area of Northern Florida. I did not try any chocolate chips or baking-specific chocolate. I ranked the bars based on taste, texture, value, and general appeal.