I Tried 14 Popular Microwave Popcorn Brands and the Winner Won by a Landslide

Snacking is one of those small, everyday habits that quietly shape how we eat. It’s what gets us through the midafternoon slump, what keeps kids from unraveling before dinner and what we reach for when we want just a little something. Lately, I’ve been craving snacks that feel satisfying without being heavy, that come together quickly and that don’t require a grocery run.

Popcorn checks almost every box I care about in a snack. It’s delicious, affordable and easy to make in minutes. I love its signature crunch, satisfying flavor and the fact that you can customize it with your favorite toppings.

Over time, popcorn has become a regular part of our family’s routine. When my kids need something quick after school or when I want a late-night bite while I’m watching my favorite show, popcorn is usually the answer. While I do own an air popper and use it often, there are days when convenience wins. On those nights, microwave popcorn is faster, easier and far more realistic than pulling out extra equipment.

As I moved to a gluten-free diet, popcorn became even more important in my household. It’s naturally gluten-free, which makes it one of the rare snacks that works for both my needs and my family’s tastes. I keep several boxes in the pantry to make sure I’m snack-ready at all times.

When I found my way into my popcorn era, I soon realized that there were a shockingly large number of microwave popcorn brands out there. The shelves are crowded with brands promising buttery bliss, clean labels or movie-theater nostalgia, and too many of them miss the mark. After one too many disappointing bowls, I decided it was time to find out which ones were actually worth buying.

To find the best microwave popcorn, I tried 14 different buttery brands. Some results I expected, one budget option genuinely surprised me and one popular name landed far closer to the bottom than I expected. Here’s what you need to know before your next snacking session.

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How I Chose These Microwave Popcorn Brands

To keep the comparison fair, I focused exclusively on butter-flavored microwave popcorn, using it as a baseline across all brands. I selected options that were easy to find at major grocery stores and big-box retailers, including store brands and national names. Organic and conventional versions were included, but stovetop-only popcorn was excluded to keep the test squarely focused on microwave convenience.

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How I Tested the Microwave Popcorn

Each bag was prepared according to package directions and cooked until the popping slowed, not stopped completely. After opening, I took note of the unpopped kernels to see if any bags had more than expected. Flavor, saltiness, butter quality and texture all factored into the rankings. I paid attention to stale notes, artificial tastes and any flavors that were not quite right or lingered after a few bites.

To ensure I wasn’t swayed by big names, I wrote the names of the brands on the bottoms of paper bowls, then mixed them up. My husband took notes as I tasted my way through all 14 brands. I also let each bag cool to room temperature before tasting so that none were fresh and hot. Read on for the rankings, from worst to best.

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14 Popular Microwave Popcorn Brands, Ranked Worst to Best

14. 365 by Whole Foods Market Microwave Popcorn, $4.79 ($1.60/bag)

This one was immediately recognizable. Like many organic products under this label, I found that the popcorn carried a noticeable soy-forward flavor that overpowered everything else. The kernels popped well, but the taste made it hard to finish a bowl.

The ingredients are organic popcorn, organic expeller pressed palm oil, salt and organic natural flavor, which I assume must be what’s reading as soy to me. I might be more sensitive to this ingredient than others, but this brand landed at the bottom for me.

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13. Boom Chicka Pop Microwave Popcorn, $4.58 (.76/bag)

I really like this brand in the pre-popped bagged form, but the texture of the microwave version was not great. The popcorn tasted oddly flat and slightly sweet, almost like stale cereal, with very little butter flavor. It felt more like an overly healthy snack than a comfort food.

12. Market Pantry Microwave Popcorn, $3.12 (.52/bag)

This Target store brand leaned heavily into artificial butter flavor, and not in a good way. The taste came across as synthetic, with none of the richness that makes buttery popcorn satisfying.

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11. Nature’s Promise Organic Microwave Popcorn, $2.50 (.83/bag)

This was another brand with a soy-like flavor, though it was less pronounced. While it avoided the chemical notes I tasted in the 365 popcorn, the overall taste was muted and lacked both salt and butter depth. There was just a slight hint of salt.

10. Skinnygirl Microwave Popcorn, $4 (.40/bag)

The biggest problem here was the absence of flavor. It tasted like plain air-popped popcorn, with barely any salt or butter to speak of. The texture was also slightly chewy. Another thing to note about this brand is that each box contains 10 mini bags, which are about 1.5 ounces vs. the 3- to 3.5-ounce bags that are more common with microwave popcorn.

9. ACT II Microwave Popcorn, $2.19 (.73/bag)

The butter flavor showed up late and felt artificial on the back end, with a slightly stale finish. It wasn’t offensive or strong, but it was forgettable and not something I would reach for when I want a snack. Also, I noted a large number of unpopped kernels in the bag.

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8. Giant Microwave Popcorn, $2.79 (.47/bag)

This brand was lightly salted, lightly buttered and noticeably stale. This popcorn lacked personality and the texture was not great, either. That being said, it didn’t leave a lingering fake butter flavor like some of the previous brands, so that helped bump it above those contenders.

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7. Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn, $3.69 (.62/bag)

This is a classic option and has that familiar microwave popcorn flavor with a decent crunch. While it didn’t stand out as something special, it delivered a reliable bowl of popcorn. This was also the only brand that had “double butter,” although I don’t think it offered more butter flavor than some of the others. This brand also had a large number of unpopped kernels in the bag.

6. SkinnyPop Microwave Popcorn, $5.24 (.87/bag)

This brand was crisp and airy, but the flavor didn’t fully follow through—the buttery taste being quite muted. It wasn’t bad, just not great, which is how it landed in the middle of the pack.

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5. Orville Redenbacher’s Microwave Popcorn, $4 (.67/bag)

This classic brand also featured a large number of unpopped kernels, but the ones that did pop were consistently fluffy with balanced butter and salt. Good ol’ Orville delivered exactly what you expect in microwave popcorn, making it a dependable choice.

4. Great Value Microwave Popcorn, $1.62 (.54/bag)

This Walmart store brand contender was a genuine surprise. It was one of the cheaper brands I tried, but the flavor hit that nostalgic microwave popcorn note, with solid butter flavor, a nice saltiness and good crunch.

3. Clancy’s Microwave Popcorn, $4.95 (.41/bag)

This brand from Aldi had an almost identical bag to the Giant store brand (something one notices when one tries 14 different versions of the same product), but it was totally different in flavor and texture. It was well-balanced and buttery, and reminded me more of carnival popcorn than a microwave snack. It had depth, crunch and just enough richness.

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2. Jolly Time Microwave Popcorn, $3.69 (.62/bag)

This brand feels like a premium snack, thanks to the balance of sweet cream butter flavor and sea salt. The popcorn was fluffy, rich and indulgent without being greasy or heavy. It wasn’t bright yellow, like some of the other options, which also made it feel like a more natural (dare I say refined?) snack.

1. Kirkland Signature Microwave Popcorn, $16.99 (.39/bag)

This Costco brand was the clear winner. This popcorn struck the perfect balance between the Great Value popcorn and Jolly Time. It has a sweet cream butter flavor like Jolly Time, but with more saltiness, like Great Value. It also had consistently popped kernels, unlike most of the national brands. It combined the nostalgia of classic microwave popcorn with a richer, more polished taste, earning a permanent spot in my pantry.

Bonus: I can buy 44 bags at a time, which means my family and I are set for a while on the snack front, plus it’s a great value. Winner, winner, popcorn snack dinner!

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Final Thoughts

After testing these 14 butter-flavored microwave popcorn brands, the differences were impossible to ignore. Some bowls were weighed down by artificial flavors or stale textures, while others delivered the balance of salt, butter and crunch that makes popcorn such a reliable snack. Some, sadly, had very little flavor at all.

A few store brands proved they could compete with (and even outperform) longtime favorites, making the results more surprising than I expected. In the end, the microwave popcorn you decide to keep stocked in your pantry depends on whether you prefer more butter, more salt or a good balance of the two. For me, Kirkland’s Signature is the popcorn brand I’ll keep buying.

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