The Best 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Episodes

Ranker TV
Updated September 16, 2023 105.2K votes 8.8K voters 268.5K views
Over 8.8K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Episodes
Voting Rules
Vote for your favorite SpongeBob SquarePants episodes.

For your next SpongeBob SquarePants marathon, you can start by putting all of the best and funniest SpongeBob episodes below in the queue. Sure it'll take weeks to get through this list of SpongeBob episodes (there are literally hundreds), but at least you'll be entertained! You may be asking, who determined these were the best SpongeBob episodes? Well, you'll be happy to know that SpongeBob fans voted these as the best! With some help from Patrick...

Unfortunately, fans of SpongeBob are extremely passionate about the show and there is often debate over which episodes are the best. With so many memorable episodes of the show, and so many great quotes over so many seasons, it's hard to trust just one person's opinion of what are the top SpongeBob SquarePants episodes of all time. That's why this list exists--so you can vote for your favorites and we can find out once and for all.

This classic Nickelodeon cartoon about the denizens of Bikini Bottom makes fans out of any generation who watches, no matter what their age. "Band Geeks" and "Chimps Ahoy" are a great starting point for your to rank your favorites on this list. So what is the best SpongeBob SquarePants episode of all time? Look below and find out with this guide that shows the best moments, scenes, and videos. 

 

Most divisive: Pineapple Fever
Ranked by
  • Pizza Delivery
    1

    Pizza Delivery

    August 14, 1999
    3,724 votes
    • Series: SpongeBob SquarePants

    Season 1, Episode 10

    "Pizza Delivery" is the first segment of the fifth episode of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. The episode was written by Sherm Cohen, Aaron Springer, and Peter Burns, with Sean Dempsey serving as animation director. Cohen also functioned as storyboard director, and Springer worked as storyboard artist. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 14, 1999. In the episode, the Krusty Krab receives a call from a customer ordering a pizza, and Mr. Krabs sends SpongeBob and Squidward to deliver it. When the two employees become stranded in the middle of a desert, they get into numerous predicaments. Along the way, SpongeBob tries to show Squidward the way of the pioneers. In pitching the show to Nickelodeon, creator Stephen Hillenburg originally wanted the idea of having the characters on a road trip, inspired by the 1989 film Powwow Highway. However, he eventually gave up the idea, and resurrected it in "Pizza Delivery". The episode received positive reviews, with most media critics considering it one of the best SpongeBob SquarePants episodes.
  • Graveyard Shift
    2

    Graveyard Shift

    September 6, 2002
    3,053 votes
    • Series: SpongeBob SquarePants

    Season 3, Episode 24

    After Mr. Krabs decides to keep the Krusty Krab open 24 hours a day in a new scheme to get money, he tells Squidward and SpongeBob to do the night shift. Squidward tells SpongeBob the story of the Hash-Slinging Slasher, but his own twisted tale becomes reality!!
  • Band Geeks
    3

    Band Geeks

    September 7, 2001
    4,767 votes
    • Series: SpongeBob SquarePants

    Season 2, Episode 26

    Squidward enlists the aid of SpongeBob and the rest of Bikini Bottom to form a marching band to impress Squidward's old high school rival, Squilliam Fancyson.

  • The Camping Episode
    4

    The Camping Episode

    April 3, 2004
    3,076 votes
    • Series: SpongeBob SquarePants

    Season 3, Episode 38

    SpongeBob and Patrick decide to go camping for the weekend, they camp out in the backyard. Squidward lures a sea bear to the campsite by doing stuff that would allure a sea bear.
  • Shanghaied
    5

    Shanghaied

    March 09, 2001
    1,478 votes
    • Series: SpongeBob SquarePants

    Season 2, Episode 22

    When a giant anchor falls onto SpongeBob's house, Squidward, SpongeBob and Patrick decide to climb the anchor, and they find the boat of the Flying Dutchman and he imprisons them.
  • The Idiot Box
    6

    The Idiot Box

    March 1, 2002
    2,592 votes
    • Series: SpongeBob SquarePants

    Season 3, Episode 8

    SpongeBob and Patrick buy a big screen TV, just so they can use the box using imagination, while Squidward refuses to believe that they are using their imagination inside the box on account of all the noise they are making.