With less than two months to go until the world’s largest arts festival returns in August, we’ve taken a look at 21 top stand-up comedians to check out at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
As hundreds of comedians get set to head to Scotland’s Capital for the comedy month of the year, it can be almost impossible to decide which funny men and women you are going to spend your hard-earned money on to see live.
Having already recommended the best children’s shows and household names to see in Edinburgh this year at the Fringe, we’ve hopefully helped you narrow your search for the best stand-up comedians to go and see.
Check out our gallery below of 21 great stand-up comedians to see at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, including funny people you might already know and some under the radar future comedy stars you might just fall in love with.
1. Lara Ricote: Inkling
Nominated for Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Inkling is a show about mystery, messages, feelings and what happens if you pretend they’re not there. Speaking of bringing her third show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Lara Ricote says: “I went ahead and put my whole heart into this show and the result is that I am as honest as I can possibly fathom to be (turns out, that is, very), and I’ve learned how to make something beautiful out of something nasty. I will do that for the rest of time it is the Greatest Gift of My Life (grow up, I mean it). I think you’re Actually Gonna Enjoy it. I did it for me but I very much did it for you. Thanks guys you have been kind to me to let me stretch myself far and wide so that I could find this show inside of me and, Newsflash, I Did It!” Lara Ricote: Inkling, at Monkey Barrel - MB3, August 5-30, not 17th, 5.40pm. | Pip
2. Sammy J - Hero Complex
It’s been 12, yes, 12 whole years since this slightly geeky but very funny skinny man graced Scotland’s capital with his “whiplash smart humour” and “endlessly creative talent”. But fear not as for the first 12, yes, 12 days of this very festival, Edinburgh’s true protagonist is back to save it once and for all. This is Sammy J: Hero Complex. Thirty years ago, Sammy J swapped some comics from his school gardener. He wasn’t to know it at the time, but that moment set off a chain of events that led to the birth of his daughter, saw him committing a crime in Canberra and ended with a federal policeman searching his attic. Sammy J - Hero Complex, 7:40pm, Underbelly Cowbarn, until August 16. | Evan Munro-Smith
3. Candace Bryan: Don’t Be Ridiculous, Everybody Wants This
Candace Bryan is an American stand-up comedian and writer based in London. In 2025, she had jokes featured on both The Guardian's and The Telegraph's 'Best Jokes of the Fringe’ lists and on BBC Scotland, and she was shortlisted for Chortle's Hotshots. She's also a 9-time winner at the Bill Murray’s Roast Battle and has twice been a Funny Women Best Comedian nominee. Her writing has been published in Cosmopolitan, Allure, and Vice. She recently appeared on Virgin Radio with Geoff Lloyd where she revealed more about her innovative online habits beyond shopping! On the kitten heels of her 2025 debut, comedian and writer Candace Bryan returns to Edinburgh with a new hour of fast-paced, joke-heavy standup about the struggle between her love of online shopping and her personal politics. Candace Bryan: Don’t Be Ridiculous, Everybody Wants This, Gilded Balloon Patter House, Bothie Room (24), August 5-31, not 18th, 4pm. | Textual Healing
4. Katie Norris: Mother Succubus
Following her nomination for ‘Best Show’ at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards last year, Katie Norris is set to return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with her third solo hour, ‘Mother Succubus’. This Fringe run also follows her appearance on the Christmas special of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), where she made her debut as Godmother to the nation. In her new show, Katie is set to unpack what happens when a woman is no longer automatically sexualised and whether becoming invisible to men might actually be the most freeing thing that’s ever happened to her. She will touch on a number of topics ranging from menopausal madness and murderous women to sisterhood and relationships, all with a musical theatre edge. Katie Norris: Mother Succubus, at Pleasance Courtyard, August 5-30 except 12th, 9.25pm. | Avalon