The taste and flavor profile of red paprika is very different from that of red chili powder. Red chili powder has an earthy and pungent taste. It is rarely used alone, but added to other spices and condiments in any dish. Depending on the kind of red chili powder used, it brings some degree of heat to the food.

So the question of what is a good paprika substitute comes down to what dish you're preparing and how much paprika that dish calls for. 

Spanish Paprika

There are also specialty chili powders that are made from exotic chili peppers, such as ghost peppers or habanero peppers. These powders are extremely hot and should be used sparingly to avoid overwhelming the dish with heat. Ghost pepper chili powder, also known as bhut jolokia, is one of the hottest chili powders in the world and is not recommended for the faint of heart.

WHAT CUISINE CAN PAPRIKA BE USED IN?

The ratio that works best for my recipes is for every teaspoon of paprika, I use one-fourth or one-third teaspoon of cayenne chili powder, depending on how spicy or hot I want the dish to be.