Does a viral sore throat hurt as much as a strep throat infection?

Possibly: Sxs of strep throat can include: pain of throat; large, red tonsils with white exudates; small red dots on roof of the mouth; swollen lymph nodes on neck; fever, headache, rash, difficulty swallowing, fatigue or rash. Complications can include infection of middle ear, sinuses, tonsils, skin, blood as well as scarlet fever, inflammation of kidney (glomerulonephritis) & eventually rheumatic fever.

You bet...: ....And sometimes more. Some of the worst sore throats I have treated were caused by the epstein barr virus. Sometimes strep hurts a lot, and sometimes strep doesn't hurt that much at all.