At-home STD tests compared: prices, kits and results

An at-home STD test is either a kit you mail to a lab or a self-test you read yourself. With a mail-in kit, you collect urine, a swab or a few drops of blood and send it back, and results come online a few days after the lab gets it. Self-tests show a result at home in about 30 minutes or less, but only for HIV, syphilis and, for women, chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis. The cheapest home kit we track that tests for chlamydia costs $69 (verified Nov 1, 2026) at Everlywell. The cheapest full panel kit costs $249 (verified Nov 1, 2026) at Wisp.

Key points

• Most home STD tests are mail-in kits. A lab runs the test, and providers usually count the results time from when the lab receives your sample.
• Self-tests with results at home exist for HIV and syphilis, and for women, chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis. None covers a full panel.
• The tables below show every provider's cheapest home kit for each test, with the date we checked the price.
• A positive self-test needs a follow-up test. A negative result is reliable only if you test after the window period.
• CVS, Walgreens and Walmart sell HIV and syphilis self-tests online. CVS and Amazon also sell mail-in kits.
• Testing at home is confidential, not anonymous.

How home STD tests work

Mail-in kits

You order online, collect the sample at home and mail it back in a prepaid envelope. A lab runs the test and posts your results to an online account. Results times start when the lab receives the sample. LetsGetChecked says about 2 to 5 days, and Wisp says 3 to 5 business days. Add shipping in both directions.

In 2023 the FDA authorized LetsGetChecked's Simple 2, the first chlamydia and gonorrhea test that uses a sample collected at home. It's sold without a prescription to adults 18 and older.

Self-tests you read at home

• HIV. CDC lists two HIV self-tests, OraQuick and INSTI, and says a self-test gives results within 20 minutes. The FDA approved OraQuick for ages 14 and older, using a swab of the gums, and INSTI in October 2025 for ages 18 and older, using a finger prick.
• Syphilis. In 2024 the FDA authorized the First To Know Syphilis Test, the first over-the-counter syphilis test. It uses a drop of blood and gives a result in about 15 minutes.
• Chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis, for women. In 2025 the FDA authorized the Visby Medical Women's Sexual Health Test, the first test for these three infections that's sold without a prescription and done entirely at home. You collect a vaginal swab, a small powered device runs it, and an app shows the result in about 30 minutes.

So is there an at-home STD test with instant results? For these infections, yes. Among the FDA-authorized tests we found, none gives instant results for herpes, hepatitis or a full panel. Those tests still go to a lab. Our same-day testing guide covers rapid tests at clinics and same-day lab visits.

Home STD test kits we track, compared

Each table has one row per provider, showing its cheapest home kit that includes the test, with the price, the date we checked it, what the kit covers and the results time the provider states. The cheapest is first. Notes in each row list shipping, fees and states where a kit isn't sold.

Full panel kits

"Full panel" means each provider's broadest standard kit, and they don't cover the same infections. Check the list of tests in each row.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea kits

These are the "common STD" kits. Some add trichomoniasis, and some are part of a bigger panel.

HIV home tests

Some HIV kits are self-tests you read at home. Others are finger-prick samples that a lab tests. The note in each row says which, and our HIV test types guide explains how the tests differ.

Syphilis home tests

What each kit tests: samples for men and women

Urine or swab. For chlamydia and gonorrhea, CDC names first-catch urine for men and vaginal swabs for women as the best samples. It says swabs women collect themselves are as accurate as swabs a clinician takes. LetsGetChecked's Simple 2 follows that split, with a urine kit for people with a penis and a vaginal swab kit for people with a vagina. Everlywell's chlamydia and gonorrhea kit and CVS's kit use urine for everyone.

Throat and rectum. Urine and vaginal swabs test the genitals only. CDC says infections in the throat or rectum after receptive oral or anal sex are diagnosed by testing those sites. Some kits add throat and rectal swabs. Wisp's 3-site kit, for example, tests urine, throat and rectal samples. LetsGetChecked says Simple 2 tests genital sites only.

Blood. Kits that test for syphilis, HIV or hepatitis C usually add a finger-prick blood sample or a self-test.

Herpes. Some kits check only HSV-2 or need an active sore to swab. Our tables label these rows, and our herpes testing guide explains swab and blood tests.

Buying a home STD test at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart or Amazon

When we checked on November 1, 2026, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart sold the OraQuick HIV self-test and the First To Know syphilis test online. CVS also sells its own mail-in kit, the CVS Common STI Test Kit. You mail a urine sample to a lab, which tests it for chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis. It costs $89.99 (verified Nov 1, 2026) at CVS Health, and CVS doesn't ship it to New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island or Puerto Rico.

On Amazon, we found the INSTI HIV self-test sold by its maker, and two Simple HealthKit mail-in kits sold by Amazon.com:

The First To Know test is the same product Labcorp OnDemand sells in the syphilis table above, so compare both prices. Walmart and Amazon also list kits from other sellers and brands that we haven't checked.

Accuracy and when to confirm a result

A mail-in kit uses the same kinds of lab tests as a clinic visit, so the main risk is the sample. Follow the kit's steps closely. LetsGetChecked, for example, asks for the first part of your urine stream, collected in the morning, with no urinating for an hour before.

A self-test needs a second step if it's positive. CDC says a positive HIV self-test needs lab testing to confirm it. The FDA says the same about the syphilis self-test, which also reads positive in anyone diagnosed with syphilis before, even after successful treatment. For the Visby test, the FDA says to seek care after a positive result, and to call a clinician if you have symptoms or a recent exposure despite a negative one.

Timing matters as much as the test. CDC says antibody tests, which include most HIV self-tests, can usually detect HIV 23 to 90 days after exposure. Our window periods guide covers each infection, and our home vs lab guide compares accuracy in more detail.

Free at-home STD tests

Free home testing is easiest to find for HIV. CDC says you can order free HIV self-tests through Together TakeMeHome, and its GetTested site shows organizations near you that offer free or reduced-cost self-tests. These are read at home, so they're also the free tests with instant results. For other infections, we found no national program that mails free kits. GetTested lists clinics with free or low-cost testing, and our free testing guide explains what to expect.

Free option: public clinics

Free and low-cost testing is available at health department clinics and Title X family planning clinics. CDC's GetTested site finds confidential, free or low-cost testing near you by ZIP code.

What to expect

• Clinics usually test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV, and often hepatitis B and C, following CDC screening advice for your age, anatomy and the kind of sex you have.
• A clinician can examine you, swab sores and often treat you in the same visit.
• Some tests sold in private panels are usually not offered without symptoms, such as herpes blood tests and HPV tests for men, because CDC doesn't recommend them as screening tests.
• Hours can be limited, and you may wait for an appointment or a walk-in slot.
• Free testing usually isn't anonymous either (some publicly funded sites offer anonymous HIV testing). Positive results for reportable infections are reported to the health department, confidentially.

Find free testing near you (opens in a new tab)More about free testing

Paying with an HSA or FSA

The HSA/FSA column in each table shows whether the provider says it accepts these cards. Some store listings, such as CVS's OraQuick page, mark the test as HSA/FSA eligible. Our HSA and FSA guide covers receipts and reimbursement.

Privacy: confidential, not anonymous

You order with your name and address, and results go to an online account or app. LetsGetChecked says its kits arrive in a plain envelope with no company name on it. If you pay yourself, no insurance claim is filed.

Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV are reportable in every state. CDC says the lab or clinician reports positive results, and that those reports are kept confidential. That's the same whether you collected the sample at home or at a clinic. A self-test you read at home involves no lab, but a positive result needs a follow-up test, and that test is reported like any other. Our privacy guide explains what ends up in your records.