HIV home test: free kits, OraQuick price, mail-in tests

An HIV home test is either a self-test you read yourself or a kit you mail to a lab. The OraQuick HIV Self-Test is an oral swab you can buy at a pharmacy, and it shows a result in 20 minutes. You can also get two self-tests free by mail from Together TakeMeHome, a program CDC funds. The cheapest HIV home kit we track costs $49 (verified Nov 1, 2026) at Everlywell.

Key points

• OraQuick looks for HIV antibodies in fluid from your gums. You read it 20 to 40 minutes after you start.
• The maker says OraQuick gives accurate results 3 months after an exposure. A negative result before then isn't final.
• Together TakeMeHome mails two free self-tests every 90 days to people 17 and older in the US and Puerto Rico.
• A positive self-test needs a follow-up test from a health care provider.
• If the exposure was in the last 72 hours, ask about PEP now.

How the OraQuick home HIV test works

OraSure, the maker, describes OraQuick as a self-test for HIV-1 and HIV-2 in oral fluid. It looks for antibodies, which your body makes in response to HIV, rather than for the virus itself. OraSure renamed the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test the OraQuick HIV Self-Test and says only the packaging changed, so stores may use either name.

You swab your upper and lower gums once, put the swab in a tube of liquid and wait. The FDA says to read the result after 20 to 40 minutes, and the maker says a reading outside that window isn't valid. The test is for people 14 and older. The maker explains the result this way:

• One line next to "C" and no line next to "T" is negative.
• A line next to "C" and any line next to "T", even a faint one, is a preliminary positive.
• No line next to "C" means the test didn't work, and you need a new kit.

How accurate is OraQuick?

In the clinical study behind the FDA approval, 99.9% of people without HIV (4,902 of 4,903) got a correct negative result and 91.7% of people with HIV (88 of 96) got a correct positive result, OraSure says. The FDA describes the same results as about one false negative in every 12 people with HIV and one false positive in every 5,000 people without it.

In that study, a missed infection was more likely than a false alarm. The maker lists the usual causes of a false negative: testing less than 3 months after a risk, misreading the result, not following the directions, and wearing dentures or other products that cover the gums.

When to take it

The maker says OraQuick gives accurate results 3 months after an exposure, because 97% of people make antibodies within 3 months. In rare cases it takes up to 6 months. If you test sooner and the result is negative, the maker suggests testing again at least 3 months after the exposure. CDC says antibody tests, which include most self-tests, can usually find HIV 23 to 90 days after an exposure.

A lab test on blood from a vein can find HIV sooner. Our HIV test types guide compares the options, and our window periods guide covers other infections.

If the exposure was in the last 72 hours, the test can wait. CDC says PEP, medicine that can prevent HIV, must be started within 72 hours. Talk to a health care provider, an urgent care center or an emergency room now.

Free HIV home tests from Together TakeMeHome

CDC's HIV testing page points people to Together TakeMeHome for free self-tests by mail. On November 1, 2026, the program's own pages said:

• You can order if you live in the United States, including Puerto Rico, are 17 or older, and haven't ordered from the program in the past 90 days.
• Each order is a pack of two, one for you and one to share. You choose two OraQuick oral swab tests, two INSTI finger-stick tests, or one of each. INSTI is for people 18 and older.
• The tests cost nothing, and the program doesn't bill insurance. CDC pays for it.
• Most orders arrive in 3 to 5 days, in a plain white envelope whose label doesn't name the program or HIV.
• The program doesn't recommend self-tests for people taking PrEP, because they're less sensitive to a recent infection. People on PrEP, or who already have HIV, can order tests to give to others.

The program says INSTI shows a result in 1 minute and is less likely to miss an infection, while OraQuick takes 20 minutes and needs no blood. It says both can find HIV as early as 3 weeks after an exposure but can take up to 12 weeks.

If you're under 17, the program suggests buying OraQuick, which is approved from age 14, finding a local self-test program, or testing at a clinic.

State and local programs

Some health departments mail their own free kits. Texas's Test for Texas program, for example, mails a free HIV and STD kit to anyone in Texas aged 13 or older. You send the samples to a lab and get results through a secure portal, the state says. Greater Than HIV keeps a state-by-state list of free self-test programs, and CDC says GetTested shows organizations near you that offer free or reduced-cost self-tests.

Buying an HIV home test

OraQuick and INSTI prices in stores

When we checked on November 1, 2026, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart sold OraQuick online, and INSTI's maker sold its test on Amazon. CVS's product page still uses the old name, OraQuick In-Home HIV Test. Each price shows the date we checked it:

Mail-in HIV test kits

A mail-in kit is a lab test on a blood sample you collect at home. Wisp, for example, sells an HIV 1 & 2 blood test kit and says results appear online 3 to 5 business days after the lab receives your sample. Everlywell's HIV home test, by contrast, is OraQuick. If a lab tests a finger-prick sample, ask which window period applies. CDC's 18 to 45 days for a lab antigen/antibody test is for blood from a vein.

Below is each provider's cheapest HIV home kit, with the date we checked the price. Each row's note says whether it's a self-test or a lab kit.

"Same day" results mean a self-test you read at home. Our at-home STD tests guide compares kits for other infections, and our HIV test page adds lab visits.

If your home test is positive

A positive self-test is a preliminary result, not a diagnosis. CDC says to see a health care provider for a follow-up test. If that test is also positive, you have HIV. CDC says to start treatment as soon as possible, and that treatment that keeps the virus undetectable means you won't pass HIV on through sex. Our positive result guide covers the next steps.

A negative result is final only if you tested after the window period, with no possible exposure since, CDC says. If the test didn't work, use another self-test or get tested at a clinic.

Free rapid HIV testing near you

CDC says most HIV tests are free or reduced cost. If you test outside a doctor's office or lab, such as at a community testing site, you'll most likely get a rapid test with oral fluid or a finger stick. With a rapid test, CDC says, you may be able to wait for the result.

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 testingFree clinics we checked, by city

Our local testing pages list free and low-cost clinics city by city, each with a link to the clinic's own page and the date we checked it. Our free testing guide explains what to expect at a clinic.

Privacy: confidential, not anonymous

A self-test you read at home doesn't go to a lab, and Together TakeMeHome says only you will know your result. The follow-up test is different. Labs and health care providers report confirmed HIV diagnoses by name to the state or local health department, and CDC says those reports are confidential and reach CDC without personal identifiers. Our privacy guide explains what ends up in your records.