At-Home Bacterial Vaginosis Testing Kits Help You Screen at Home

Most of the tests featured on this list tell you whether or not you might have BV, but the myLAB Box V-Box goes the extra mile by testing for multiple causes of vaginal discomfort, from BV and yeast infections to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like chlamydia and gonorrhea. So even if your BV test is negative, the V-Box can give you the info you need to better address your symptoms (including seeing a doctor, if necessary). 

With an easy-to-use vaginal swab, you’ll take a sample and send it back to myLAB Box for processing; shipping is quick, results are made available in two to five days, and if your results are positive, you can chat with a healthcare professional about next steps. Plus, shipping is free and your box includes a pre-paid label for your sample. The test costs $189 and is available from the vendor website and some other online retailers. This is on the pricier end of the spectrum, but it does test for a wide variety of potential causes of your vaginal symptoms. The only caveat is that the test is temporarily unavailable to New York residents. 

When you need to know right now if you’re dealing with a vaginal infection that warrants treatment, an OTC vaginal pH test kit will give you results on the spot. We like that the AZO Vaginal pH Screening Kit not only takes a mere 30 seconds to process your sample, but also helps you distinguish between different types of infections with its handy color-coded pH chart. The test costs $16 and is available on the vendor website and other online retailers; some AZO products are available in drug stores and other retailers, but this particular test isn’t frequently found in stores. This is a much cheaper test than the ones that are sent to labs to test for specific bacteria because it doesn’t provide you with very specific information. 

Using the test couldn’t be easier: you take a vaginal swab and apply it to the specified area of the testing strip. In less than a minute, the test strip will detect the pH level of your sample and change color based on how acidic or alkaline it is. AZO includes plenty of info about reading and interpreting your results, so you’ll be able to tell quickly if your vaginal pH is normal or elevated—and, if it’s elevated, you can then match your reading up with the likely culprit (yeast infection, BV, or trichomoniasis, which is a common parasitic sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can also cause vaginal itching, discharge, and odor) and hit up your healthcare provider for further testing and treatment.

If you like the speed and accuracy of the AZO test but want a kit you can purchase at your local pharmacy, we recommend the CVS Health Screening Kit for Vaginal Infections. Just like the AZO test, the CVS brand test includes two vaginal swabs that detect the acidity of your vaginal secretions. Technically, though, it's even more simple to use the CVS test: Rather than applying your sample to a test strip and interpreting your results along a color spectrum, the color on the tip of the swab itself gives you your reading.

In other words, it eliminates one whole step. If your swab stays yellow (the original color), your vaginal pH is considered normal; that means if you have symptoms like itching, burning, or painful urination, you may have a yeast infection. If the tip of the swab turns blue or green, your sample is abnormal, and you may have BV. The CVS test is not only affordable, it’s a one-step way to test for BV—and it’s probably sitting on a pharmacy shelf 10 minutes from your house right now. The test is $20 and can also be purchased on the CVS website and shipped to your home. It is much cheaper than tests that are sent to labs to look for specific bacteria because it doesn’t offer very specific information.

If a vaginal swab isn’t your thing, then the empowerDX Bacterial Vaginosis Test might be the best fit for you. Instead of a swabbed sample, you take a urine sample and send that back to the empowerDX lab; its technicians process your sample within 48 hours of receiving it and send your results to your private online portal for your review. 

If you’re worried about a urine sample being less accurate than a vaginal swab, don’t be: Studies have shown that clean-catch urine samples detect vaginal bacteria as well as vaginal swabs, so as long as you’re following the test’s directions, you should be good to go. As far as logistics, empowerDX is quick and reliable, shipping your kit free to you within five days and including a pre-paid FedEx shipping label for return to one of its labs. The test costs $119 and is only available on the vendor website. When deciding whether this is the best test for you, consider the cost and the fact that, unlike other lab-tested kits on this list, it only tests for BV bacteria. 

Some of the testing kits we feature on this list offer medical consultations if your results are positive, but you may get caught with high co-pays or instructed to follow up with your regular provider if you need a prescription. The LetsGetChecked Vaginitis Test is a more streamlined process, allowing you to take a vaginal swab, send your sample to the lab, and then schedule a virtual consultation with a provider and get any necessary medications sent to your house or your local pharmacy. Providers are also involved in sending you your results, checking your health record before it gets uploaded for your review. To ensure the accuracy of your test results, you must collect your sample on a weekday morning and return it the same day, and be sure to wait 48 hours after using vaginal creams or engaging in sexual activity before collection. LetsGetChecked also says this test is not for use while pregnant or during your period.

The virtual consultation costs $39, but that’s about as much as a typical doctor’s appointment co-pay for many insurance plans. The only caveat is that if you live in some states, you may not be able to receive a prescription via your consultation (Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Washington DC). Other than that, the LetsGetChecked test removes a lot of extra roadblocks to testing and treatment. This is the most expensive test on our list at $199, though the company frequently offers discount codes. The test is available at the vendor website or on Amazon. 

Accuracy is a tricky thing with at-home testing kits, since there’s a higher chance of user error and the potential for your sample to be damaged in transit to the lab. But where many at-home test kit companies are vague about their accuracy, iDNA is clear: as long as you follow the test directions, its results are 99% accurate. For BV testing in particular, we like that the iDNA Mycoplasma + Ureaplasma Test checks for the two most common causes of BV, which actually includes four different bacterial strains: Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, and Ureaplasma parvum. 

iDNA uses in-vitro diagnostic testing, FDA-cleared test components, and labs accredited by multiple organizations to process your results, which also increases the likelihood they will be accurate. Finally, the iDNA test for BV is a urine sample test, which can improve accuracy for people who might struggle to perform a vaginal swab. The test is one of the lowest priced lab-tested kits available at $88, and can only be purchased from the vendor website. While a follow-up call with a healthcare professional is not part of the kit, the results can be brought to your own doctor.

If you have recurring infections and need to test yourself regularly for BV, it can get costly; while at-home tests can be a cheaper and easier option than the doctor’s office when checking for the occasional infection, those costs can get out of hand if you’re a repeat tester. The Natureland Vaginal Health pH Test Strips are the most affordable option we could find for testing on a regular basis; while they can’t test for the specific bacteria causing your symptoms, they can give you easy-to-read, pH-based results to help you detect BV right on the spot.

These strips work similarly to the AZO strips we featured earlier: You swab your vagina, apply the sample to the test strip, and wait for it to change color based on the pH level of the sample. These strips give you a wide range of pH levels, from 3.5 to 6.5 (in 0.5 increments), so they’re pretty precise—plus, each one is individually wrapped to preserve its integrity, so the entire kit will last you a long time. Natureland pH test strips are $15 and can be purchased on the vendor website, Amazon, and other online retailers. This test is significantly cheaper than lab-tested kits because it does not look for specific bacteria.

While the Natureland strips are a great option for stocking up on pH tests, some people need to regularly test for BV with bacterial cultures. Those types of tests are always more expensive because they require lab processing, but we like that the Evvy Vaginal Health Test offers a subscription option that helps you save money on each BV test kit.

A single Evvy test for BV costs $129, but a subscription allows you to receive four tests per year for just $99 per test. That’s a cost savings of $120—plus all test kits include a free coaching call with a healthcare provider to talk about your results and any next steps.

If you’re struggling with recurrent BV, a subscription option like Evvy not only saves you money but makes it possible to better understand your vaginal health—it tests for several common BV-causing strains, plus bacteria that can cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) and yeast infections. The only downside is that Evvy’s high-tech lab testing takes a long time (as in, up to two weeks!) so you can really only use it for BV prevention and observation, not on-the-spot testing to treat.