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Testing at home for gonorrhea is private, easy, and accurate. It can be a smart first step toward protecting yourself and others.

Gonorrhea often doesn’t have symptoms

Even when gonorrhea is asymptomatic, it can be transmitted to another person.

Gonorrhea is treatable

Antibiotics are highly effective. If not treated, gonorrhea can spread to the reproductive and urinary tracts.

Testing prevents complications

In rare cases, gonorrhea can travel to your bloodstream and cause heart damage. Testing can help prevent this complication.

PriceSampleResults
Nurx• as low as $29.50 with insurance
• $190 without insurance
+ $30 consultation fee 		vaginal swab,
throat swab,
finger prick
up to 7 days
Everlywell$69urinea few days
myLAB Box$179swab and urine2 to 5 days
LetsGetChecked$99/$149/$249urine,
finger prick 		2 to 5 days

We carefully review products before we recommend them to ensure they meet high standards for medical credibility, good business practices, privacy practices and security, and social impact. Specific to at-home STI tests, we further consider:

  • Methods used for collection: Test collection methods may involve saliva, urine, or blood through a finger prick.
  • Speed of results: You may need to wait longer than a week for some options. We prioritize tests that return results in a few days.
  • Lab certification: Opting for labs with Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certification helps ensure reliable results.
  • Ease of purchasing: It’s important that navigating the website is easy, and buying tests is straightforward.
  • Cost: Testing kits shouldn’t break the bank. We include tests at a range of price points.
  • Reviews: We look at what users had to say about the tests and include options where most people were happy with their experience.

For gonorrhea, the incubation period, or the amount of time it takes to test positive after exposure, ranges from 1 to 14 days. That’s why experts recommend getting tested for gonorrhea 2 weeks after potential exposure and then again several weeks later.

If you get tested before that, you might receive a negative result, even if you’re positive. Or if you receive a positive diagnosis, it could be because you came into contact prior to your last sexual encounter.

Gonorrhea symptoms usually appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure. However, most cases of gonorrhea are asymptomatic.

When someone does experience symptoms, they usually include:

  • burning or pain while urinating
  • yellow, white, or green discharge
  • itching, soreness, or skin irritation
  • abdominal, pelvic, rectal, or genital pain

Regardless of whether someone has symptoms, a person can transmit the bacteria. That’s why it’s important to get tested regularly.

If untreated, gonorrhea can cause complications such as:

Getting treatment quickly

If you find out the person you had sex with has gonorrhea, talk with a healthcare professional right away. If it’s within 1 to 3 days after exposure, you may be able to get an antibiotic as a precaution against infection. You can also talk with your partner about expedited partner therapy.

Learn more about online treatment for STIs.

Getting test results can be potentially confusing or a source of anxiety. Every test on this list gives you the option of quickly connecting with a healthcare professional at no or low cost.

If there’s a healthcare professional you trust, you can also speak with them to discuss your results, treatment for a positive diagnosis, and next steps.

You may want to consider the following when choosing a test:

  • your kit will arrive in a discreet envelope
  • the test will be analyzed in a CLIA-certified laboratory
  • your online privacy and test results will be protected with up-to-date security features
  • your identity and information will not be sold, ever, to any third party
  • test results will be provided within 1 week or less
  • follow-up consultations with healthcare professionals are available

Yes, testing for gonorrhea at home is a safe, accurate, and secure alternative. Most at-home STI testing brands use the same type of samples as an in-office collection.

In addition, most at-home testing companies send your samples to the same labs that in-person healthcare professionals use. This means the accuracy of the results is the same.

Finally, all the tests listed here are completely confidential and private — they have to be under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Even the packaging for these tests is discreet. The only indication of where the package is coming from and going to is the shipping label.

Instant tests for gonorrhea do exist at slightly higher price points. Although there are no rapid STD tests on our list, the ones we do recommend return results quickly — in anywhere from 2 to 7 days.

Experts consider vaginal swab sample tests more accurate and preferable to urine tests for detecting gonorrhea.

Regularly testing for STIs is important for anyone who is sexually active — for your own health and to protect others. And at-home gonorrhea tests, like the ones on our list, make it easier to do so.

Note: If you’re looking for free or reduced-cost STI testing, there are programs and resources that can help.

You can also find at-home STI tests at some retail stores like Walmart or Walgreens.