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The 6 Best Pregnancy Tests of 2024

Bethany Hayes

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Taking a pregnancy test is one of the most exciting times in your life. You feel a mixture of excitement, hope, and anxiety, along with just a small bit of terror. What you want is a test that is accurate the first time, giving you the answer you really want to know. So, let’s take a look at the best pregnancy tests.

Before you ask, no, all pregnancy tests aren’t created equal. With four kids and several miscarriages, I might estimate I’ve taken at least 100 pregnancy tests or more. Each brand is different, depending on how you take the test and the accuracy levels. 

A Quick Look at Our Picks - Best Pregnancy Tests

First Response Early Result – Best for Early Testing 

Wondfo Pregnancy Test Strips – Cheapest Bulk Pregnancy Tests 

Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test – The Best Digital Pregnancy Test 

Clearblue Rapid Results – The Fastest Pregnancy Test 

EPT Digital Early Pregnancy Tests – Best Overall Test 

Clinical Guard HCG Pregnancy Test Strips – Best Strip Tests 

How Do Pregnancy Tests Work?

To understand how a pregnancy test works, you have to understand how conception works. 

When a woman is fertile, her body prepares to release an egg. During sexual intercourse, sperm is released, and it begins the race to meet the unfertilized egg. When sperm meets egg, it buries itself into the egg, fertilizing it. A home pregnancy test cannot detect this.

Now, your fertilized egg has to make its first serious journey. It must travel down the fallopian tubes, which takes between 4-5 days, on average. Then, it must implant into your uterine walls. Some women experience implantation bleeding when this takes place. 

Now, the implanted egg starts to generate HCG, which stands for human chorionic gonadotropin. No one wants to say that, so we just stick with HCG. During the early weeks of pregnancy, HCG levels double every 48-72 hours. 

A home pregnancy test looks for the presence of HCG in your urine. Each test detects at a specific level. Some tests claim that they can detect HCG as low as 7mIU/ml, but others don’t display a positive until the levels are 50mIU/ml.

So, how does this work? 

Let’s say your fertilized egg implanted Wednesday evening. We can assume your HCG levels start at 0 and then make it to 1 the next day. Thursday, it should double to 2. Two days later, your HCG levels might be at a four or a 5. By Monday, your levels will be around 10. A week after implantation, your levels are at a 20. Two days later, your levels are at 40. 

This process continues. In some pregnancies, your level might double every 24 hours. The normal range is 48-72 hours. 

Are Home Pregnancy Tests Accurate?

Most home pregnancy tests are accurate. They are more precise, the longer that you wait to take them. If you take them too early, you might be pregnant, but it could be too early to determine. Waiting to test until the day of your expected period or after will give you the most accurate results. 

When Can I Take a Pregnancy Test?

When you decide to take a pregnancy test is up to you. Some women report getting a positive test eight days post ovulation – 6 days before a missed period. 

In theory, this is possible if everything goes according to plan, and you pick a sensitive pregnancy test. However, if you do manage to get a positive test at this point, it’s going to be very light. 

It’s best to wait until as close to your missed period as possible. If you’re pregnant, a test should pick it up by the time your body misses a cycle. 

In my experience, I receive positive results between 10 and 14 days post ovulation (DPO). Everyone is different, and in the above example, we can see it will also depend on how fast your HCG levels are increasing. 

You may also interested: Your Ultimate Pregnancy Guide.

The Types of Pregnancy Tests

Before we take a look at the best pregnancy tests, you want to consider the different types of tests. While all home pregnancy tests work the same way, their features can differ.

1

Early Home Pregnancy Tests

If you’re testing a few days before your missed period, then you need an early home pregnancy test. These tests are more sensitive and can detect lower levels of HCG. You might be able to find out that they’re pregnant up to five or six days before your missed period.

It is important to remember that accuracy is always better the closer you are to the date of your missed period. 

2

Non-Digital Pregnancy Tests

These are the type of pregnancy tests that display your results in the form of blue or pink lines. It can be a bit confusing to read these at times, which is why some women prefer digital tests. Make sure you read the manual to determine first what is a positive result and what is a negative result. 

3

Digital Pregnancy Tests

If you don’t like the idea of using the non-digital tests, the next option is a digital pregnancy test. These tests are the easiest to use and read because they display your results in words – “pregnant” or “not pregnant.” So, there is no room for reading errors. However, digital pregnancy tests are more expensive. 

4

Sticks vs. Strips

Most pregnancy tests are sticks that are covered in plastic. You can pee directly on the sticks, which saves you from having to pee into a cup. The sticks help prevent urine from getting onto the wrong places of the test, which could cause an error. 

Strips need to be dipped into a cup. So, that means you need to have a container to pee into, so grab some paper bathroom cups. Another type of test that isn’t as usual involves using an eyedropper to take urine from a cup and dropping 2-3 drops of urine into a test reservoir. 

Strip tests use the same technology as stick tests and display the results similarly. The main difference is that they lack the plastic cover that makes it easier to use. However, the lack of plastic housing does mean that strip tests are cheaper. 

The 6 Best Pregnancy Tests

Now, let’s take a look at what I consider to be the best pregnancy tests on the market. 

1

First Response Early Result

No one likes to wait to find out if they’re about to have another baby. That’s why you need to give First Response Early Result a try. These tests are commonly just called FRERs by those who are actively trying to conceive a child. Many consider these tests the gold standard of pregnancy tests, which is why so many women only purchase this brand. 

First Response claims that they can detect an early result as soon as six days before a missed period. It’s the most sensitive over the county pregnancy test that you can purchase. A quick look at the manual shows that FRER can detect all four of the different forms of HCG found in urine, and their results are highly accurate. 

Aside from the early results, I do like the curved handle, which makes it easier to pee on the stick without getting urine on your hand. 

Each pack comes with three tests that are individually wrapped. So, that means you can try again if you want to take a few extra tests. It does come in a digital version, but that version doesn’t detect as soon as the standard line test. 

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2

Wondfo Pregnancy Test Strips

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3

Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test

Do reading lines give you anxiety, and you want to see the words “PREGNANT”? If so, then the Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test is for you. Unlike other tests where you have to read the lines and decide if they’re darkening, this test leaves no doubt in your mind. It displays the results in flashing words. 

You might feel a bit of anxiety as you take this test. There are flashing lights on the display that let you know the time remaining until the results appear. It can take up to three minutes, and these tests detect at 25 mIU/ml. 

Clearblue details that their test will give you accurate results once you’ve missed your period. That means it might not be the best choice if you’re trying to test early. It’s best to save these tests for when you’re closer to your period date. 

One nice feature of these digital tests is that they display the “PREGNANT” result for six months. You can use the test to announce to your friends and family. 

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4

Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test

Here is another choice for the best pregnancy tests by Clearblue. This test is the fastest, displaying results in just one minute. That’s perfect for when you’re just too excited and impatient to even wait a few minutes. 

Clearblue Rapid Results is easy to use. There is a wide, color-changing tip that goes from pink to white to let you know that you used it correctly. Clearblue added a flood guard feature that prevents user errors. 

One downside is that some women claim that these tests give off more false positives than other brands. That might be because of how fast the results are given. Each box contains three tests so that you can double (or triple) check the results. 

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5

E.P.T Early Pregnancy Test

EPT is another well-known brand that you can find in most stores. This brand isn’t as famous as the others, and it’s not as sensitive as a FRER. EPT added an easy to hold thumb grip that lets you hold the test while peeing without any worry of dropping it. 

EPT is around 99% accurate, starting on the day of your missed period. If you’re testing earlier than that, the accuracy of the tests might be lower. They have similar sensitivity to Clearblue tests, around 25 mIU/ml. It takes between 2-5 minutes to display an accurate test reading. 

Note that EPT uses blue dye, which has a reputation for evaporation lines. That makes it easy to believe you’re pregnant when you’re not.

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6

ClinicalGuard HCG Pregnancy Test Strip

Here is another choice for strip pregnancy tests. Clinical Guard Tests are cheap and straightforward, so you can use them as much as you want to without any worry about spending too much money. 

While their price is appealing, it’s essential to note that Clinical Guard tests don’t have the lab-verified accuracy as other, more expensive tests do. So, while you might not have the independent accuracy information for these tests, millions of women can vouch that they do well. 

Clinical Guard claims that their tests can detect HCG around 25 mIU/ml. That’s not as sensitive as other tests, but it still varies from pregnancy to pregnancy. Many say that Clinical Guards are the easiest to use, but everything else about these tests is the same as other strip tests, such as Wondfo. 

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Read more useful thing of pregnancy: Ultimate guide to buying maternity cloths.

Final Thoughts 

Purchasing the best pregnancy tests means you’ll find out if you’re pregnant or not. We know that not all pregnancy tests are the same, and not all are as sensitive as the other ones. When you go to purchase a pregnancy test, consider how sensitive you want your test to be and what type of test you prefer to use. That’s how you’ll pick the right test for you.