Our 7 Picks for At-Home Syphilis Tests

Generally, at-home test kits don’t ship to New York, due to that state’s restrictions. However, the LetsGetChecked Standard 5 STD Test Kit is available to ship nationwide without issue—as long as you’re over 18 and collect your sample in the same state as your address. 

This test looks for syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV (I, II, and P24 antigen), and trichomoniasis. A single test is $149, but three subscriptions are also available for up to 30% off regular testing. Choose from delivery:

• Every three months: $104.30 per test
• Every six months: $119.20 per test
• Every 12 months: $126.65 per test

Standard, three- to five-day tracked shipping is free, and you can also opt for express shipping for $15 more. Insurance isn’t accepted, as with most at-home test kits, but you can pay using your flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) funds. 

Once you receive your kit, activate your test online and then collect urine and finger prick blood samples on a weekday morning with your first urine of the day. A video tutorial is available to help you collect your samples easily and correctly. You’ll need to send the samples to the lab the same day as you collect them, so make sure to test on a day that has postal service. Another thing to keep in mind: LetsGetChecked recommends waiting 12 weeks from the time of your possible exposure to any STIs to test, since you might get false negatives if you test too soon. 

LetsGetChecked’s network of labs meet the high standards set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and strives to provide test results online within two to five days. 

If you’ve tested positive for anything, including syphilis, you can have a virtual consultation with a board-certified physician for an additional $39; if you’re positive for chlamydia or trichomoniasis and don’t live in one of these 14 states or D.C., you may also be able to get medication delivered (at additional cost) or sent to a local pharmacy for pickup. 

One drawback: Confirmation testing for syphilis is not included. What confirmation testing means, basically, is that a lab will first use a nontreponemal antibody blood test to look for nonspecific antibodies that are common in people who have been infected with syphilis (Treponema pallidum); then, if the results are positive, the lab will test the same sample again using a treponemal antibody test to look for specific antibodies. This is necessary for an official diagnosis.

LetsGetChecked’s partner labs only test your sample once, with a specific antibody test. If you test positive, that could mean you have syphilis currently, or that you had it in the past. Your LetsGetChecked provider will recommend sharing your results with your primary care physician for further testing and treatment.

Still, the Standard 5 STD Test Kit is a great choice for people, especially those in New York, who want simple testing at home to get an idea if  further testing or treatment is necessary.

Worried that you and your partner may have been exposed to STIs? (Or maybe you and a platonic friend just want to save money on testing—we won’t judge.) The myLAB Box Love Box At-Home STD Test for Couples bundles two of the company’s Uber Box 8-Panel Tests (normally $199 each) so you can both get tested for less.

The Love Box STD Test costs $378 and tests for syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis C, HIV (I & II), herpes type II, and trichomoniasis. It’s FSA-/HSA-eligible and ships (free!) to all states except New York. myLAB Box has been listed by the CDC as a trustworthy source of STI testing, and the company’s laboratory partners conform to CLIA standards, as well as the guidelines set by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), so you can trust the accuracy of your results. 

When ordering your kit, you’ll select the kind of sample collections that are right for you and your partner: “Male+Female,” “Male+Male,” or “Female+Female.” You’ll both submit finger prick blood samples, but if you (and/or your partner) has a vagina, choose the “female” test to get a vaginal swab or select the “male” option if you and/or your partner has a penis to be sent a tube for urine collection. 

(While we wish the test language were more inclusive of transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people—as not everyone who has a penis is a man or “male,” and not everyone who has a vagina is a woman or “female”—we still appreciate that myLAB Box offers kits to all couples.)

After receiving your kit, you will collect your blood and vaginal swab or urine samples at home, and then pop your samples in the mail using the provided prepaid package. The company notes that your results will be available in your secure, HIPAA-compliant portal within one to five days of delivery at the lab. 

If either (or both) of you tests positive for anything, the cost of the kit includes a free telemedicine consultation with a physician in your state in order to discuss next steps and possibly send prescriptions to you for free. 

However, syphilis treatment is not available, likely because myLAB Box only uses nontreponemal antibody testing. You’ll need to seek further confirmation testing to determine if you have an active syphilis infection.

If you need to know your status as soon as possible, opt for the STDcheck.com Syphilis Test, which returns results in one to two business days—though, this comes at the cost of having your sample drawn in person at a lab like Quest or LabCorp.

Still, we feel this tradeoff is worth it for convenience and affordability of this FDA-cleared test, the fact that minors ages 13–17 can be tested (with parent or guardian consent), as well as the accuracy of the results. 

STDcheck.com’s test includes confirmation testing, so if your initial test is positive, the lab will test the sample again with a treponemal pallidum assay (TRA). If T. pallidum bacteria is present, you will have a confirmed diagnosis. STDcheck.com states that its test has a sensitivity rate of 95% and a specificity rate of 91%, giving you even more certainty.

It’s only $49 to test for syphilis with STDcheck.com. If you want to opt for more comprehensive testing, there is a 10-panel test available for $139, and a 10-panel test with HIV RNA early detection for $259.

Once you’ve decided which test or panel you’d like, pay online (or over the phone), receive your order form electronically, and then go to one of over 4,500 participating CLIA-certified test centers nationwide. There’s no need to make an appointment (though it can help speed up the process): Just walk in, present your order form or confidential test code, and have your sample drawn in as little as a few minutes. 

Results will be available to view on STDcheck’s encrypted, HIPAA-compliant site within one to two business days. If you’ve tested positive, you’ll have a free phone consultation with a doctor who will provide guidance, request additional testing, and/or even prescribe treatment. The company also offers 24/7 phone and chat access to care advisors if you need help at any point along the way. 

Another bonus? STDcheck.com accepts a wider variety of payment types than competitors, from the standard options (credit, debit, FSA/HSA) to PayPal, cryptocurrency, and even a “Pay Later” option.

With over 2,000 CLIA-certified lab locations available nationwide, Quest makes testing easy. The FSA-/HSA-eligible Quest Syphilis Test With Confirmation, which includes confirmation testing if your result is abnormal, is only $49 plus a $6 physician fee. (Unfortunately, Quest panels are generally not available for purchase by people under 18, or those in Arizona, Alaska, or Hawaii.) 

Similar to STDcheck.com, you’ll get started at Quest by creating an account, paying for your test online, and taking your order information to the nearest lab to have blood drawn. Walk-ins are accepted, but appointments will take priority, so the Quest site (or app, if you’re using it) will give you the opportunity to schedule online once your payment goes through. 

As mentioned, the lab will test your sample again if the result is positive, helping ensure diagnostic accuracy. The Quest site notes that it will take “a few days” to get your results, but you can use your HIPAA-compliant portal to check on the status in the meantime. When the results have been reviewed by a physician, you will be able to view your report and get a secure link to your results for easy sharing with your doctor. 

If you’ve tested positive, Quest partners with PWNHealth (acquired by Everly Health in 2021) to provide a free consultation with a licensed physician who can go over what your results mean and what the next steps are.

Quest also offers two other solid options for syphilis testing: 

• STD Basic Test Panel: $139 (+ $6 physician service fee) to test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV (I and II) 
• STD Pregnancy Test Panel: $279 (+ $6 fee) to test for all of the above, plus hepatitis B and C—a huge advantage for pregnant people, as all these STIs can be asymptomatic but still have serious impacts on yourself and your developing fetus
  

Speaking of Everly Health, the Everlywell Syphilis Test is a treponemal test that looks for the presence of the Immunoglobulin G (IgG) syphilis antibody. While it is useful for detecting your first syphilis infection, IgG antibodies will always be present in your body, even after treatment—so Everlywell doesn’t recommend this test for monitoring if previous treatment has worked. 

If bought as a one-time purchase, the Everlywell Syphilis Test will set you back $69, but you can pay for tests and services with FSA/HSA funds—and you can save up to 18% per test by opting for recurring deliveries.

• Monthly: $51 per test
• Quarterly: $55 per test
• Semi-annually: $58 per test

(Note: As with the majority of at-home test kits, this test is not available in the state of New York; you must also be 18 or older to test with Everlywell.)

Once you receive your test kit (via free shipping), you will need to register it online and then collect a finger prick blood sample before mailing it to a CLIA-certified lab using the prepaid shipping label. As with other sites, you’ll be able to view your physician-reviewed results online in your secure portal online or in the Everlywell app, though this may take up to seven business days. 

In case of a positive result, you will be contacted directly for a medical consultation at no extra cost. You will likely need to have additional testing to confirm a syphilis diagnosis. The site also notes that in case of inconclusive results (due to not having many antibodies early on in infection, or because of user error), repeat testing is recommended. 

Everlywell also offers telehealth STI visits and prescriptions. If you have an insurance plan the company accepts, you’ll pay $10 to $50 for a 20- to 30-minute video call with a board-certified nurse practitioner who will develop a care plan for you. Without insurance, your out-of-pocket price will be $59.

If you’re seeking customizable, comprehensive testing in one easy-to-use kit, look no further than the myLAB Box Total Box 14-Panel Test. This kit requires a finger prick blood sample, an oral swab, and a rectal swab—as well as either a urine sample (if you have a penis) or a vaginal swab—to test for the following STIs:

• Syphilis 
• HIV (I and II)
• Hepatitis C
• Herpes
• Chlamydia (genital, throat, and rectal)
• Gonorrhea (genital, throat, and rectal)
• Trichomoniasis
• Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen), which is a bacterium that can lead to a reproductive tract infection of your urethra (if you have a penis) or your cervix (if you have one)

For the “Male” or standard “Female” kit, you’ll pay $369. If you have a cervix and are over 30, you can opt to add HPV testing for an additional $30, bringing the total cost for a “Female” kit to $399. Insurance isn’t accepted (though FSA/HSA payments are), but you can bring your costs down by choosing a subscription instead of a one-time purchase: Every six months, you can get a “Male” or “Female” (without HPV) kit delivered for $332 with free shipping, or a “Female” kit with HPV testing for $359. 

Once you receive your test kit, you will collect your samples: a finger prick blood sample, an oral swab, a rectal swab, and either a urine sample or vaginal swab. Pop them back in the mail to myLAB Box’s CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited labs for analysis (shipping is free), after which your results will be available in your secure portal in one to five days.

Just as with the Love Box, if you’ve tested positive on your Total Box panel, myLAB Box offers a free telemedicine consultation with a physician in your state in order to discuss confirmation testing and possible treatment options.

If your insurance plan covers at-home STI testing, the FDA-cleared Nurx Basics Covered STI Home Test Kit may be a compelling option for testing for HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Nurx’s at-home test kits are eligible to ship to 32 states, and can be used by people as young as 14 in some states (although you’ll need to email customer support to find out your state’s minimum age).

The Basics Covered Test Kit is aimed at sexually active people whose last test was sometime in the last 12 months. It costs $150 out of pocket, plus $15 for your virtual consultation—but unlike other companies on this list, Nurx’s lab partner accepts a wide range of insurance, which could reduce your final price to as little as $45 (plus any additional lab copays).

After collecting your sample with the home kit, you will send it in to be analyzed using prepaid postage. After your sample has been processed by Molecular Testing Labs, which is CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited, a medical provider will contact you within seven business days to go over your results. Nurx can also prescribe treatment if you test positive for chlamydia and trichomoniasis, but not for syphilis.

It’s unclear whether or not your syphilis results will be based on confirmation testing. The Nurx FAQs mention RPR testing, as well as venereal disease research laboratory test (VDRL)—but it doesn’t explain which of these nontreponemal tests it uses, nor if treponemal testing is available to confirm your diagnosis. 

Still, we like the Nurx Basics Covered Test because the cost includes ongoing medical care for a full year, regardless of your test result. Plus, there are two other test kits available at Nurx to fit your syphilis testing needs, both of which also include a year of care:

• Healthy V STI Home Test Kit: $190 without insurance (+ $15 consult fee) to test for HIV, chlamydia (genital and throat), gonorrhea (genital and throat), syphilis, and trichomoniasis
• Full Control Home STI Test Kit: $220 without insurance (+ $15 consult fee) to test for HIV, chlamydia (genital, throat, and rectal), gonorrhea (genital, throat, and rectal), syphilis, and hepatitis C