Should you buy a Dollar Store pregnancy test?

Several months ago I wrote a little post about the Dollar Store.

If you missed the series, you can find it here:

original postPart 1Part 2Part 3Part 4wrap up

Seems like that little Dollar Store post struck a chord with many of my readers and it's safe to say that that post went viral on pinterest.  

One of the most talked about Dollar Store buys from my list has been the pregnancy tests.

I thought I would answer the question that I have gotten often,

"Should I buy a pregnancy test at the Dollar Store?"

I'm a mom of three, I understand how expensive pregnancy tests can get when you are actively trying to conceive and are anxious for positive results.  I did a quick search to find out what the going rate for pregnancy tests at our local drugstore (Walgreens) was.  Most are $13-$20.  As my husband used to say "you are peeing on money." 

Let's start by finding out how pregnancy tests work.  Thanks to the lovely people at womenshealth.gov for this easy to understand answer.

How do pregnancy tests work?

All pregnancy tests work by detecting a certain hormone in the urine or blood that is only there when a woman is pregnant. This hormone is called human chorionic gonadotropin (kohr-ee-ON-ihk goh-NAD-uh-TROH-puhn), or hCG. It is also called the pregnancy hormone.  

hCG is made when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus. The amount of hCG rapidly builds up in your body with each passing day you are pregnant.

So, pregnancy tests detect the hormone hCG in your urine, if you are pregnant, you get a positive result, if you are not pregnant, no hCG is detected, therefore, giving you a negative result.  Sometimes, the test is taken too early, and there isn't enough hCG in your urine to detect a positive result.  False negatives happen, false positive results however, are quite rare.

Some home pregnancy tests are more sensitive then others at detecting hCG in your urine stream. hCG is measured in mIU's, so I did a little research to see how sensitive each pregnancy on the market is.  The lower the mIU's the more sensitive, therefore, the test will detect pregnancy earlier.  Thank you to baby hopes for compiling this easy to read list.

Pregnancy Test Sensitivity Chart

Test Name Lowest hCG detected BabyHopes 10 mIU Generic Pregnancy Test Strip 10 mIU    Buy Here! AimStrip (aka AimStick) Pregnancy Test Strip 20 mIU    Buy Here! BabyHopes Generic Pregnancy Test Strip 20 mIU    Buy Here! Accuclear Pregnancy Test 25 mIU Answer Early Result Pregnancy Test 25 mIU Clearblue Easy +/- 25 mIU Clearblue Easy Digital (1 piece, blue cap) 25 mIU Clear Choice w/ Cup 25 mIU Confirm 1-Step Pregnancy Test 25 mIU CVS Early Result Pregnancy Test 25 mIU Dollar Store Brand (mini-strip, cassette, & midstream) 25 mIU Early Detect 25 mIU e.p.t. +/- Test 25 mIU e.p.t. 1-Step Digital Test 25 mIU e.p.t. Certainty Digital Test 25 mIU Equate +/- (Wal-mart) 25 mIU Equate Pregnancy Test (Wal-mart) 25 mIU Fact Plus Midstream Pregnancy Test 25 mIU First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test 25 mIU One Step Be Sure Pregnancy Test 25 mIU Right Aid Pregnancy Test 25 mIU Target Brand Pregnancy Test 25 mIU Walgreen Midstream Pregnancy Test 25 mIU Walgreen Digital 25 mIU Fact Plus Cassette 40 mIU Clearblue Digital 50 mIU CVS "Early Result" Cassette Pregnancy Test 50 mIU Drug Emporium Brand Pregnancy Test 50 mIU early Pregnancy test 50 mIU Walgreens Cassette Pregnancy Test 50 mIU

If you can see, the Dollar Store test has a sensitivity of 25 mIU's, which is fairly competitive with some of the other bigger more trusted brands that you will find yourself paying nearly $20 for!

What surprised me is that one of the brands I thought would be more sensitive, (ClearBlue), isn't.  ClearBlue Digital tests run around $14.I've had several comments from my readers telling me that they have had success with Dollar Store pregnancy tests.  Most people were quite pleased with the test, and the price doesn't hurt!  I would say that Dollar Store pregnancy tests are well worth the $1.If you find yourself in the market for a pregnancy test, save yourself some dough and head to the Dollar Store.While you are there you can satisfy your craving for potted meat.Only kidding!ps-I have had some readers tell me that Wal-Mart offers their pregnancy tests for $.88.  This may be a good deal for some of you, but for me, it's worth a few extra pennies to NOT have to step into Wal-Mart!