Top-Rated Birth Control Brands for Peace of Mind

Navigating the realm of birth control can be overwhelming with so many options now available on the market. Choosing the right brand is a personal decision that hinges on individual needs, lifestyle, and health considerations. While some users may prioritize ease of use, others might focus on hormonal balance or non-hormonal options. To help streamline your decision-making process, we've compiled a list of some of the best birth control brands, each offering unique benefits and features suited to diverse preferences. Discover these top brands below and find the option that best aligns with your lifestyle.

Illustration of birth control

Best brands of birth control in 2025

Ortho Tri-Cyclen

Ortho Tri-Cyclen is a highly effective combination oral contraceptive, containing norgestimate and ethinyl estradiol, with a use-efficacy pregnancy rate of approximately 1 pregnancy per 100 women-years, as demonstrated in clinical trials involving 4,756 subjects who completed 45,244 cycles. It is also indicated for the treatment of moderate acne vulgaris in females at least 15 years of age. The product has been studied extensively, showing a statistically significant decrease in inflammatory and total lesion counts in acne trials. With its triphasic regimen, it provides a balanced hormonal profile, achieving steady-state concentrations of ethinyl estradiol by Day 7 and norgestimate by Day 21. This makes Ortho Tri-Cyclen a reliable choice for birth control and acne management. For more detailed information, visit the official product page.

Yasmin

Yasmin, a combined oral contraceptive, is highly effective in preventing pregnancy, with a success rate of over 99% when taken correctly, though this drops to around 92% in real-life scenarios due to potential missed pills or interactions with other medicines. It offers additional benefits such as improved symptoms related to fluid retention, more regular and lighter periods, and a decrease in period pain. Yasmin also reduces the risk of conditions like pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, and certain cancers. The pill contains drospirenone and ethinylestradiol, which inhibit ovulation and alter cervical mucus to prevent sperm from reaching the egg. It does not protect against HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. For more detailed information, visit the Yasmin Tablets information page.

Mirena

Mirena is a highly effective brand of hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) for birth control, boasting over 99% efficacy in preventing pregnancy. Clinical trials involving 1,169 participants have demonstrated this with a 0.7% cumulative 5-year pregnancy rate and a 0.2% 12-month pregnancy rate. For more detailed information on Mirena's efficacy, visit their official efficacy page.

Paragard

Paragard is a highly effective, 100% hormone-free birth control option, offering over 99% efficacy for up to 10 years. It is the only copper IUD approved by the FDA for more than 30 years, working through a simple active ingredient - copper. Clinical studies have shown a pregnancy rate of less than 1 pregnancy per 100 women each year. Paragard is also recommended for emergency contraception if inserted within 120 hours of unprotected intercourse. It is a reliable choice with minimal user error, making it one of the best birth control methods available. For more information, visit the Paragard official website.

Nexplanon

Nexplanon is one of the most effective birth control methods available, with over 99% effectiveness, meaning fewer than 1 out of 100 users will get pregnant each year. It is a small, flexible implant inserted under the skin of the upper arm, providing up to 3 years of continuous pregnancy prevention. The Pearl Index for during-use pregnancies is as low as 0.02 (95% CI, 0.00-0.06), indicating its high efficacy in real-world use. Nexplanon works by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary, thickening cervical mucus, and altering the uterine lining. It is a progestin-only contraceptive, released at a rate of 60-70 mcg/day initially, decreasing over its 3-year duration. For more information, visit the Nexplanon official website.

NuvaRing

NuvaRing, a highly effective birth control method, boasts a failure rate of just 0.3% with perfect use and 9% with typical use, making it a reliable choice for contraception. In 2018, approximately 594,391 women in the U.S. used NuvaRing as their birth control method. This vaginal ring releases 0.120 mg/day of etonogestrel and 0.015 mg/day of ethinyl estradiol over a three-week period, ensuring consistent hormone delivery. With a user satisfaction ranking among the highest for contraceptives, NuvaRing is a practical and discreet option. Its effectiveness is comparable to other hormonal contraceptives like birth control pills and patches. For more detailed information, you can visit their official website.

Depo-Provera

Depo-Provera, a brand of the birth control shot, is highly effective with a perfect use effectiveness of more than 99%, meaning less than 1 out of every 100 users will get pregnant each year. However, in real-life scenarios, the effectiveness is about 96% due to potential delays in receiving the shot. The injection contains medroxyprogesterone acetate, a synthetic hormone that inhibits ovulation and endometrial thickening, and it must be administered every 12 weeks to maintain its contraceptive effect. Clinical studies have shown a 12-month failure rate of zero to 0.7 pregnancies per 100 women using Depo-Provera. It is crucial to adhere strictly to the recommended dosage schedule to maximize its effectiveness. For more details on how effective the birth control shot is, you can visit Planned Parenthood's website.

Loestrin

Lo Loestrin Fe, a product from the Loestrin brand, is renowned for its ultra-low-dose oral contraceptive formulation, containing just 10 mcg of daily estrogen, the lowest among all available oral contraceptives. This regimen, with 24 active pills, 2 estrogen-only pills, and 2 iron pills, provides effective pregnancy prevention, with a Pearl Index of 2.92, indicating a pregnancy rate of about 2 to 4 out of 100 women in the first year of use. Lo Loestrin Fe is as effective as other birth control pills, with a 99.7% efficacy rate when used perfectly and 93% in real-world use. It is also notable for having 38% less estrogen per month compared to a 20-mcg, 21/7 regimen. For more information, please visit the Lo Loestrin Fe official website.

Seasonique

Seasonique is a highly effective extended-cycle oral contraceptive, designed to reduce the number of withdrawal bleeding episodes to four per year, compared to 13 episodes with conventional 28-day regimens. In a pivotal study involving 621 women aged 18-35, Seasonique demonstrated a Pearl index of 0.76, indicating a low pregnancy rate, with only 3 pregnancies observed in 1,578 91-day cycles. The contraceptive efficacy of Seasonique is well-documented, with post-marketing data showing a pregnancy reporting rate of 0.0026% over 385,901 women-years of exposure from 2006 to 2013. The regimen consists of 84 days of levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol, followed by 7 days of ethinyl estradiol, providing continuous hormonal exposure to prevent ovulation effectively. This extended-cycle approach has been shown to maintain high treatment compliance, with overall compliance rates of >= 97% in clinical studies. For detailed information about Seasonique, visit Seasonique's official page.

Plan B One-Step

Plan B One-Step, produced by Duramed Pharmaceuticals, is a highly effective emergency contraceptive that can prevent pregnancy in up to 87% of cases when taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. It contains 1.5 mg of levonorgestrel and is most effective when taken as soon as possible after the incident. Approved by the FDA in 2009 for nonprescription use for women 17 and older, and later in 2013 for all ages without restrictions, Plan B One-Step is a single-dose tablet that works by inhibiting or delaying ovulation. It is not intended for routine use as a contraceptive and does not protect against sexually transmitted infections. The medication is generally safe, but it may cause side effects such as heavier menstrual bleeding and can interact with other medications.