Our Family BudgetMaternity LeaveWill A Dollar Store Home Pregnancy Test Work?

Will A Dollar Store Home Pregnancy Test Work?

Mr. CBB
By Mr. CBB
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DOLLAR STORE HOME PREGNANCY TESTS

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

You’ll want to read this blog post if you doubt purchasing a Dollar Store home pregnancy test.

Buy A Home Pregnancy Test Without The Fancy Costs

Searching for the proper home pregnancy test doesn’t have to be a task that drives you to buy every home pregnancy test you see.

In fact, you don’t have to go too far to find one that works for the cost of a coffee.

A Home Pregnancy Test (HPT) is not a topic I ever thought I would be blogging about, but I am doing just that here.

I’m sure you are already saying, what has Mr. CBB gotten himself into?

As you age, babies tend to come up in conversation a lot, especially if you don’t have kids or are married.

For the first couple of years after we married, we were always asked when we’d have a baby.

We were always ready to have a baby, but things fell apart with Mrs. CBB’s health, and I had to return to school.

After that, we tried to conceive unsuccessfully at every turn, which gets depressing.

We would love to have a child, so naturally, we should learn about this anyhow, right? 

No, I’m not talking about how to make a baby I’m talking about how to find out if you hit the target, if you know what I mean.

I’m not complaining; I don’t know many men who struggle with the thought of having to make love almost every day to successfully get pregnant.

Pregnancy news should be one of the happiest moments in a couple’s lives.

Home Pregnancy Test Story

Here’s Where This Story Began…

While Mrs. CBB’s friend Jill was at our house, the “Baby” talk arose so naturally, this was the topic of the conversation in the kitchen. (I am not part of this conversation). 

Jill went on to tell Mrs. CBB that she was seven weeks pregnant with her first child.

We were thrilled that Jack and Jill would have their first child after six months of trying and testing, but the story gets even funnier.

She says, yes, Jack and I were at the Dollar Store last week, and we picked up a home pregnancy test as I missed AF (apparently that means Aunt Flow) so we wanted to do a test.

Sure enough, the test showed we were pregnant after the first try this time which was exciting for us.

They are over the moon, and we are happy they will expect their first bundle of joy.

Pregnancy Symptoms

Pregnancy Symptoms
Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy

How can you tell if you are pregnant?

This is the burning question, especially if someone is trying to conceive.

The most obvious sign would be that a woman misses her period.

Every woman is different regarding early pregnancy symptoms, but some are pretty obvious, provided they show.

If you feel pregnant or find any signs of pregnancy as listed below, talk to your doctor or try a home pregnancy test.

  • Fatigue out of the ordinary
  • Swollen or Tender Breasts
  • Nausea
  • Bleeding or Cramping
  • Constipation or Diarrhea
  • Food Aversions or cravings
  • Headaches/Migraines
  • Missed Period
  • Fainting/Dizzy
  • Raised Basal Body Temperature (BBT)

Dollar Store Home Pregnancy Test

Home pregnancy test dollar store
Home pregnancy test dollar store Pro-Care

At this point, I did a head spin as I was writing a blog post and was not interested in menstruation and pregnancy chit-chat.

I threw myself into the hoopla right after hearing “Dollar Store“.

Being the frugal guy I am, I said, “Wait a minute, you mean to tell me you can get a home pregnancy test at the Dollar store”?

Crikey, what did I just say, open mouth insert foot, now I’m in for it. (Thinking to self, ‘Learn your lesson and don’t get involved when women are talking.’)

Why would you get a home pregnancy test at the Dollar Store? Are they even accurate?

Would you put pregnancy results in the hands of a Dollar Store test?

Then again, guys put not having a baby into the Dollar Stores’ hands when we buy condoms for a buck.

I remember thinking I always check the dollar store first if I ever needed something.

Like when I spent $6 on mini paint rollers at Home Depot only to find out they sell them at Dollarama for a buck.

High Accuracy With Dollar Store Pregnancy Test

I never thought women would head to the Dollar Store to find out if they were pregnant.

Jill went on to say how expensive an HPT is at the pharmacy and that most women will try the Dollar Store brands first with accurate results.

She says plenty of her friends have gotten positive results with the $1.25 HPT and never even stepped foot into a pharmacy.

It was far too expensive to keep testing at the prices they wanted at the pharmacy.

Now that I felt part of this woman-to-woman conversation and said my piece, I decided to leave it and step back.

Investigating The Dollar Store Home Pregnancy Test

Secretly though, the nosey bugger that I am, I decided to investigate because I found it too interesting that women test using a Dollar Store home pregnancy test.

So, off to the Dollar Store, wandering around as if I needed to buy something.

I did. I had to pick up a Birthday card for my sister, so that made me feel better that I wasn’t buying something for anything.

While sleuthing around, I saw the Pro Care One Step Pregnancy Test, which is Health Canada Licensed.

It was a whopping $1.25 for one Dollar Store Pregnancy test, which states:

  • Easy to Use
  • Use Any Time
  • Positive Result as soon as 1 minute
  • Over 99% accuracy

Shocking, I already knew I would see it, but I had to read it to believe it.

The back of the box says that the first urine in the morning is highly recommended.

Through research, I learned that morning urine has higher counts of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a reliable pregnancy marker.

This can also be found in the blood, so a blood test from your doctor can also determine if you are pregnant.

I also noticed they had a Pro Care Ovulation predictor for $1.25, which states its 99% accuracy.

This is like a one-stop shop for all your pregnancy needs.

Why would anyone want to pay top dollar for name-brand tests??

Men Should Be Invested In A Home Pregnancy Test

I know most women may read this and say, ” ah ha, we know this, Mr. CBB, ” and that’s ok.

Many men don’t but they should understand all of this.

Getting pregnant is not just up to the woman.

I would never just “set it and forget it” with Mrs.CBB.

A man should understand the process involved as it’s an emotional time for a woman.

I also learned that test sensitivity may vary from test to test, potentially affecting the cost.

This Dollar Store test has a sensitivity of 25mIu/ml, which means that the product will detect the HCG in a certain level concentration of urine.

A lower sensitivity allows women to test for pregnancy sooner than later.

Costs Of Name Brand Home Pregnancy Test

So if you are sitting around tearing your hair out, you might have to spend the big bucks on a Clear Blue Easy or First Response, which are not cheap.

You can purchase a two-pack of First Response at Well.ca for $21.99 with a sensitivity of 6.5 mIU/ml.

All this means is that a woman might be able to detect pregnancy sooner.

Mrs.CBB and I were shocked when we saw the prices at the pharmacy and understand now why women would flock to the dollar store.

If you are one of those women who want to know but don’t want to fork out the big $$$ the dollar store seems to be the way to go.

Nothing wrong with loading up as long as you keep an eye on the expiry dates.

In the pharmacy prices would range from $18.99 for one test to around $74 for 20 tests (see you can even buy these in bulk ladies).

Leftover Home Pregnancy Test

What do you do with the other 19 home pregnancy tests if the first test is accurate?

Are you wasting money? Perhaps you could always donate any leftover pregnancy tests.

I didn’t find much other than cost, sensitivity, and accuracy claims during my investigation.

I picked up a home pregnancy test and an ovulation test at the Dollar Store to bring home and show Mrs.CBB.

She found it funny that I ventured out alone, but she was not surprised.

I guess it’s time to get it on!

Dollar Store vs. Name Brand Home Pregnancy Test

Would you spend $1.25 to find out you’re pregnant or pay for the more expensive name-brand home pregnancy test?

I believe the answer is personal, and for someone who feels that the name brand will offer the best results, there’s no changing their minds.

For anyone else who can’t be bothered with names, go for the Dollar Store pregnancy test, which will tell you either yes or no.

Save the money you would have spent and put it towards making purchases for your new bundle of joy.

Discussion: Did you use a Dollarama Home Pregnancy Test, and was it accurate?

Share your comments, and best of luck if you want to conceive. Don’t forget to prepare your baby’s budget once you get the big YES!

Mr.CBB

More Great Articles

  1. They worked for me repeatedly. I didn’t quite believe the first one so I tried about six more over the next week – my daughter is now almost three.

    • I have a positive but its hard to believe. Do u no how I can see what a true positive looks like on a dollar store test. I have had miscarriages before n a false positive even on expensive tests. So I’m skeptical.

      • If both the lines are there it’s positive. If you are not convinced do it again and or go to your doctor who will order a urine test or blood test to confirm. Hope that helps 🙂

  2. Great informative read! Those things are expensive even in the UK. I think its funny u going on your own to investigate but to be dxpected! Get it!

  3. You should test it out, to make sure you don’t have testicular cancer, like that dude in the news! haha.
    Those cheap pregnancy tests get used as gag gifts all the time, too.
    I have never used one, but have been tempted to buy them in the past. My sanity likes to have one on hand in case I’m ever freaking out. I have an at-cost one from my university fulfilling this purpose right now.

  5. When I was ttc for the first time, I ended up buying 50 hpts and probably 100 opks online from one of the companies mentioned on peeonastick.com. They ended up costing pennies per test and are the same kind that are generally used at the hospital. They tend to be little strips of paper so you have to pee in a cup and then dip, but it can save hundreds of dollars if you have infertility. Of course, if you’re really disciplined you can just take your bbt (basal base temp) every day and that’ll tell you for the price of a thermometer, but you have to take it the same time every morning beforeyou wake up. baby #2 is making it difficult for me to type here. 🙂

  6. Also when you have 50 tests and infertikity, you can drive yourself crazy after you get pregnant with retesting and worrying about the line darkness. (My hcg levels are highest with the second pee of the day, which is true for a subset of women) Lock them up or give them away.

  7. Wow…you’re a better man than I am Mr. CBB to write a post on HPT. 🙂 Oh, the joys of being married and the joys of trying to conceive. Now that I’ve gotten my immaturity out of the way 😉 , I did not know they were sold at the Dollar Store though it does make sense. There’s really not much to it. If we were trying to get pregnant again then I would totally buy the cheaper one. But, I think we’re happy with 3. 🙂

  8. I loved this post! It gave me a bit of a giggle this morning 🙂

    I remember reading an article a while back (sorry, can’t seem to find it) that says pregnancy tests are strictly regulated for accuracy, so something that doesn’t work won’t make it on the shelves here in the US. I believe it even mentioned comparing dollar brands to the more expensive. Like you said, you can find out sooner with the more expensive, but the cheap ones are accurate as well.

  9. I’ve heard about chicks using these, but I’m always wary about really, really cheap items.

    What would be really interesting, would be to have a guy pee on 10 to 20 of them and see if he ends up getting a positive result. That would certainly be illuminating if he did. 🙂

  11. Hahaha. I knew the dollar store sold pregnancy tests but I was also POS (pee-on-the-stick) addict when we we’re TTC (trying-to-conceive)…I did get a much sooner response with the First Response, Early Response HPT than the dollar store one (4days sooner) and any woman who is TTC will tell you they NEED to know ASAP. It becomes and addiction. I did not however know they sold OPK’s (ovulation prediction kits). OPK’s are actually quite difficult to buy in Canada-to my knowledge there is only one kit available to buy which has an initial cost of like 50 bucks or something then you need refills…however it does the readings for you presenting you with a smiley face when you’ve ovulated vs the $$ store ones and online versions which you use everyday and have an increasing dark line you need to ”read” and hope you’ve interpreted correctly. I’ve never used and OPK but people I know who do buy them (and HPT’s) in MASS quantities online (we’re talking 200 OPK’s at once for like 10 bucks and 20 HPS for the same). I’m glad the womanly conversation has enlightened you 😉

  12. I absolutely would give it a shot, but really only if I were trying. If I were hoping it wasn’t the case I was pregnant then I’d probably spring for the fancy test. Does that make any sense? Maybe not but thanks for reminding me these are sold at the dollar store.

  13. Mr. CBB – welcome to the world of women and our secrete lingo (like AF!). I have never tried them, but I do know people who have with success. I can certainly understand 1.25 vs 10 bucks!

  14. They really do work. Funny how people are saying to have a man pee and get a positive. The only way you can get a positive is if the hormone is present, if the hormone is not present, you won’t get a positive. You don’t get false positives, but you can get false negatives. I used them and got negative when i tested way to early, but as soon as it got closer to the start of my next cycle, i got a positive result. I got positive results 4 days early. I would never spend the money on a brand name test, when the cheap work just fine.

  16. I’m a little past that stage Thank you very much… but I know my daughter’s friends have been known to pick these up and check on things around Christmas/ New Years just to see if it’s safe to drink anything stronger than pop!! That said I still remember the time Hubby and I had stopped off to look around at Zeller’s after an appointment and he decided to use a pay phone to call home to let the boys know wee were on the way home. Somebody must have picked a HPT there, got a positive result and couldn’t wait to get home to spread the news as there was a HPT stick sitting on the payphone right in plain view. Mr Clueless missed it completely!!!! He couldn’t figure out why I was laughing!!!!

  17. Man I thought I was getting a deal buying two no-name tests at the pharmacy for 6.99. If only I knew about this dollar store wonder. If I was a few days late I’d trust the results, but if you’re checking before your period is due then you gotta go with the expensive tests.

  18. Antibiotics can be the devil if you’re on the pill, so I went in search of a “just in case” PT earlier this year. I got my dollar store PT – which was exactly $1 – but it also came with a healthy dose of embarrassment.

    The counter that usually has them was out, so i asked a stock clerk nearby if they could check in the back. Instead of running to the back of the store to check, they screamed across the store, “Hey Joe! We have any more PREGNANCY TESTS back there!!?!?”

    Swear to god, the entire store turned and watched me turn bright pink. At that point, I think I would have paid 10x the cost to have less shame =)

    FWIW – it was accurate. It read negative, and more than 9 months later I have no kiddos!

  19. OMG! Antibiotics can be the devil if you’re on the pill, so I went in search of a “just in case” PT earlier this year. I got my dollar store PT – which was exactly $1 – but it also came with a healthy dose of embarrassment.

    The counter that usually has them was out, so i asked a stock clerk nearby if they could check in the back. Instead of running to the back of the store to check, they screamed across the store, “Hey Joe! We have any more PREGNANCY TESTS back there!!?!?”

    Swear to god, the entire store turned and watched me turn bright pink. At that point, I think I would have paid 10x the cost to have less shame =)

    FWIW – it was accurate. It read negative, and more than 9 months later I have no kiddos!

  20. I bought two cheap ones and didn’t belive it that they were positive, so I bought an expensive one and sure enough, positive as well. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would to get pregnant, so I think I was in shock. My husband would lop off a toe before he would buy a pregnancy test, so hat’s off for not being too macho.

  23. Um… if you can’t afford a pregnancy test, should you really be bringing a child into this world?

    What’s next? Dollar store baby food? Dollar store vaccinations? Dollar store education?

    Maybe wait a couple more years folks. Just saying…

    • Did you really post that??? Money is not a problem in our household nor is it in our friends who told us about the dollarstore tests. I wouldn’t by one anywhere else. For people who are having trouble getting pregnant and need to buy many tests why would they buy 25 dollar tests when 1.25 gives them the same thing? Also, people who are less fortunate and maybe can’t afford to spend a weeks worth of gas on a stick you pee on, still deserve to have children….

    • you shouldnt be telling people who can and cannot have children, its a gift in life, the government helps out a lot with having children,

      ALSO, some people dont have choices (other than abortion) but stuff happens to people, and honestly id rather pay a dollar then 20 dollars to find out the same information, not all people that cant afford 20 dollars tests dont have money, they are smart for saving money that they can later spend on their children.

      you should be looking at the world so negatively.

    • If your dumb enough to pay twenty times more than you need to for the same product, maybe you are the one who shouldn’t be passing on your genes. Kids are much more affordable if you are not an idiot when it comes to money. I have plenty of money because I am smart with it. I own two houses. I easily support my husband and kid with my income alone with extra to put away for our future. You won’t catch me paying more than a buck for a pregnancy test.

    • Quite frankly the mother who’s looking to save money at the dollar store is quite probably going to be financially fine, as she knows how to save money Canadian Performer’s Money. Not sure why you would be worried whether she would be a financially stable parent based on where she spends her money is beyond me!

    • You should do some research.
      Love the sarcasm though, you must be a man. Many women on here have been positive. The expensive kinds dont always detect the hormone. So yes stock up on the cheap ones…. you dont lick them, or eat them, of inject them, or bath with them..
      You pee on them! Then you wait. Then you take a peak… a positive from what I’ve known and heard… is always a positive dollarstore or pricey kind. 👌 I’d pee on a dollarstore one. In fact the reason Im on here is because I’m going to go get a bunch today! A bunch…… for the same cost as 1 silly test made of the same materials.

  24. I had heard that you could buy pregnancy tests in the dollar store in the US, but I had no idea they were available in Canada as well! Considering how much they are at the pharmacy, I would definitely try out the dollar store tests first. If one came back positive, I’d go to the doctor’s office and have them confirm it, since I believe that’s free!

    • That makes sense to me. Unless one really wants to know a few days in advance they can pay for the more expensive tests. If they get an inconclusive test they could pay at the pharmacy. Otherwise yes we can go to the doc from what my lady fans here tell me. Thanks for dropping in Cassie! Mr.CBB

  25. This is a good question and one that I have considered before. To be honest, I would pay more because (in my head) I think that a more expensive test gives a more accurate result!!

  26. You can get them even cheaper online, in bulk, with higher sensitivities. They are exactly the same as the ones used in the doctor’s office. I’ve heard people complaining about, ” if you can’t even afford a test, can you afford a child…” thing before and the only thing I can think is that they either don’t have children, or didn’t have to really try. Women who are actively TTC will test quite frequently. SO, no, $20-30 a month isn’t SOOOO much, but many women go through more than one package. Many women go through a lot….

    But dollar store tests do work. trust me 😉

  27. I do not even know the way I stopped up right here, however I thought this put up used to be good. I do not understand who you might be but definitely you’re going to a famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!

  28. Yes, I used to be a pregnancy test snob, until I found out they were also sold at the dollar store! Since then, I’ve used them for finding out I was pregnant both times. I was so excited about getting pregnant, I wanted to do a test every morning – there’s no way I was going to pay $20 a time for that!!

  29. I used dollar store tests for my fourth and fifth pregnancies. They worked fine and were easy. I would recommend them. I always had difficulty forking over $12 for the pharmacy ones.

  30. with working in a dollar store and seeing how much these sell. alot of time we have been out of them stock wise and people ask all the time. many people say they work.

  34. I took 4 Dollarama pregnancy tests over two days: the first test (morning urine) gave me a positive, as did an Equate test. Following day, two negatives (morning, evening) and the 3rd morning, a negative. As my period was late, I ended up buying a Clear Blue Digital test (positive). I’m pregnant, and Dollarama tests, for me, were not useful and stressful for nothing. Next time, I’ll buy the better brands, and not test as often.

  35. in response to the man getting a false positive said man should go see a dr. as the only way for a man to get a positive on a preg test is if he’s afflicted with testicular cancer.

  36. i took a hpt and got a positive, went to the doctor took a test and negative, had to finally get a blood test to determine yes i was pregnant, i think it really all depends how far you are. my daughter is now 14 years old. With my son every time i went to see the OBGYN the urine strip would show that i wasn’t pregnant and i was 3 months to 6 months before it actually showed a positive. He is now 6 years old. It’s all about the hormone levels.

  37. Speaking as a man, if i suspected my girlfriend was pregnant, id be buying the most expensive pregnancy test available. 1) for my sanity 2)for health reasons.

    I’ll explain the second. Realistically, your behaviors when your not pregnant are probably far different than those when you are. For example, if you are a smoker, I’d suspect you would want to stop smoking immediately if you were pregnant, not wait a few days until you could see a doctor to confirm. A false negative might convince you that you can just keep on keepin’ on and not worry about potentially harming your babe.

  38. I just had one FET (frozen embryo transfer) 31 May, and my blood test in the doctor office was yesterday 7June, but before going there, we tried the Dollar Store Test and one of the expensive ones, and with only 7 days post transfer it came out positive in both test.
    I bought the $1 and my husband the other one (he didn’t believe they were accurate)

  39. I have used them… and they’re great! has been accurate everytime, pregnant and not pregnant. Just bought some of the ovulation testers tonight.

  40. They do work. I used these for my pregnancy last year. The pregnancy itself didn’t work but the tests did. I only tested on the day of the expected period or the day after, though. With my daughter, I got a positive with First Response 5 days before expected period.

  41. Yes, it worked for my pregnancies. In Canada, pregnancy test kit is classified as a medical device, hence, it needs to be registered and approved by Health Canada for its efficacy. I went to Healh Canada website to find out if the kit is approved before I purchased.

  42. I have no immediate plans to get pregnant, but when/if I do, I will be using the fertility awareness method. If 19 days pass in my luteal phase with increased temperatures and no menses, I will check in with my doctor. I love the idea of being in tune with my body.

  43. I used the dollar store pregnancy tests to find out I was pregnant with my youngest. I also have 4 sitting in my bathroom at the moment waiting for me to use them haha. $5 for 4 tests. I call that a win!

  44. I bought 3 early tests for 17$ and they didn’t show me that I’m pregnant, it when I have one week of a delay of periods.Today(2 days later after I used last one) I bought one in Dollarama for 3$ and it shows me that I’m pregnant.

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