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You can get Plan B at Target or online through Wisp, Nurx, or Pandia Health.
- Best value: Wisp | Skip to review
- Best for generic Plan B: Nurx | Skip to review
- Best drugstore option: Target | Skip to review
- Best without insurance: CVS | Skip to review
- Best if you have insurance: Pandia Health | Skip to review
If you’re sexually active, you may be familiar with the concept of emergency contraception (EC). Commonly referred to as “the morning-after pill” or Plan B, EC should be taken within 72 hours of having penis-in-vagina (P-in-V) sex without a form of contraception or with a form of contraception that failed.
Plan B One-Step is one of the most popular brand names of EC. While it’s not the only option, it’s widely available.
In this article, we discuss how EC works, where to get it, how much it costs, and more.
Plan B One-Step is a type of EC that’s meant to be taken within 72 hours of having sex. The sooner you take it, the more effective it is at preventing pregnancy.
EC pills such as Plan B are not intended to be used as birth control. They’re not forms of the abortion pill, and they will not protect against sexually transmitted infections.
Using EC also won’t affect your ability to get pregnant later on.
Plan B’s purpose is to temporarily delay ovulation and obscure the passage of the cervix with mucus, effectively creating a traffic jam that hinders sperm travel. This is similar to how birth control pills work. It postpones the release of an egg from an ovary, so no egg is waiting to meet sperm for fertilization and, even still, the sperm is less able to reach its destination.
The sooner you take Plan B after having sex, the more effective it is. According to Planned Parenthood, Plan B can lower your chance of becoming pregnant by 75–89% if you take it within the 72-hour window.
While you can take Plan B at any point within 5 days of having P-in-V sex, it’s most preferable to take it within the first 3 days.
It’s also important to know that Plan B may be less effective if you weigh more than 155 pounds or have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. You can still take Plan B, but a 2011 study found that pregnancy risk was three times higher.
We chose the following options for obtaining Plan B for a few reasons.
Primarily, we thought it was important that all the retailers and services on our list were fast and efficient. In addition to being discreet alternatives to buying Plan B at an in-person pharmacy, these options allow you to stock up in advance and potentially lower your cost with insurance or a prescription.
We also considered the following factors:
- cost
- whether the services accept insurance
- customer service
You can buy Plan B from several stores and online retailers. But some don’t give you the option to enter insurance information, meaning you’ll have to pay full price.
Since Plan B is not prohibited in any state, according to federal law, you should be able to get it right off the shelf in drugstores or feminine care sections in retail outlets. You do not need a prescription or ID to get Plan B. However, getting a prescription may help you get Plan B at a lower cost if you’re buying it in person.
Generic versions, such as My Choice and New Day, tend to be cheaper, and you can often find them on telehealth sites such as Wisp. Other platforms, such as Nurx, allow you to buy EC ahead of time, although this requires a prescription.
Below are our top picks for the best places to get Plan B.
Best value
Wisp
- Cost: $17 for one pill, $30 for two, $40 for three
If you’re planning on paying out of pocket, the telehealth and medication platform Wisp is the best option for stocking up on multiple doses of generic Plan B.
Once you order it, the medication will be delivered within 3–5 days, so this is not a good option for emergency situations. Instead, ordering from Wisp is best if you’d like to have Plan B on hand.
Wisp also offers ella, another form of EC, for same-day delivery, although you need a prescription for it. Unlike other options on our list, Wisp doesn’t provide prescriptions for EC.
Best for generic Plan B
Nurx
- Cost: as low as $0 with insurance, as low as $20 without insurance
It’s easy to order New Day, a generic form of Plan B, from Nurx.
This medication management platform accepts various forms of insurance to bring your cost down to $0, though your copay will vary depending on your coverage. But you don’t need a prescription to place your order.
The platform also offers free shipping and unlimited messaging with licensed healthcare professionals for 1 year. In some states, you may be able to receive overnight shipping.
Best drugstore option
Target
- Cost: $47.49
Target is an easy option for getting Plan B either in person or online.
While you can’t enter insurance information online, you can call your local store to find out whether you can get Plan B at no additional cost with insurance. But you’ll need a prescription from a healthcare professional.
If you don’t have time to get a prescription, you can buy it either in the store or with same-day shipping for a flat fee of around $50.
Best without insurance
CVS
- Cost: $44.99
Julie is a newer type of emergency contraception that launched in 2022. It’s an alternative to Plan B (it contains the same ingredient, levonorgestrel).
Julie is readily available to buy through CVS (including at its drive-through locations) and online through the product’s own site and through CVS, Target, Walmart, and other retailers.
Julie is also a good option for those without insurance, as it retails for $42.44 on the product website. As with Plan B, you don’t need a prescription to get Julie, although some insurance providers may require one to cover it.
Best if you have insurance
Pandia Health
- Cost: free with insurance, $53 without insurance
Through Pandia Health, an online birth control service, Plan B costs $53 per pack without insurance and is free with insurance. Pandia Health also offers the generic versions My Way, AfterPill, and EContra EZ.
You’ll need a prescription to buy it, but you can receive that through Pandia Health. If you have an active prescription, you can fulfill it through the site.
To sign up and receive a prescription through the platform, you’ll have to fill out an online health form and pay a $20 consultation fee. A doctor will then review your information, and Pandia Health will send the medication straight to your doorstep.
Pandia Health also offers free delivery.
| Accepts insurance? | Cost | Prescription needed? | Free options? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisp | no | • $18 for one • $32 for two • $42 for three | no | no |
| Nurx | yes | depends on insurance coverage | no | yes |
| Target | not online (but does accept insurance if you shop at the in-store pharmacy) | around $50 | not online | no |
| CVS | yes | around $45 | no | no |
| Pandia Health | yes | • $53 per pack without insurance • free with insurance | yes | yes |
Deciding where to purchase Plan B can depend on your individual situation.
If you’re stocking up ahead of time, it’s best to do some research to find an affordable option or, if you have insurance, an option that accepts insurance.
If you need Plan B as soon as possible, you’ll want to choose the quickest option. That may be an online retailer that offers overnight or same-day shipping or a pharmacy or store where you can buy it in person.
If you want to remain discreet, you may find that an online option is a better bet.
Like hormonal birth control and other medications, Plan B can cause side effects.
Some of the most common ones are:
- nausea
- stomach pain
- headaches
- dizziness
- fatigue
Some people may also experience breast or chest tenderness and menstrual cycle changes such as heavier, lighter, or irregular bleeding.
Plan B isn’t the only option for EC. Below are a few other options.
Next Choice
Next Choice is a levonorgestrel (progestin-only) pill just like Plan B, but a pack of Next Choice includes either one or two pills.
You should take the first pill as soon as possible, within 72 hours of P-in-V sex. If the package comes with a second pill, you should take it 12 hours after you take the first pill.
ella
Another EC option is ella. Similar to Plan B, it’s a single-pill dose. But unlike Plan B, which has a window of 3–5 days, ella can be taken within 5 days of P-in-V sex. It’s a form of ulipristal acetate and requires a prescription.
Ella may be a better option if you have a higher body weight. It has been found to be more effective than Plan B in people who have a BMI of 30 or more.
Paragard
Paragard is a copper intrauterine device (IUD) that is one of the most effective methods of long-acting reversible contraception.
Not only can it be used for up to 10 years, but it can also be used as a method of EC if it’s inserted within 5 days of having P-in-V sex.
It’s also more effective than Plan B, reducing the risk of pregnancy by 99%, regardless of whether it’s being used as EC or as birth control.
Take Action
Take Action is a generic form of levonorgestrel EC that’s equally as effective as Plan B. The only real difference is that Take Action is slightly less expensive, as is the case with most generic versions of any medication.
If you took Plan B on time and haven’t gotten your period within 3 weeks of having P-in-V sex, you should take a home pregnancy test. You should also visit a doctor to confirm whether you’re pregnant.
Since Plan B has no age restrictions on who can buy it, you do not need to show a form of identification to get it.
Plan B has been available to people of any age since 2013. In some cases, you’ll still have to request it from a pharmacy counter.
While a prescription is not required, having one may help you get insurance coverage for Plan B.
You can often get Plan B for free if you’re enrolled in Medicaid. You might also be able to get it for free at Planned Parenthood or other low cost healthcare clinics in your area.
You can typically find Plan B on the shelf at drugstores and pharmacies, as there are no federal restrictions on who can buy it. It will usually be in the “family planning” or “feminine hygiene” aisle.
As with other drugstores, you can find Plan B on the shelf at CVS stores.
You can get Plan B at Walmart, including online.
Plan B is 75–89% effective if used within 24 hours. The sooner the better, though — Plan B must be taken within 72 hours of having sex in order to temporarily delay ovulation to prevent pregnancy.
There are many options when it comes to obtaining Plan B and other forms of EC. Many retailers offer them at a relatively low cost, with or without insurance.
By researching your options and educating yourself on how to properly take EC, you can give yourself the best chance that it will be effective.