Every vaginal microbiome test, every marker, every price

Vaginal microbiome testing went from a research tool to a $79–$399 consumer product in five years. Twelve providers now sell direct-to-consumer kits, ranging from narrow PCR panels (4 markers) to full metagenomic sequencing (29+ markers). The decision is not which kit is "best" — it's which marker set you actually need, and what you're willing to pay per marker.

Every provider, ranked by price

All twelve products linked below are live in the labhackr catalog with component-level dissection. Prices are snapshots from each provider's public product page; the linked test pages auto-refresh from live offers.

#	Test	Method	Markers	Price	$/marker
1	Sequencing.com 16S rRNA · Vaginal swab Lowest sticker price. Reports diversity + species abundance, no CST classification.	16S rRNA	9	$79.00	$8.78
2	Chai 16S rRNA · Vaginal swab Budget pick with CST classification. Light on Candida specificity.	16S rRNA	7	$89.00	$12.71
3	Comprehensive Vaginosis Profile (Quest 16557) Multiplex qPCR · Vaginal swab (lab visit) Cheapest from a CLIA-certified clinical lab. Trichomonas + Group B Strep included.	Multiplex qPCR	11	$111.75	$10.16
4	Daye qPCR (diagnostic tampon) · Proprietary tampon Tampon collection — broader specimen sampling than a swab. CST + Candida.	qPCR (diagnostic tampon)	10	$119.00	$11.90
5	Evvy Metagenomic + PCR · Vaginal swab Most comprehensive marker panel. mNGS gives full species-level resolution + CST + diversity. Optional Expanded PCR adds STIs.	Metagenomic + PCR	29	$129.00	$4.45
6	Juno Bio 16S rRNA · Vaginal swab Clean UI, CST classification, broad Lactobacillus speciation.	16S rRNA	11	$149.00	$13.55
7	Bacterial Vaginosis Test (retailer multiplex PCR) Multiplex PCR · Vaginal swab (lab visit) Narrow BV-only panel. Faster turnaround at clinical labs.	Multiplex PCR	4	$179.00	$44.75
8	Doctor's Data Comprehensive Vaginosis Profile (CGM-V) qPCR · Vaginal swab (kit ships home) Includes BVAB1/2/3 — uncultured BV-associated bacteria most others miss.	qPCR	11	$199.00	$18.09
9	Tiny Health Vaginal Test for Mom Shallow shotgun · Vaginal swab Designed for prenatal context — Group B Strep included by default.	Shallow shotgun	8	$199.00	$24.88
10	Vaginitis Test Panel (Quest 17499) Multiplex PCR · Vaginal swab (lab visit) Combines BV + candidiasis + trichomoniasis in one PCR run.	Multiplex PCR	4	$269.00	$67.25
11	MicroGenDX Vaginal Microbiome NGS Panel 16S + ITS NGS · Vaginal swab Adds ITS sequencing — more sensitive for fungal speciation than 16S alone.	16S + ITS NGS	11	$275.00	$25.00
12	Vibrant Vaginal Microbiome Test 16S + ITS NGS · Vaginal swab Most expensive. Practitioner ordering required for some plans.	16S + ITS NGS	11	$399.00	$36.27

Community State Types — the real output

Every credible vaginal-microbiome test classifies your sample into a Community State Type (CST). CSTs are five validated clusters identified by Ravel et al. (2011) and refined since. The CST is more clinically useful than any individual species count because it captures the ecology of the community.

CST	Dominant species	Interpretation
CST I	Lactobacillus crispatus	Most protective. Low pH, high lactic-acid production, low BV/STI risk.
CST II	Lactobacillus gasseri	Protective. Stable lactobacilli-dominant state.
CST III	Lactobacillus iners	Less stable. L. iners can shift to dysbiosis under stress (antibiotics, hormones, sex).
CST IV (A/B/C)	Mixed anaerobes (Gardnerella, Atopobium, Prevotella, etc.)	Dysbiotic. Associated with bacterial vaginosis, increased STI/HIV/preterm-birth risk.
CST V	Lactobacillus jensenii	Protective. Less common worldwide, more common in some populations.

What each test actually measures

Protective Lactobacillus species

The four lactobacilli that define healthy vaginal CSTs: L. crispatus, L. iners, L. jensenii, L. gasseri. Every kit in the table above measures all four. Differences between providers live downstream — in which BV-associated bacteria they include and at what taxonomic resolution.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) organisms

BV is a polymicrobial dysbiosis — no single "BV bacterium." The classical triad of Gardnerella vaginalis, Atopobium vaginae (renamed Fannyhessea vaginae in 2020), and Mobiluncus is in every BV panel. The most useful tests also measure Megasphaera Type 1/2and the BVAB1/2/3 cluster (uncultured Lachnospiraceae linked to recurrent BV) — only Evvy and Doctor's Data report BVAB by default.

Yeast (vulvovaginal candidiasis)

Candida albicans causes ~85% of vulvovaginal candidiasis, but the non-albicans species (C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei/Pichia kudriavzevii, C. tropicalis) are increasingly recurrent and often azole-resistant. Evvy reports all five; most others report only C. albicans + C. glabrata.

STI co-targets

Some providers bundle sexually transmitted infection PCR alongside the microbiome read. Trichomonas vaginalis is the most common bundled STI. Evvy's Expanded PCR adds Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma, chlamydia, and gonorrhea for an additional fee. If STI testing is the goal, a dedicated STI panel is almost always cheaper per marker.

When the cheapest test is the wrong test

Sequencing.com at $79 is the lowest sticker price. It's the right pick when you already know your CST and just want a periodic abundance check. It is the wrong pick when:

You have recurrentBV — you need BVAB1/2/3 specificity, which Doctor's Data and Evvy provide and budget kits do not.
You're pregnant or planning to be — Group B Strep matters. Tiny Health and the Quest Comprehensive Vaginosis Profile both include it; most NGS-only kits do not.
You have recurrent yeast — you need non-albicans Candida speciation (Evvy, MicroGenDX) because C. glabrata and C. krusei respond differently to fluconazole.

How often to retest

The vaginal microbiome shifts on day-of-cycle, hormonal, and sexual-activity timescales. For tracking treatment response, retest at 4 and 12 weeks post-intervention. For monitoring a stable CST-I/II/V state, an annual or biannual check is sufficient. For active CST-IV with recurrent BV, monthly retesting during therapy is reasonable.

References

Ravel J, et al. Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women. PNAS 2011. France MT, et al. VALENCIA: a nearest centroid classification method for vaginal microbial communities based on composition. Microbiome 2020. Diop K, et al. Reclassification of Atopobium vaginae as Fannyhessea vaginae. IJSEM 2020. Gosmann C, et al. Lactobacillus-deficient cervicovaginal bacterial communities are associated with increased HIV acquisition in young South African women. Immunity 2017.