Guide To Choosing Birth Control

Type	How it works	Efficacy rate with typical use	Long- vs. short-acting	Hormone-free?	Prevents STI?
IUD	Device inserted into your uterus in a clinic. Prevents pregnancy for up to 10 years depending on the type of IUD.	99% 99%	Long-acting	Version without hormones and version with progesterone only	No
Implant	Device inserted under your arm in a clinic. Prevents pregnancy for 3 years.	99% 99%	Long-acting	Progesterone only	No
The Shot	Injection done in a clinic or pharmacy every 3 months.	94% 94%	Short-acting	Progesterone only	No
The Ring	Plastic ring inserted in your vagina. You take it out and put a new one in every 3 to 4 weeks.	91% 91%	Short-acting	Estrogen and progesterone	No
The Patch	Patch placed on skin. Needs to be changed every week.	91% 91%	Short-acting	Estrogen and progesterone	No
The Pill	Tablets swallowed every day.	91% 91%	Short-acting	Version with progesterone only; version with estrogen and progesterone	No
Condom	Latex and nonlatex versions put on a penis before sex.	82% 82%	Short-acting	No hormones	Yes
Internal condom	Latex and nonlatex versions placed inside the vagina before sex.	79% 79%	Short-acting	No hormones	Yes
Fertility awareness	Track your cycle and abstain from sex during times of the month when you're most likely to get pregnant.	76%-88% 76%-88%	Short-acting	No hormones	No
Withdrawal	Pulling out before ejaculation.	78% 78%	Short-acting	No hormones	No
Sterilization	A tubal ligation or a vasectomy. This is a surgical procedure that's done in an operating room (tubal ligation) or clinic (vasectomy).	99% 99%	Long-acting	No hormones	No
Abstinence	Don't have sex that could result in a pregnancy.	100% 100% If you don't have vaginal sex	Short-acting	No hormones	No
Emergency contraception	A medicine you take within 3 to 5 days after having unprotected sex. You can also get a copper IUD inserted as a form of emergency contraception.	98%-99% 98%-99% The copper IUD is 99% effective when used as a form of emergency contraception. The pills are about 98% effective but may be less effective for people with a higher body mass index.	Short-acting	Some with hormones, some without	No
Spermicide	A foam you use during sex that kills sperm.	72% 72%	Short-acting	No hormones	No

Notes

Most forms of contraception contain synthetic version of estrogen and a class of hormones called progestins. For simplicity, we've referred to them as estrogen and progesterone in this chart.