Hormonal methods of birth control, like Depo-Provera and birth control pills (“the Pill”), are more than 99 percent effective. But that’s only if they’re used properly. Human error (“Oops, I forgot my Pill!”) is a huge factor in whether birth control works.

It’s so important that manufacturers of drugs actually note two different rates of effectiveness for birth control. One rate is with “perfect use” and the other is the ‘typical” rate, which takes into account the occasional broken condom and the couple of times you took a pill late. Of course, the perfect use rate is always higher.

Here are the effective rates for both “perfect use” and “typical use” of the most common types of birth control. When you read the percentages, keep in mind that they represent the number of couples who do not get pregnant out of a hundred. So, since condoms are 98 percent effective with perfect use, that means that if 100 couples use condoms every time, perfectly, 98 percent don’t get pregnant and two percent do.

Remember, abstinence is the only method that is 100 percent effective with perfect use at preventing pregnancy and the transmission of STDs. But there aren’t any studies that show the typical use rate of abstinence. Abstinence is really only effective if someone is abstaining from all sexual behaviors that carry a risk for unintended pregnancy or STDs.

But if you choose to use another method of birth control, there are lots of options, such as the ones below:
Implanon
Perfect use: 99.95%
Typical use: 99.95%

Depo-Provera (“the shot”)
Perfect use: 99.7%
Typical use: 97%

Ortho Evra (“the Patch”)
Perfect use: 99.7%
Typical use: 92%

NuvaRing
Perfect use: 99.7%
Typical use: 92%

Birth control pill (“the Pill”)
Perfect use: 99.7%
Typical use: 92%

Male condom
Perfect use: 98%
Typical use: 85%

Female condom
Perfect use: 95%
Typical use: 79%

Diaphragm
Perfect use: 94%
Typical use: 84%

Cervical cap
Perfect use: 91%
Typical use: 84%

Today Sponge
Perfect use: 89-91%
Typical Use: 84-87%

Spermicides when used alone (vaginal contraceptive film, suppositories)
Perfect use: 82%
Typical use: 71%

Withdrawal (”pulling out”)
Perfect use: 96%
Typical use: 73%

Something else we’d like to add is that 85 percent of sexually active, guy-girl couples who do not use ANY method of birth control will become pregnant within a year. If you don’t want to get pregnant, it’s important to use birth control, correctly and consistently—this means every time.

For more information and photos of birth control methods, check out the story “An A to Z of Contraception” by Staff Writer Claire Marchetta.