Quick answer
Walmart sells at-home A1C test kits, most visibly under its own ReliOn brand, and they are among the most affordable ways to check your A1C without a lab visit. They are a useful tool for tracking your numbers between medical appointments, but they work best for monitoring rather than for diagnosis. A result in the diabetes range should always be confirmed with a lab test ordered by a clinician. One thing to know upfront: Walmart closed its in-store Walmart Health medical centers in 2024, so today the main Walmart-specific option is the home test kit rather than a clinic appointment.
What Walmart actually offers
Walmart’s role in A1C testing is mostly as a retailer of an at-home kit, not as a testing clinic.
The kit you are most likely to see is sold under ReliOn, Walmart’s private-label brand for diabetes supplies. ReliOn covers glucose meters, test strips, lancets, and other everyday diabetes products, and it includes an over-the-counter A1C test intended for home use. You can generally find it in the pharmacy and diabetes-care section in stores or through Walmart’s website, alongside other national-brand home A1C kits.
It is worth clearing up a common point of confusion. For a stretch, Walmart operated standalone Walmart Health medical centers that offered clinical services, but the company announced in 2024 that it was closing all of them along with its virtual care service. That means you cannot count on walking into a Walmart Health clinic for an A1C draw. Some pharmacies and community health events do offer point-of-care A1C screening, but availability varies widely by location, so call your local store’s pharmacy before assuming it is offered.
How an at-home A1C test works
An at-home A1C test measures the same thing a lab does: the percentage of your hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells, that has glucose attached to it. Because red blood cells live about three months, that percentage reflects your average blood sugar over roughly the prior two to three months, which is why a single high reading on a glucose meter is different from an A1C.
Home kits generally come in one of two styles. Instant-read kits include a small analyzer and the supplies to collect a fingerstick blood sample, then display a result within a few minutes. Mail-in kits have you collect a sample and send it to a laboratory, which reports your result online or by phone within a few days. Either way, the test does not require fasting, since A1C is not affected by what you ate that morning.
How much does a Walmart A1C test cost?
Cost is the main reason people look to Walmart in the first place. At-home A1C kits are generally inexpensive, and store-brand options tend to sit at the lower end, often somewhere in the range of about 10 to 30 dollars depending on whether the kit is instant-read or mail-in and how many tests it includes. Prices change, so it is worth checking the current in-store or online price rather than relying on a fixed figure.
For many people the more important comparison is against a laboratory test. A lab A1C ordered by your clinician is frequently covered by insurance, sometimes at no out-of-pocket cost, while a home kit is an upfront cash purchase. If you are weighing the options, our overview of what an A1C test costs without insurance lays out the trade-offs between retail kits, pharmacies, and lab testing.
How accurate are at-home A1C tests?
This is the question that matters most, and the honest answer has two parts.
Modern home A1C tests are reasonably accurate and can give you a useful sense of your trend, but they are generally more variable than a certified laboratory test. Results depend partly on technique, such as collecting an adequate blood sample and following the timing steps exactly. When shopping, it helps to look for a kit that is certified by the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP), the body that standardizes A1C testing so results line up with the large trials that set diabetes treatment targets.
The more important point is about how the result should be used. The American Diabetes Association specifies that a diagnosis of diabetes or prediabetes should be based on a laboratory A1C measured with an NGSP-certified, standardized method, not a home or point-of-care test. In practical terms, a home kit is a good tool for watching your numbers over time, but it is not the tool for diagnosing diabetes. If a home result comes back in the prediabetes or diabetes range, treat it as a prompt to get a confirmatory lab test rather than a final answer.
When A1C is unreliable no matter where it is measured
A1C has limitations that apply to every test, home or lab, and they are worth knowing because they can quietly distort your result. Because A1C depends on red blood cells and their normal lifespan, anything that changes those cells can throw the number off.
Conditions that can make A1C falsely high or low include anemia and iron deficiency, inherited hemoglobin variants such as sickle cell trait or other hemoglobinopathies, recent significant blood loss or a blood transfusion, pregnancy, and advanced kidney disease. If any of these apply to you, your A1C, from any source, may not match your true average glucose, and your clinician may rely on other measures such as a fasting glucose, an oral glucose tolerance test, or a fructosamine test instead. This is also a common reason a home A1C can disagree with your day-to-day meter readings.
When a home test is genuinely useful
Used with those limits in mind, a Walmart or other at-home A1C test has real value. It lets you check your trend between doctor visits, offers privacy, and requires no appointment, which can help you stay engaged with your management. For someone who already has a diagnosis and simply wants to see whether recent changes are moving their average in the right direction, a periodic home check can be motivating.
Because A1C shifts slowly, there is no benefit to testing it daily or weekly. Most people only need it every few months, and how often depends on your situation and your clinician’s advice, which our guide on how often to check your A1C covers in more detail. Between A1C checks, a glucose meter or continuous glucose monitor is the better tool for day-to-day decisions, and you can turn your average readings into an estimated A1C with an A1C calculator to sanity-check where your trend is heading.
Interpreting your result
Standard A1C categories, set by the American Diabetes Association, are a normal reading below 5.7 percent, prediabetes from 5.7 to 6.4 percent, and diabetes at 6.5 percent or higher. For people already diagnosed, a common general target is below 7 percent, though individual goals vary and should be set with your care team.
Remember that a home result places you in a range, it does not diagnose you. If your number is higher than expected, the next step is a conversation with a clinician and, usually, a lab test. If you want help making sense of a specific figure, our explainer on what an A1C of 8.0 means walks through how a single number translates into estimated average glucose and what it suggests about risk.
Frequently asked questions
Does Walmart sell A1C tests?
Yes. Walmart sells over-the-counter at-home A1C kits, including its own ReliOn brand, in the pharmacy and diabetes-care section and online. These are self-test kits, not a lab draw.
Can I get an A1C test at a Walmart clinic?
Walmart closed its Walmart Health medical centers in 2024, so a dedicated clinic visit is no longer a reliable option. Some pharmacies offer point-of-care screening, but this varies by location, so call ahead. For most people the choice is a home kit or a lab test ordered by their doctor.
How accurate is the ReliOn or other home A1C test?
Home tests are reasonably accurate for tracking your trend but are generally more variable than a certified lab test, and they are not intended for diagnosis. Look for NGSP certification, and confirm any abnormal result with a laboratory test.
Do I need to fast before an A1C test?
No. Unlike a fasting glucose test, A1C reflects your average over months and is not affected by your most recent meal, so no fasting is required for either a home or lab A1C.
How often should I use a home A1C test? Because A1C changes slowly, testing every few months is usually enough. Daily or weekly A1C testing provides no added benefit; a glucose meter or continuous monitor is the right tool for daily tracking.
The bottom line
A Walmart A1C test, typically the ReliOn at-home kit, is one of the cheapest and most convenient ways to keep an eye on your long-term blood sugar between appointments. It measures the same marker a lab does and does not require fasting, but it is more variable than a certified lab test and is not a diagnostic tool. Choose an NGSP-certified kit, follow the instructions carefully, remember that conditions affecting your red blood cells can distort any A1C result, and confirm anything in the prediabetes or diabetes range with a clinician and a lab. Used that way, a home kit is a helpful supplement to medical care, not a replacement for it.