My Comparisons and Ratings

I’ve tried most of the cups, and these are my thoughts to compare them. I have observations and opinions on all the cups I’ve tried. I tried to be as neutral as possible in my opinions – referencing back to how I find they feel/look/work compared to eachother to see which I felt performed better in each category. And this was done not being influenced by the companies themselves (eg I didn’t rate a product higher if I liked the company), just their products.

The Keeper scored low on this, mostly because with the sample I have most of the comparisons were not able to be done, so it didn’t get scored. This is not the fault of the actual Keeper Cup, it is largely due to the fact that the sample I was given did not have the small hole punched in like the other samples, it instead had about half of one side cut away. Which meant that certain ratings I was not able to give because I was unable to test it properly. I have been unable to obtain a sample of the US Moon Cup (made by the Keeper), so I can’t rate it at all…

I’ve written down my thoughts on each brand, going into more detail on areas I’ve rated here on, and including pictures of what the companies sent me. To see that, please see their pages.

Diva Cup – My thoughts
Femmecup – My thoughts
Keeper - My Thoughts
Lady Cup – My Thoughts
Lunette – My Thoughts
Miacup – My Thoughts
Mooncup (UK) – My Thoughts

Inside (Cleaning)

This is looking at what markings are on the cups (and their potential to collect blood and make cleaning harder). None of the cups were hard to clean, but some were easier than others.

Diva – has their name in fancy font and they have “made in canada”, plus the size in raised numbers on the flat inside base, and measuring lines in mls and oz.
Keeper – has “The keeper made in USA” in raised capitals all around the inside of the rim (I hate the typeface.. looks large chunky and less professional) and the size raised in the flat inside bottom. 2 rings around the inside. Not sure if they are measuring lines or not.
Mooncup UK – has their website in larger letters, their sizing in raised letters on the flat inside bottom and raised dots beside the size (not sure why). It also has the lines on the inside, marked mls on one side and plain lines on the opposite side.
Lunette - has nothing at all inside
Lady Cup – has nothing at all inside
Femmecup – has their website in small letters, and measuring lines with markings in mls.
Miacup – has their logo on the inside rim, nothing marked on the flat base inside the cup.

I found none of the measuring lines collected any blood really… not as much as I’d thought it would. Though it did make it a fraction harder to clean inside (one lazy wipe cleans the Lunette and Lady Cup and I had to wipe a bit more carefully to clean the others). I noticed after getting the femmecup out to have a look at it again, that there was dried blood in the writing that hadn’t washed off properly when I’d rinsed it after use (oops). So the potential for blood catchment in the writing/markings is there, so having no markings is better than having the chance to be harder to clean… so score one for Lunette, Miacup and Lady Cup with the smooth(er) inside that is easier to clean….

Diva 0 | Lunette 1 | Mooncup (UK) 0 | Keeper 0 | Lady Cup 1 | Femmecup 0 | Miacup 1

Outside (Cleaning)

This is looking at what markings, ridges and writing is on the outside of cups (and their potential to collect blood and make cleaning harder). I found the more pronounced ridge (where the cup has the “stepped” sides near the top rim) to be slightly more likely to catch blood than the smoother sides.

Diva – Pronounced ridge around the top, slightly harder to clean there. No markings except lines around base for grip.
Keeper - Pronounced ridge around the top, slightly harder to clean there. No markings.
Mooncup UK – Pronounced ridge around the top, slightly harder to clean there. No markings except lines around base for grip.
Lunette – Slight ridge around the top, shallow indented writing and raised lines for measuring (wasn’t hard to clean)
Lady Cup – No ridge around the top, no writing or markings.
Femmecup – Pronounced ridge around the top, no markings.
Miacup – Pronounced ridge around the top, no markings.

Even though the Lunette has the lines and writing on the outside, they are so minimal that they haven’t collected blood for me. So score 0.5 for Lunette (since it’s still easy to clean) and 1 point to Lady Cup (because it’s probably slightly easier to clean having no ridge or lines), because smoother on the outside is slightly easier to clean.

Diva 0 | Lunette 1.5 | Mooncup (UK) 0 | Keeper 0 | Lady Cup 2 | Femmecup 0 | Miacup 1

Insertion (Ease)

This is looking at how easy the cups are to insert. How easily they fold to go in.

Diva - Slightly easier to keep folded than Lunette.
Keeper - Couldn’t test accurately
Mooncup UK – Slightly easier to keep folded than Lunette.
Lunette – Slightly harder to keep folded than Diva.
Lady Cup – Most flexible silicone. Easier to keep folded than other cups. Easier to insert
Femmecup – Slightly easier to keep folded than Mooncup or Lunette
Miacup – Probably the second most flexible silicone, easy to insert

While not really very much difference, I found Diva, Miacup, Lady Cup and Femmecup were slightly easier to keep in their folded position than Lunette or Mooncup. The Lady Cup is much easier to insert because of the lack of ridges and softer/more flexible silicone. So Score half a point each to Diva, Miacup and Femmecup for being slightly easier to keep folded than Lunette and Mooncup and 1 full point to Lady Cup for being easiest to keep folded and most comfortable to insert. The Keeper I have with half of one side missing was not able to be folded up properly (as the top folded but the gaping hole made the bottom of the cup not able to fold – leaving a pointy bit sticking up, so was not easy to insert, remove or keep folded, so I can’t mark a score for it….

Diva .5 | Lunette 1.5 | Mooncup (UK) 0 | Keeper 0 *| Lady Cup 3 | Femmecup .5 | Miacup 1.5

*Wasn’t scored

Insertion (Opening Up)

Using the same folding method (”c”), and the same insertion positions (essentially trying to keep everything the same), how easily the cups opened for me.

Diva – A few more issues opening up than the other cups, interesting since it’s the small size
Keeper - Couldn’t test accurately
Mooncup UK – No problems opening up (either size).
Lunette – No problems opening up.
Lady Cup – No problems opening up.
Femmecup - No problems opening up.
Miacup – Slight problems opening up.

With insertion I found Diva to have more problems opening up… but I only tried it twice and was using the smaller size, which might have had an effect (though I’d imagine the larger size having more problems). Miacup required a little “stirring” to get it to open, but was easier than Diva.  I find the Lunette usually pops open with no problems. Lady Cup .opened up fine.  So all are unscored for this because not all the cups I have are the right size for me, and different positions and more practice can all influence this…..

Diva .5 * | Lunette 1.5 *| Mooncup (UK) 0 *| Keeper 0 *| Lady Cup 3 * | Femmecup .5 *| Miacup 1.5 *

*Wasn’t scored

Insertion (Comfort)

This is going by how comfortable the cups felt being inserted. Basically I found the more pronounced ridges to be slightly less comfortable than the smoother ones (obviously a smooth surface is going to feel less noticeable being inserted than a bumpy one). Not “uncomfortable”, more “noticeable”…Basically if there were 2 cups otherwise identical, I’d pick the smoother sided one. But it’s really not a big deal, since inserting the cup is all of a few seconds, but still….

Diva – Pronounced ridge around the top, slightly less comfortable to insert than Lunette or Lady Cup.
Keeper - Couldn’t test.
Mooncup – Pronounced ridge around the top, slightly less comfortable to insert than Lunette or Lady Cup.
Lunette – Less pronounced ridge around the top, more comfortable to insert than ridges cups
Lady Cup – No ridge, softer silicone folds smaller, most comfortable to insert
Femmecup – Pronounced ridge around the top, slightly less comfortable to insert than Lunette or Lady Cup.
Miacup – Pronounced ridge around the top, slightly less comfortable to insert than Lunette or Lady Cup.

With Mooncup and Femmecup I felt this more than Diva. It is worth mentioning that I believe the Diva sample I have is the older style and that new versions have a lower profile ridge, almost similar to a Lunette, but I can only go by one picture I have seen of that – so I am judging this based on the cup I personally have. Lady Cup was the most comfortable to insert, with no ridge and the more flexible silicone making it able to fold up better. So one point to Lunette and Lady Cup for being nicer feeling to insert. Keeper sample couldn’t be folded into a proper shape for insertion due to the hacked out side poking up, so was exceptionally uncomfortable to insert like that, so obviously cannot be scored because I don’t have a proper sample.

Diva .5 | Lunette 2.5 | Mooncup (UK) 0 | Keeper 0 *| Lady Cup 4 | Femmecup .5 | Miacup 1.5

*Wasn’t scored

Stems

Even though you can cut the stem to the most comfortable length, I’ve tried these with the stems as they are when they are shipped to you.

Diva – Small stem, but still a little uncomfortable
Keeper – Longest stem but less uncomfortable than Mooncup’s stem… still uncomfortable though.
Mooncup – Most uncomfortable of all the stems, but once chopped halfway is about even with Diva’s stem..
Lunette – The most comfortable stem style
Lady Cup – Softer than the other tube stems, so not as uncomfortable.
Femmecup – As uncomfortable as Mooncup’s stem…
Miacup – The most comfortable stem style

I can wear the Lunette, Miacup and Lady Cup without the stem trimmed, and I would have to trim the others. I actually prefer the longer stem so I can use it to pull the cup down, so I don’t like the shorter Diva stem as much as I do the longer ones….. however the Mooncup stem was very uncomfortable unless cut in half….. Femmecup likewise. I also like the Lunette and Miacup solid stem better as it can’t fill with gunk, and its more flexible/softer – it also had ridges for gripping.  Ladycup stems are so soft the tube squishes flat when grasped, so I found it just as comfortable as the tab stem, but I find the solid stem feels more “solid”.  So Lunette and Miacup gets a point for a better stem all round – more flexible, easier to grip, can’t fill with gunk and flat for a much lower profile with no poking.

Diva .5 | Lunette 3.5 | Mooncup (UK) 0 | Keeper 0 | Lady Cup 4 | Femmecup .5 | Miacup 2.5

Wearing

In actual wearing (once they are in) they all felt exactly the same…(except the stem poking issue)…. Though I had a little leakage with the Diva, but it was the small size, and having a hole in it may have effected it (though the mooncup didn’t leak and the Diva hole was up high in the rim so I hadn’t worn it long enough to fill to there). I can wear my Lunette and let it fill past the rim, but I couldn’t try that with the Diva or Mooncup as they have holes punched into them…so I couldn’t test that obviously. I did get leakage with the large size Lady Cup when it was filled past the holes, but only slightly (and I occasionally get that with Lunette when it’s filled past the brim). When I tested the Femmecup it didn’t get to the level of the holes, so I didn’t test it filling past those. The sample Keeper with half its side missing could only hold about 1ml, and even then it would most likely have leaked because of the masive hole… so I didn’t bother trying it during my period at all. So I won’t rate this at all for any of the cups, because some of the cups are samples with holes punched in, so I can’t accurately tell which performs better (and they all feel the same once they are in).

Diva .5 *| Lunette 3.5 *| Mooncup (UK) 0 * | Keeper 0 *| Lady Cup 4*| Femmecup .5 *| Miacup 2.5 *

*Wasn’t scored

Cleaning the holes

The holes of the Diva really bugged me, and I only tried it twice.  They would not rinse clean for me, I had to get a pin and poke them clean. I imagine I would take to it with a heated metal skewer to enlarge them if I bought one and had to use a pin each time…. I tried putting my hand over the cup and squirting water out through them (my usual method) , and it doesn’t work to clear them (where it does for the other cups)…. With the Keeper’s brown colour, you can’t see if the holes are dirty though, which is a big turn off for me – given the amount of gunk I’ve seen in the silicone cups holes, if you don’t see it, you might not clean it well enough to remove it…. and not all of us disinfect or boil the cups between uses….Lady Cup’s holes were the easiest to clean, being HUGE, they didn’t even need the palm squeeze trick to clean them, they came clean with a rinse under the tap. Miacup’s holes while also opaque like Keeper, are larger so I can see through them, so I’m happy with them, ……..So I’ll give a 1/2 point each to the Mooncup, Femmecup, Miacup and Lunette for their easy to clean holes, 1 full point to Lady Cup because it’s holes are easier to clean, and minus 0.5 to Diva for its incredibly difficult holes to clean and also minus 0.5 for Keeper for the fact that while they seem to come clean ok, you can’t see if the holes need cleaning or not….

Diva 0 | Lunette 4 | Mooncup (UK) .5 | Keeper -.5 | Lady Cup 5 | Femmecup 1 | Miacup 3

*Wasn’t scored

Visual Appeal

This is somewhat subjective…. everyone has different likes and dislikes… but I figured I’d also rate these things as well..

Diva – Frosted silicone, looks appealing.
Keeper - Brown rubber, does not look appealing.
Mooncup – Yellowed silicone, doesn’t look as appealing.
Lunette – Frosted silicone, looks appealing.  Also brought out a limited edition blue cup which is very appealing.
Lady Cup – Clearer silicone with a slightly shiny look, without markings (plain), doesn’t look as appealing.  However they have coloured cups available which I do find very appealing.
Femmecup - Whiter silicone with a slightly shiny look. Feels a tiny bit more plastic than the other cups, but looks appealing (love the spiral)
Miacup – Love the purple

So I think the Diva and Lunette look and feel more attractive of the clear silicone cups, so a point to each of them. Femmecup can have 1 point, because visually it’s appealing with its spiral (which is different to all the other cups) and whiter appearance, but it loses half a point because of the feel…. which I find ever-so slightly plasticky and the slight shinyness to it (so it gets half a point in total). Lady Cup and Miacup can get 2 points, and Lunette can have another point for this too,  for bringing out cups in a colour (or colours) that is solely designed to increase it’s visual appeal.

Diva 1 | Lunette 6 | Mooncup (UK) .5 | Keeper -.5 | Lady Cup 7 | Femmecup 1.5 | Miacup 5

Accessories

This is also something that isn’t really related, but in order to be fair to the other cups, I wanted something I could honestly mark some of the other cups well on….and otherwise poor Keeper was a negative score (remembering I can’t score most things for it due to the sample I have)

Diva – Mine came with nothing, but they normally come with a pretty bag and pin. Very nice!
Keeper - Mine came with an interesting bag (black satin with lace trim), was pretty… if not rather flimsy (though I’ve seen ones online that are better made). Nice..
Mooncup – Comes in probably the plainest bag, but I do like the more natural look..makes it seem more environmentally friendly. Nice..
Lunette - Probably the least appealing bag really, it’s synthetic and a bit stiff with cheaper thin ribbon (which I found didn’t keep the pouch closed properly), though they have changed to a blue bag now, not sure if it’s better fabric wise…
Lady Cup – Coloured cotton bag with co-ordinated ribbon (matches the writing on the bag, or the cup colour itself). Quite nice (some say one of the most attractive bags for the cups)
Femmecup – Plain bag like Mooncup, but thinner fabric and a bit cheaper looking. Ribbons are in keeping with the colour theme though, and the box/packaging is bright and colourful without being too cheesy. Nice.
Miacup – Mine came in a lined satin pouch with embroidered logo – very swanky indeed!

Interestingly I’ve seen a few people say they don’t like the Diva bag, but I personally think that Diva gives a really nice pouch and the pin is a nice touch. So it gets 2 points. Miacup’s pouch is very well made and plush, so it gets 2 points too. Even if the pin and satin bags aren’t your thing, they put the effort in to give you something special. Everyone else gets one point, except Lunette which gets no points because their bag is least appealing, mostly because of the type of fabric and the drawstring that doesn’t really work..

Diva 3 | Lunette 6 | Mooncup (UK) 1.5 | Keeper 1.5 | Lady Cup 8| Femmecup 2.5 | Miacup 7

____________________________________________________________
So there you go…. That’s how I’d rate all the cups.

I imagine if I had a proper Keeper, it would have scored the same as the Mooncup (except it’s losing half a point for being opaque). Its marked so low mostly because there were 4 sections I couldn’t rate it for because the sample not being intact enough to be able to rate it. Which isn’t my fault or the fault of the actual cup. I’ve tried to review it where possible. The Moon Cup (USA) I imagine would rate the same as mooncup UK (perhaps half a point better because it doesn’t appear to be yellowed silicone)

Does this reflect what I would personally rank the cups in what I would buy? To be honest, if I had just one cup, not comparing it to any of the others, I’d be happy with any of them… yes, even the Diva or Keeper! they are all certainly better than tampons, and I wouldn’t bother with the disposable insteads….. All the cups are brilliant little things, and I think every woman should have one – any one… Its only that in comparison to eachother I have a preference. So ……

The Cups in order of my preference:

Choice #1- Lady Cup (coloured)
I must admit, the addition of the purple Lady Cup has swayed my decision with these ratings.  I LOVE purple.   The Clear Lady Cup rated #3, but the Lilac Cup is the right kind of purple for me, bringing this cup into first choice for me.  I find the Lady Cup is easier to insert and clean with it’s lack of writing and smooth sides.  The coloured versions (Pink , blue, green, yellow, orange and purple) offer something a bit different and fun for those who want something other than the usual silicone.  When faced with the decision of which cup to use out of Miacup, Lunette and Lilac Cup (my 3 favourites), I find myself reaching for the Lilac Cup.

Choice #2 – Lunette
I really have a tough job trying to work out which I like better out of a purple Miacup or a clear Lunette….. if only Lunette came out in purple!!  (or perhaps if I wasn’t so swayed by pretty colours).  With the stem design and easier to clean inside and outside, I personally think it is the best choice of cup out there for the actual design and comfort.

Choice #2.2 – Miacup
This cup is almost equal to Lunette in my choice because I find it very hard to pick which I like better between the two.  It’s purple, offers a money back guarantee, has fantastic customer relations and donates to charity – which Lunette doesn’t.  But it does have the more pronounced ridge that I don’t like on the cups, which I found made it slightly harder to clean than Lady Cup or Lunette.  It is very similar in shape to Lunette, and has the tab stem that I also like.  So it’s a very tough call on this cup.  Admittedly the purple colour does influence my decision, as does the additional benefits of guarantee and charity work.  If it was clear, it would still rate between Lady Cup and Lunette, but I wouldn’t have quite the love for it as I do.

Choice #3 – Lady Cup (clear)
This is how I’d rate Lady Cup if colours weren’t a factor. Yes, I’m that shallow – I do prefer coloured cups.  Lady Cup is very easy to clean, easy to insert/remove and a stem that I found comfortable enough to wear untrimmed…. however it does have a tube stem.

Choice #4 Femmecup
Although it seems identical to Mooncup UK, it looks more appealing visually to me (love the spiral!) I do prefer the easier cleaning more smooth sided Lunette and Lady Cups a little more though, which is why I rank it here.

Choice #5 – Mooncup (UK)
The Mooncup is marginally less attractive because of the yellowed silicone…. so it rates below Femmecup.

Choice #6 – Moon Cup (USA)
Although I didn’t try it, if it’s based on the Keeper (eg exactly the same shape/size), then I think I’d prefer it over the Diva. The main problems I have with the Keeper are it’s colour, the fact it’s latex and the fact you can’t see the holes, which the silicone cup would solve. Since I’ve never seen one in person though, nor tried one, I don’t know if I can rate it any higher. It might be 5th…. not sure.

Choice #7 – Diva
The holes are why I rank this cup lower than the others… they annoyed me….. *a lot*. Plus it’s longer length poked me more despite the short stem, and I like the longer stems to grip.

Choice #8 – Keeper
The fact you can’t see the holes, it’s brown and in my opinion unattractive …and that it’s latex mean I’d choose this cup last. But, I would still chose it over a tampon (unless I had a latex allergy)… so being last isn’t all bad, it’s just that compared to the others, it would be the last of my choices.  The latex does have the advantage that is is the most natural of the cups however, which I’m sure will be important to some women.