What is the difference?
Vulva vs Vagina
In everyday speech "vagina" is often used for the whole genital area, but anatomically that is not right. The vulva is everything on the outside; the vagina is the internal canal.
General information, not medical advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a clinician, pharmacist or sexual health clinic.
Vulva
The vulva is the external part of the genitals in people typically assigned female at birth, including the labia, the clitoral glans, and the openings of the urethra and vagina.
Full entryVagina
The vagina is a muscular, elastic canal that connects the vulva on the outside of the body with the cervix and uterus inside.
Full entrySide by side
In short
If you can see it from the outside, it is the vulva; the vagina is the canal inside. Ongoing itching, pain or unusual discharge is worth checking with a doctor or sexual health clinic.
What they have in common
Both are part of the genital anatomy of people typically assigned female at birth, and both vary naturally from person to person.
Sources
- Planned ParenthoodWhat are the parts of the female sexual anatomy?
- MedlinePlusVulvar Disorders
- MedlinePlusVaginal Diseases
More comparisons
- Affirmative consentvsEnthusiastic consentAffirmative consent is about getting a clear yes; enthusiastic consent goes a step further and cares whether that yes is truly wanted.
- AsexualvsAromanticAsexual answers "do I feel sexual attraction?"; aromantic answers "do I feel romantic attraction?". A person can be one, both or neither.
- Bacterial vaginosisvsThrushA fishy smell points more towards BV, itching more towards thrush, but symptoms overlap, so it is worth getting them checked by a pharmacist, doctor or sexual health clinic.
- BDSMvsIntimate partner violence 18+Calling something BDSM never makes non-consensual harm acceptable. If limits are pushed, safewords ignored or fear creeps in, it is abuse, and domestic abuse services can help.
Last reviewed 10 October 2026. Spotted a mistake?