Home Antidepressants List of Antidepressants: Types and Names
Antidepressants fall into a few main types, SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclics and a group of others. Find yours by brand or generic name, see how the types differ and open its guide.
Medical review pending. Written by the Claro editorial team from the FDA label and published studies.
Medication guides
All antidepressants by type SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) SNRIs (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) Tricyclic antidepressants Other antidepressants
Antidepressants are grouped by how they act on brain chemicals such as serotonin and noradrenaline. Sertraline (Zoloft) and escitalopram (Lexapro) are the two most prescribed antidepressants in the US, and both are SSRIs. Find your medication in the list of antidepressants by type, then open its guide. SSRIs and SNRIs block the reuptake of serotonin, or of serotonin and noradrenaline; the other groups work in other ways.
Every US antidepressant label carries an FDA boxed warning about suicidal thoughts in people aged 24 and younger, highest in the first months and after a dose change. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988 in the US, or find a crisis line .
What are the main types of antidepressants?
There are four main types: SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclic antidepressants and MAOIs, plus several others that do not fit those groups. The NHS lists SSRIs as the most widely used type and says MAOIs are now rarely used for depression; we don't have guides for MAOIs yet. It's thought they work through brain chemicals such as serotonin and noradrenaline. The groups differ in what they act on and in what else they touch along the way. SSRIs and SNRIs block the transporters that take these chemicals back up into nerve cells. Tricyclics do that too but also block other receptors, which is where their dry mouth, drowsiness and dizziness on standing come from.
SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors): sertraline, escitalopram, fluoxetine, citalopram, paroxetine, fluvoxamine. SNRIs (serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors): venlafaxine, duloxetine, desvenlafaxine, levomilnacipran. Tricyclics (TCAs): amitriptyline, nortriptyline, clomipramine, imipramine. They are older and cause more side effects than newer types, and some people take them when newer drugs haven't helped; that is a choice made with a prescriber. Others: bupropion, an NDRI, which acts on noradrenaline and dopamine rather than serotonin; mirtazapine (a NaSSA) and trazodone (a SARI), which act on serotonin receptors as well as other targets; and vortioxetine. Each works in its own way. The US National Institute of Mental Health names SSRIs, SNRIs and NDRIs such as bupropion as the most prescribed groups. They treat a broad range of depressive and anxiety disorders with fewer side effects than older drugs.
Which antidepressants are most commonly prescribed?
In the US, sertraline and escitalopram are prescribed more than any other antidepressant. ClinCalc estimates from a federal health survey put sertraline at about 44.6 million prescriptions in 2024. Escitalopram follows with about 41.8 million, then bupropion, fluoxetine and trazodone.
Medication Type Prescriptions in 2024 Sertraline (Zoloft) SSRI 44.6 million Escitalopram (Lexapro) SSRI 41.8 million Bupropion (Wellbutrin) NDRI 34.9 million Fluoxetine (Prozac) SSRI 29.5 million Trazodone (Desyrel) SARI 26.2 million
Being common says nothing about which one suits you. It does mean there is more research and more shared experience to draw on for these five.
How do doctors choose an antidepressant? Clinical section: medical review pending
There is no single best antidepressant, and the choice depends on you more than on the drug. A large 2018 analysis of 522 trials with more than 116,000 adults compared 21 antidepressants. All of them worked better than placebo. In direct comparisons, seven did somewhat better than the rest: agomelatine, amitriptyline, escitalopram, mirtazapine, paroxetine, venlafaxine and vortioxetine. On tolerability the picture differs: escitalopram was among the best tolerated, while amitriptyline and venlafaxine were among those people most often stopped. The authors rated the certainty of the evidence moderate to very low, and the analysis covered adults with major depression, not anxiety. The NHS puts it simply: all types generally work as well as each other, but they differ in who can take them and in side effects. The clinical view:
No antidepressant is the strongest for everyone, and the right one is often found by trying.
In large comparisons most antidepressants work about equally well on average. They differ more in side effects, interactions and how hard they are to stop. Needing a second choice does not mean the first was a mistake.
Prescribers look at your main symptoms, other conditions, other medications and past response, yours or a close relative's. Some antidepressants are more activating and others more sedating, which can be matched to problems with sleep or energy.
If you are weighing a change, how a switch between two antidepressants is planned is covered in our guide to switching antidepressants . Before an appointment, it helps to tell your prescriber:
which antidepressants you have taken before and how each one went your main symptoms, and whether sleep or energy is the bigger problem other medications and supplements you take side effects you're most worried about, such as weight or sexual side effects Download on the App Store Whichever antidepressant you take, the first weeks and any dose change are easier to judge with notes. The withClaro app lets you log mood, energy, sleep and side effects each day, linked to your dose, and turns it into a report for your doctor.
Sources NHS: Antidepressants, overview and types National Institute of Mental Health: Mental Health Medications ClinCalc DrugStats: The Top 300 Drugs of 2024 Cipriani et al., 2018, The Lancet: Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder Royal College of Psychiatrists: Antidepressants FDA label: Lexapro (escitalopram), DailyMed FDA label: Zoloft (sertraline), DailyMed MedlinePlus: Escitalopram MedlinePlus: Sertraline MedlinePlus: Bupropion Claro articles are for self-monitoring and educational purposes only. They are not a medical device, therapist, or diagnostic tool, and do not replace care from your prescribing clinician. If you are in crisis, contact your care team, emergency services, the Samaritans (UK: 116 123), or the Crisis Text Line (US: text HOME to 741741).
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