Background : Indonesia is a tropical country that receives ultraviolet (UV) ray in quite high intensity. Excessive exposure of UV ray can cause darker complexion. To prevent the complexion gets darker, there have been skin protection cosmetics developed i.e. sunscreen. The sunscreen price in the stores is relatively expensive, so it is necessary to have natural substance that can prevent the skin of getting dark with relatively cheap price. Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) contains vitamin C that can obstruct the pigmentation process of the skin, so that there should be research to compare the effects of lime juice and sunscreen in brightening the skin. Method : The research design was experimental with one intervention group. The subject of the research was 14 female students of Medical Faculty of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. The subject applied the sunscreen on the right hand before doing any activity then it was repeated three times a day, and lime juice on the left hand once a day in the night. The measurement of skin brightness was conducted objectively using skin analyzer and subjectively with VAS (Visual Analogue Scale). The application time of the sunscreen and lime juice was 30 days. The data collected were analyzed with Mann Whitney Test. Result : The comparasion of the brightness complexion that was measured with skin analyzer resulted in p1 of 0,369 (p1>0,05) and with VAS was p2 of 0,827 (p2>0,05). Thus, it meant that there was no difference in the effectiveness between sunscreen and lime juice application. Conclusion : In complexion brightening, the ability of lime was equal with that of sunscreen.