Acute migraine attacks have a strong impact on quality of life and require immediate therapeutic intervention to achieve rapid pain relief. The introduction of triptans into the market in 1993 has increased the therapeutic options in migraine patients considerably. The seven currently available triptans show many similar characteristics but there are also some clinically relevant pharmacological differences. Rizatriptan 10 mg has demonstrated, in a head-to-head study, higher response rates and a more rapid onset of action than sumatriptan 100 mg, together with a favorable tolerability profile. Meta-analyses of double-blind placebo-controlled studies confirmed the superior efficacy of rizatriptan. Owing to the limited efficacy of sumatriptan, a more effective triptan treatment is needed in the majority of patients with acute migraine attacks.