Buy Cheap Prescription Glasses
To find your perfect look, take advantage of our Virtual Try-On tool, where you can try on frames from home. Order discounted online glasses with complete confidence, all from the convenience and comfort of your own home.
buy cheap prescription glasses
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If you need, you can also chat online with one of our friendly local optometrist partners while you shop; and ask any eyewear or prescription-related questions you might have. You can start a conversation by opening the chat window in the lower right corner of the website.
We featured GlassesUSA in our review of the best online glasses as one of the top options for buying cheap designer glasses online like Ray-Ban, Gucci, and Persol. But their catalog extends beyond designer brands, with more than 1,300 frames to choose from, at prices starting at $59 (with some clearance options priced even lower).
We recommend getting your glasses prescription from an in-person visit. Some websites offer online glasses prescription renewals, but several sources, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, recommend against this.
GlassesUSA is our selection for the best variety because of its wide selection of frames, including cheap designer glasses. The brand also includes the lenses in its pricing, which gives you a more accurate idea of the total cost for each pair of glasses.
Liingo is a good option for trying on glasses before buying them. Like Warby Parker, it lets you try on up to five pairs at home before buying. It also offers multiple virtual try-on options so you can feel more confident in your choice before purchasing.
If you need specialty lenses, such as progressive or prism lenses, Eyebuydirect may be a good choice for you. It offers cheap progressive glasses, bifocal glasses, Transitions lenses, and other specialty lenses for affordable prices, with bifocal lenses starting at $22.
GlassesUSA is our top choice for cheap prescription glasses online. Its prices start at $39, including the lenses. Zenni Optical and Eyebuydirect also offer cheap glasses online, with both online retailers offering frames as low as $7, though the lenses are not included in these prices.
It really depends on what you're looking for in terms of frame style and pricing. Every store on this list is a good place to shop for glasses online, but the types of frames vary by store, with some stores offering more premium frames, which tend to cost more. Lens quality also can vary, and some stores offer faster delivery.
Stores like Zenni Optical and EyeBuyDirect advertise offers for cheap prescription glasses (that includes frames and lenses) for $6.95 or even slightly less. While that's slightly deceptive only because the price doesn't include tax and shipping and you really should add an anti-glare coating to the lens for about $4 extra, I have put together a usable pair of glasses for around $17 shipped.
You'll need to know your prescription and pupillary distance from your optometrist before you use an online glasses retailer -- so make sure you get a hard copy the next time you get your vision checked. Be aware that sometimes optometrists won't give your pupillary distance because they'll say they want to measure you for a specific set of glasses. But insist on getting one. You can also measure PD yourself using an app on your smartphone or download a PD ruler that most online stores have available for download with instructions on how to use it. Pupillary distance is key because when lenses are made it's important to know where your eye is in relation to the center of the lens.
You can also pick up a device like the $99 EyeQue Vision Check to use your smartphone to check your vision and create a prescription that many online glasses stores will accept (some do require an Rx from an optometrist).
You can often get glasses with basic frames and lenses for less than $100 and sometimes even less than $50 during certain promotions. (I once bought a pair of prescription glasses for $9 that I can't say were all that good, but I've kept them in my car as an emergency pair.)
More premium lenses made of lighter and stronger materials, with additional scratch resistance and anti-glare coating or photochromic lens that change from clear to tinted, cost significantly more. But a pair of premium RX glasses that might cost you $300-$400 online would probably cost double that or more in a brick-and-mortar shop.
Yes, sometimes prescription glasses don't end up being perfect and may end up bothering your eyes. I once had a certain online store screw up the prescription in the left lens while the right one was correct. In many cases, you can return the glasses if you're not satisfied, but make sure to read the fine print on the store's return policy. Often, the store will remake the glasses for you or give you a full refund. However, certain sites only offer partial refunds.
Most sites offer 15-20% off your first purchase if you provide an email address. Many sites also offer additional deals with certain codes at checkout, whether it's discounts on frames, lenses, lens upgrades and sometimes you'll see a buy-one-get-one-free deal. However, typically restrictions apply, which can mean you can only use the code for certain frames and less complicated prescriptions (single lens as opposed to progressive lenses). Look for sales and new codes to crop up around various holidays.
Buying glasses online from a manufacturer like Warby Parker is not only cheaper but can be a lot less time-consuming, particularly after you've gone through the process of buying your first pair of online glasses and have your prescription and profile saved for future purchases. Since it only takes a few minutes to enter your prescription and measure your pupillary distance, the hardest part is agonizing over which frames to choose and mulling over lens options.
To help you narrow down your options and find the best prescription glasses online, I've pulled together the nine best online vendors for buying prescription glasses, vetted by me along with other CNET staff members.
Several CNET editors have bought their glasses on Warby Parker, which has a good selection of sharp-looking eyeglass frames. While glasses start at only $95 with a single-vision prescription, chances are you're going to pay a bit more -- around $150 to $200 -- based on the type of frame options you choose, your prescription and type of eyeglass lenses. Sunglasses start at $175, and progressive lenses in both eyeglasses and sunglasses start at $295. But based on my and my fellow co-workers' experience, the finished products tend to be a step up from what more budget-oriented sites offer.
Notable site features: The company's iPhone app -- sorry, there's no Android version yet -- allows you to search the site by frame size and to try on various frames virtually (it works surprisingly well) and better yet, you can try up to five frames at home for five days for free. Once your five days are up, you place your box in the mail with the prepaid return label (hopefully, you find at least one style that you like from among the five you picked for the home trial). There's also a $15 online virtual vision test to renew prescriptions that are outdated. (Based on the test, you may not be eligible, however.)
Warby also has physical optical stores in some locations around the country if you want to go in and try frames that way. Many have reopened after being closed due to the pandemic. Some of these locations also offer eye tests, and that prescription can be used at Warby or elsewhere.
The online glasses store also has a "buy a pair, give a pair" program, so for every pair of glasses you buy, the company distributes a pair to someone in need, either for free or for "ultra-affordable prices." (See details.)
Shipping times: According to Warby: "Single vision glasses take seven to 10 business days to reach you from the time we have all of your order information. Sunglasses and progressives take 10 to 12 business days to reach you." (These estimates jibe with the experience of CNET editors who have used the service and my pair arrived in six business days.) You can pay more for expedited shipping.
Austin, Texas-based Roka branched out into the online prescription eyewear business a few years ago. The retailer's marketing slogan is "The most technically advanced eyewear that doesn't look technical," and its glasses are impressively light, durable and stylish looking. Like Warby Parker, these are at the higher-end of the online prescription eyeglasses spectrum, with prices of around $200 for a completed pair of prescription glasses, depending on some of the lens upgrades you might add. But Roka has some of the best glasses frames out there.
Roka started out making athletic glasses for runners, bikers and triathletes, and many of its prescription frames are bendable at the ends and have rubberized tracks that help you get a more secure fit. The frames also come with three sizes of grippy nose pads to ensure a better fit. They are among the most comfortable glasses I've worn -- and they really stay on your face. I personally like the small Oslo frame in clear.
Notable site features: Like Warby, there's a home-trial program. You can try up to four frames at home for up to seven days. The box ships with a prepaid return label -- you just drop it off at a post office to send it back. It also has an online virtual vision test to renew prescriptions that are outdated (based on the test, you may not be eligible, however).
Shipping times: Roka has improved its turnaround times now that it's cutting lenses in Austin. It says its standard prescription eyeglasses, readers, and nonprescription sunglasses "will generally ship by the next business day. Our prescription sunglasses and progressives will generally ship in 5-7 business days." For all its glasses, Roka offers free standard shipping in the contiguous United States, as well as optional expedited shipping options, including overnight shipping. 041b061a72