A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World
Updated on Aug. 13, 2024
Looking for the best place to buy glasses online? These sites let you shop for prescription glasses at home—and at a fraction of of the price.
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A trip to your eye doctor is often time consuming and costly. If you need a new pair of glasses, your options are fairly limited and you’re likely to pay a premium. You could visit your local eyewear boutique for a bigger selection, but the prices can be astronomical. Thankfully, there’s a much simpler and more cost-effective way to shop for glasses, and you’ll have thousands of frames to choose from! Whether you’re looking for the best sunglasses for UV protection, blue light glasses to prevent eye strain or sophisticated specs that will make you look smart, you need to find the best place to buy glasses online.
Before you start shopping, ask your optometrist for your current prescription and pupillary distance measurement, which is a fancy way of saying the space between your eyes. Once you have that information, you’re free to find your perfect frames.
If the prospect of sorting through thousands of pairs of glasses seems daunting, know that buying glasses online is easier than you think. Some sites have virtual try-on features, while others will send you multiple pairs at a time to try on at home. Already know what you want? Just check out the measurements on your current pair and search for something similar.
Once you’ve made your selection, check to see what, if anything, your vision insurance plan will cover. In most instances, you can even use your FSA or HSA for glasses. Then, be sure to read the site’s return policy in case you don’t love your new glasses once they arrive. We’ve rounded up the best places to buy prescription glasses online, and we’re confident that you’ll find your perfect pair. While you’re at it, be sure to pick up some anti-fog spray for your new specs. Happy shopping!
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Eyeconic is a one-stop shop for buying glasses online. You don’t even need to have an optometrist first! The retailer’s Find a Doctor tool will help match you with one of the 38,000 doctors in its network to get you the eye care you need. Once you’ve gotten a comprehensive eye exam, start shopping their extensive collection of frames in regular or specialty sizes.
The best place to buy glasses online has all-in-one pricing, meaning the price you see online is the price you’ll pay for frames and lenses. Designer frames can be expensive, but Eyeconic has an affordable glasses shop where prices start at $139. They also accept three major vision insurance plans, which allows you to save up to $220, and VSP Vision Care members always receive 20% off eyewear. Make sure to pick the right pair, because glasses reveal things about your personality.
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If you’re looking to buy cheap glasses online, LensDirect makes the entire experience easy and enjoyable. Start by using their selfie tool, which recommends a pair of glasses to suit your face. Once you’ve selected your frames, just upload the photo of your prescription, choose your lens type and place your order.
Need to renew your prescription? This online glasses retailer offers an online vision test for that! LensDirect doesn’t accept vision insurance, but prescription eyeglasses start at just $74 and include 100% UV Protection, anti-reflection and scratch-resistant lenses at no additional charge. Since the retailer is so inexpensive, LensDirect is ideal for those who have a tendency to lose or beat up on their glasses.
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Warby Parker has made quite a name for itself, and it’s easy to see why. This is one of the best places to buy glasses online thanks to its user-friendly website, which starts off with a quiz that narrows down your choices based on the size of your face and style preferences like frame shape, material and colors.
Once you get your results, select up to five pairs of frames with demo lenses to try risk free at home. If you’re not quite ready to buy glasses online or think you may need to try on more than five pairs, Warby Parker has retail stores you can visit and, at some locations, even book an eye exam. Prices start at $95, which includes prescription lenses, and Warby Parker accepts insurance.
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If you want the latest styles, including those co-designed by your favorite celebs, athletes and influencers, look no further than Diff Eyewear. They even have Harry Potter and Star Wars collections!
And if stylish specs aren’t enough, Diff also gives back. The company has partnered with Sightsavers, an international organization leading the charge in providing vision to people around the world. Every pair of Diff glasses sold helps to provide the gift of sight to someone in need through eye exams, surgeries, glasses, medicine and more. To date, this best place to buy glasses online has helped three million people in need! If you love the idea of shopping with a purpose, continue shopping with these companies that give back.
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If there’s a company out there that really wants to be sure you love your new glasses, it’s Liingo. The retailer is run by 1-800 Contacts, offering stylish glasses at prices as low as $49. Their website features virtual try-ons and a Find My Fit tool to help you select the ideal frames. If you’d rather try on glasses at home, Liingo will send you up to five pairs to try completely risk free.
What really sets Liingo apart is its 60-Day Delight Guarantee. You have a full 60 days to try out your new glasses. If you don’t love them, the retailer offers free returns, providing the most generous return policy out there. If you love your glasses but need to have them adjusted, take them to your local optical shop and Liingo will reimburse you for any fees up to $25.
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Pair Eyewear is the fun, customizable children’s eyewear brand you might have seen on Shark Tank. The retailer’s glasses have five base frame shapes, come in a variety of colors and start at just $60. Kids (and adults!) can change their look as often as they change their clothes with the brand’s extensive collection of top frames, which start at $25.
The Pair Eyewear collection comes in plenty of fun colors and patterns, along with some pretty magical collaborations! Pair has partnered with Harry Potter, Star Wars, Sesame Street, Peanuts, Marvel and more, so kids can have the coolest glasses around. And the partnerships don’t end there! Pair has also collaborated with Eyelliance, a nonprofit organization that provides glasses and vision care to children in the developing world. For every pair purchased, the company provides glasses to a child in need. Now that’s cool!
Before you decide on the best place to buy glasses online, there are a few things you’ll want to consider. For starters, what are you willing to spend? Not all online retailers accept vision insurance, so make sure the retailer has a selection of frames that falls within your budget. Also, check if those prices include prescription lenses, not just frames.
If you prefer to see, touch and try on an item before you buy it, choose a retailer that offers in-home try-ons, or opt for one that has a physical location in addition to their online store.
As shopping experts, our only job is to help you find a winning product. We start with the research and reporting basics—what products are made of, what they look like and how much they cost—to ensure that we’re only recommending the buys that are worth your time and money. Then, we research the features that speak to the product’s quality, taking advice from industry insiders and subject matter experts on what makes a product a smart value (or worthy of a splurge). Finally, we do the work of combing through user reviews to see how real people interact with the product, and if it stands up to the test.
It depends! Some websites accept vision insurance while others do not. Be sure to check before you start shopping. After all, you don’t want to fall in love with a set of frames only to find out your insurance doesn’t cover them.
Yes! Most places allow you to use your HSA or FSA to buy prescription glasses online. Keep in mind that you cannot use an HSA or FSA for non-prescription glasses, so if you’re purchasing sunglasses or blue-light blockers, they must have prescription lenses.
