Contact Lenses

They're sites for sore eyes! A raft of UK specialist contact lens websites and phone-order companies supply lenses for half what high street optical chains charge for the same, slashing annual costs for some by over £300 per year. Plus, you can cut the cost of laser eye surgery by 30% too.

There's more to lenses than meets the eye...

• The lenses are identical
• Keeping your eyes safe
• Are dailies the same as monthlies?
• Best Buys: Cheapest lens suppliers
• Buying from overseas suppliers
• Laser eye surgery cost cutting
• The size of the saving
• Other Articles/Discuss

Reclaim the cost of your contact lenses.

There's a further way to cut lens costs, Healthcare Cashplans allow you to reclaim the cost of dental, optical and other forms of healthcare, whether it's via the NHS or not. Read the full Healthcare Cashplans article.

The lenses are identical, even for own-brand users

This isn't about using cheaper lenses, but getting exactly the same lenses, made by the same company, with the same prescription, while paying less. Even opticians' own brands are usually simply identical lenses with different packaging.

All discounters have lists of own brands' real manufacturers to make it easier, e.g. Boots' Daily Disposables are in fact Ciba Vision Focus Dailies Basic.

Why are they so cheap?

With high street bought lenses, some of the price subsidises expensive premises, opticians' salaries and overheads. Yet, by law opticians must hand over prescriptions after a fitting, so you can take it to a specialist discounter.

These provide an ‘execution-only' service, which means they simply sell the lenses your optician recommends. They bulk-buy directly from the manufacturers and sell from warehouses, meaning there are no expensive property overheads.

The longer the supply you buy, the cheaper; three, six or preferably 12 months is usual, though don't buy over a year's in case your prescription changes, and order your new supply at least a month beforehand, to make sure they arrive on time.

These operators have taken such a chunk of the market that the supermarkets have jumped on the bandwagon, and some high street opticians have started their own discount subsidiaries too.

Keeping your eyes safe

Scepticism is important, especially when it's your eyes we're talking about. Yet, reputable discounters will only supply lenses if they've seen proof you've had an eye test within the last year.

When buying lenses from a discounter it's still important to get regular aftercare. Unlike those who buy lenses from opticians, you'll have to pay for it, yet the saving from the lenses substantially outweighs its costs.

Some opticians don't particularly like providing aftercare for discounted lenses, but as the market grows it's something they're accommodating, e.g. buy lenses from Asda’s online opticians and receive a free aftercare voucher valid for 12 months for use with one of its in store opticians.

Are daily lenses secretly the same as monthlies?

Per pair, monthly lenses cost roughly six times the price of daily lenses, yet they seem similar, and some re-wear dailies to save substantial cash. Is this safe?

The British Contact Lens association says no and the College of Optometrists agrees, “Daily disposables tend to be thinner as breaking on removal isn't a problem. To re-wear contacts, it's essential to clean and disinfect them; dailies aren't designed for this. Some may tear and not disinfect efficiently, leading to possibly serious eye infections and even blindness.”

However, in a report by consumer magazine Which?, an independent expert argued that Acuvue, Bausch & Lomb, Coopervision and Sauflon dailies were virtually the same as their monthlies, and if subjected to the same care routine might last just as long. Only with Ciba Vision did he find the monthly lenses very different.

BEST BUYS - The UK's Cheapest Suppliers

The following is a result of comparing over 30 web, phone, supermarket and high street chains' costs for a pair of lenses including delivery. Since often the cheapest was small and untested, the cheapest big supplier is given as an alternative.

Some high st. opticians offer cheap 'all-in' packages; if you're on one of those it's worth carefully considering whether you'll actually save on the overall cost of your eyecare by changing supplier. An increasing amount will also price match, so be sure to ask for their best price before switching.

Daily Replacement Disposables

• Standard Lenses.

  Big web retailer Getlenses* is cheapest at £199 for 13 months (it offers an extra month free), then Postoptics at £180 for 12 months. For a three month supply, the cheapest price is £51 from Tesco*, then £53 from Getlenses* although many others offer similiar prices.

• Acuvue Lenses.

  One-day Acuvue lenses are more expensive. For a year's supply web and phone retailer Secondsightonline is £308. It also comes top for a three month supply, at £79, followed by Contactforlenses* (web and phone) at £87 after postage.

• Daysoft Lenses.

  Daily disposable manufacturer Daysoft sells directly to consumers, at very competitive prices. The company offers lenses equivalent to many of the main brands (excluding Toric versions) at a cost of £40 per four months. This is worth considering, as they may save you a significant amount; over the course of a year, an Acuvue wearer buying at the best rate would save £190.

Monthly Replacement Disposables

• A year's supply.

  Big provider Getlenses* is £54 (plus get a month free).

• Six months' supply.

  Big providers Postoptics and Getlenses* are both £27.

Of course monthly lenses also require cleaning solutions to go with them, and these are also available at reduced prices. Postoptics, one of the biggest companies, offers a multi-buy discount on some solutions; buy three and you'll get one free, which should last a year altogether. This can make it over-all cheapest depending on which solution you use.

Other types of lenses

Discount lens suppliers also stock other lens types. For example Lensbase* sells pairs of coloured monthly lenses for £9.50. Though as the prices vary with specific products, check out a range of the discounters for the cheapest prices.

Unfortunately it's very difficult to find annual or semi-permeable lenses at discounters, due to the level of aftercare that wearers of these types require.

Are you a member of Costco? The Costco membership warehouse does offer lenses at a price which can sometimes beat the above, however stores are limited and there's a fee to join.

Buying from overseas suppliers

There are some suppliers in the USA, such as Coastalcontacts which will often sell lenses in bulk cheaper than the UK, including delivery.

There's also a useful US contact lenses comparison site, Findcontactlenses, which includes most of the major US discounters, and even discount codes for them.

However buying from overseas raises a number of issues – reliability, import duty, quality control and regulatory issues. As it's your vision we're looking at, this option shouldn't be undertaken lightly. Ensure you do the necessary checks and comparisons for eye safety.

Cheapest contact lenses: buying from abroad

Laser eye surgery cost cutting

If you decide to ditch contact lenses and fix your sight permanently, big savings are possible. Though ensure you do the medical research and consider all the options first.

• Grab it on eBay.

  Optimax sometimes sells leftover capacity at a discount price on eBay* to utilise otherwise empty appointments. If you're going for more than just the basic epi-LASIK treatment it’s possible to get reductions of up to £500 depending on which you're getting; though you have to keep checking. Also it's worth ringing around other clinics to see if they offer similar cut price deals for last minute cancellations, but ensure you're thoroughly prepared.

• Get it for a quarter of the price with Tesco Clubcard vouchers.

  It's possible to pay for some or all of your Optimax surgery with Tesco points. Better still, as Optimax is part of Tesco’s Clubcard Deals scheme, you get it for a quarter of the price. In other words a £5 in-store voucher is worth £20 of laser eye surgery.

  This means if you have the vouchers you could have an £800 treatment with £200 worth of vouchers. If you don’t have the vouchers you can use them to part pay; plus there are many Tesco loopholes included in the weekly e-mail which will help you build them up more quickly. More details about Tesco deals are in the Loyalty Points: Boost Tesco, Nectar, Airmiles points guide.

• Sign up to the websites.

  Sign up to different laser eye websites such as Accuvision, Centre For Sight, Optical Express, Optimax* and Ultralase. They'll often mail out special offers and sometimes the longer you leave it the better a deal you'll get. And go to any open days; companies will have special deals to tempt you into signing up that day, but make sure you've done your research first.

• Check for hidden cashback.

  Some cashback websites pay you if you book your treatment via them. For example book Ultralase treatment via a cashback site and once you've had your treatment you could get some cash back on top. Use the Cashback Sites Maximiser to check what could be available. Just set up a free account (don’t use any that require payment) with sites such as Topcashback*, Quidco* or Cashbackkings*, log-in and then click on the product you’re interested in. When you make a transaction such as buying something or signing up to a new credit or insurance policy, it’s recorded and you’re paid cash for doing so. More details are in the Cashback Sites guide.

• Get job-related discounts.

  Optimax also offers a 25% discount for companies and associations that join its Privilege Discount Scheme and will not charge for the consultation. The NHS is already signed up, but do make sure you compare its prices, even with the discount, to its competition. If the company you work for isn’t signed up why not suggest it joins? Membership is free and there are no hidden costs if it does.

Discuss laser eye surgery cost cutting

Pay cash for standard daily disposables in-store at a high street opticians and some can cost as much as £500 a year, yet by shopping around online you can cut that by nearly £300. Of course, high street opticians include an eye test and aftercare, but the cost of that doesn't come close to making up the price difference.