The Cost of Replacing Lenses in Your Glasses

In the event that the lenses of your glasses are damaged, you don’t necessarily have to replace the entire pair of glasses. A great cost-effective option for fixing damage to your glasses is simply replacing the lenses rather than the lenses and the frames.

There are plenty of situations where you might prefer to replace the lenses of your glasses rather than purchase an entirely new set. In most cases, you’ll save money and be able to hang onto the glasses you already chose, rather than having to pick a new pair. The price of replacing your lenses depends on a number of factors, starting with the type of glasses you’re looking to replace the lenses in. These are a few points to think about if you’re wondering how much it will cost you to change your lenses.

Lens Type

If you’re thinking about replacing the lenses in your sunglasses or eyeglasses, the price can start at as low as $30. However, depending on the features of the lenses, there are additional costs to take into account, such as the points below:

Single-Vision Lenses: These are the most basic type of lenses. These are the lenses you have if you are either near-sighted or far-sighted but not both.

Digital Single-Vision Lenses: Also known as digital free-form lenses, these lenses are created based on the wearer’s unique prescription using computer-controlled surfacing equipment. It’s much more precise than conventional lens manufacturing equipment. This technology ensures that the lenses are positioned in front of the wearer’s eyes to provide the most accurate lens powers. It also takes into account the frame size, the position of the wearer’s pupil within the frame, and the angle the wearer will be looking through the lens. These lenses have a wider field of view and sharper image quality. They also provide better peripheral vision and improve your ability to see light vs. dark. Because these lenses are higher quality, they’re more expensive.

Lined Bifocals: These lenses are designed for people who are both near-sighted and far-sighted. They have two separate prescriptions combined into one lense. While these types of lenses aren’t typically what people choose anymore, they are more expensive to replace than single-vision lenses or digital single-vision lenses.

Progressive Bifocals: Progressive bifocals are the latest option for people who are both near-sighted and far-sighted. It solves some of the pain points people experienced with traditional bifocals. The lines aren’t as extreme and there’s less of a disconnect between looking through the reading section of the lens vs. the distance section of the lens. These are the most expensive type of lenses to replace.

Lens Material

Beyond the lens type, what the lens is made of makes a difference in the cost of replacement. There are five types of material commonly used to make glasses lenses:

polycarbonate

This material is light, thin, and impact-resistant, and the least expensive lens type to replace.

These lenses are lighter, impact-resistant, and have superior clarity. They are only a little more expensive than standard polycarbonate lenses to replace.

Trivex

High Index Plastic 1.67

High index plastic is lighter, thinner, and comes with superior clarity. The 1.67 thickness lenses are still reasonably inexpensive to replace.

This level of high index plastic is higher quality and by far the most expensive to replace.

High Index Plastic 1.74

Standard Glass 1.53

Standard glass is heavier, scratch-resistant, and typically offers superior clarity. They’re one of the most expensive lens types to replace.

Lens Coatings

If you’re replacing your lenses already, it’s a great opportunity to treat your lenses with a specialty coating that will both protect them from damage and give your eyes further protection. There are tons of options for lens coatings depending on your needs.

Scratch coating: This coating will protect your lenses from future scratches, so you won’t have to replace them due to damage.

UV Protection: If you wear your glasses every day, you can add UV protection to your lenses to give your eyes some extra protection.

Anti-Fog Permanent Coating: This coating keeps your lenses from fogging up, so your vision will never be impaired by sudden temperature changes.

Anti-Reflection Coating: An anti-reflection coating will give your eyes additional protection from the light that reflects off of things like the water or cars in traffic. It helps ensure that you’ll never be dangerously distracted by potential light sources while driving or out on the water.

Mirror Coating: If you’re interested in a mirrored lenses look, you can take the opportunity while you’re replacing your lenses to get a mirrored coating on them. Mirrored coatings come in several different colors including blue, red, green, gold, and silver.

What Kind of Glasses Can You Get Your Lenses Replaced On?

Lens replacement isn’t restricted to standard glasses and sunglasses. You can also get the lenses of safety glasses, wraparound sunglasses, rimless eyeglasses, and wrap around free form glasses replaced. In every case, the starting cost is above standard glasses and sunglasses, but it’s still a less expensive option than a completely new pair of glasses in most cases. There really aren’t any type of glasses where you can’t get the lenses replaced. It just depends on whether or not it’s a more cost-effective solution.

Depending on your situation, it’s always a good idea to consider replacing the lenses of your glasses before replacing the frames. It’s as easy as packaging and mailing your frames to the company and receiving your custom order. If you’re interested in finding out more about lens replacement, you can get a quote on our replacement service here. Based on information you provide about your specific set of glasses, our tool will tell you how much lens replacement will cost you. Our service works on all glasses, no matter what frame type you have, and we pride ourselves on a no-hassle process and quick turnaround. If you have any other questions that you’d like to discuss with our team of experts, you can feel free to reach out here! We’d be happy to help.