Contact Lens Annual Cost Calculator

Box price varies enormously by lens type -- standard soft lenses can run under $20 a box while specialty toric, multifocal, or extended-wear designs can exceed $80-$180 -- and most wearers buy several boxes a year, so that single input has the widest realistic price range of the three cost categories. Solution and exam costs, by comparison, sit in much narrower typical bands.

Boxes Per Year is a combined figure for both eyes, not per eye. Daily wear means about 730 lenses a year total across both eyes, so with common 90-lens boxes that works out to roughly 8 boxes per year combined (this calculator's default); with smaller 30-lens boxes it takes roughly 24 boxes per year combined instead. Monthly or biweekly lenses need far fewer boxes since each lens is worn repeatedly. Check your prescription's replacement schedule and box size, since a "box" means something different for each lens modality, and remember to count both eyes together, not separately.

Daily disposable lenses are thrown away after each use and never require cleaning or storage solution, so wearers of daily disposables should enter $0 (or set Solution Bottles Per Year to 0) to avoid overstating their annual cost. Monthly and biweekly lens wearers typically do need ongoing solution and should enter their real cost.

No -- it totals the sticker-price cost of lenses, solution, and exams exactly as entered, with no adjustment for vision insurance allowances, FSA/HSA reimbursement, manufacturer rebates, or online retailer discounts. Those can meaningfully lower real out-of-pocket spending below the total shown here.