Save £154 A Year On Your Contact Lenses

How to buy contact lenses online for as little as £5.25 a month.

Specialist contact lens websites can be a sight for sore eyes and can save lens wearers up to £150 a year.

I've worn contact lenses for years. I used to simply buy them from the optician who tests my eyes, but the past couple of years I have shopped around on the internet and saved a packet.

I wear Air Optix monthly lenses, which means I wear a pair during the day for a month at a time, taking them out for cleaning and storage every night (well, most nights, wine consumption permitting) and then chuck them out at the end of the month.

High street vs online

Most high street opticians offer monthly payment plans where you set up a direct debit and all your lenses and cleaning solutions are included in the cost. With monthly payment plans you normally have to visit the store every three months to pick up your lenses and solutions. The cost will depend on the type of lenses you have and normally include aftercare appointments and check-ups.

If I bought the lenses directly from my optician, Specsavers, I'd be charged £13 a month (£156 a year). Buying them from a Boots optician would cost £24 a month (£288 a year), Vision Express £19.50 a month (£234 a year) and Optical Express £18 a month (£216 a year respectively). All the packages include check ups and cleaning solutions.

But buying the lenses online is much cheaper. Contactforlenses.co.uk charges just £59.96 plus £3.50 for shipping for 12 pairs of lenses - so a year's worth of eyesight. VisionDirect.co.uk and lensbase.co.uk both charge £64 for a year's supply with Vision Direct charging £3 and lensbase.co.uk nothing for postage. Specsavers online charges £98 and postage is included.

For Ciba Vision O2 Optrix lenses

This means that, by switching from a high street optician like Boots to the cheapest online contact lens provider, you could save as much as £224.54 a year.

Other charges

However, unlike the high street optician's monthly deals, the online contact lens providers don't include aftercare appointments and cleaning solutions. But even taking this into account the web still comes out cheaper than the high street.

Contact lens aftercare appointments cost between £20 and £30 and you need to go once a year for the optician to check your prescription is still correct and your eyes are healthy. Solutions cost about £10 for three months' supply. So let's say it costs a total of £70 a year on top of the cost of the lenses to have check ups and buy solutions.

This brings the web prices for contactforlenses, visiondirect, lensbase and specsavers to £133.46, £134, £134 and £168 respectively. These prices all beat the high street hands down with opticians, with the exception of Specsavers, all charging well more than £200 for a year's package of lenses, solutions and aftercare. This brings the total potential saving to £154.54 a year.

How do I get started?

According to the Eyecare Trust, around 3 million people in the UK wear contact lenses and the type of lenses suitable will differ from person to person.

You need a contact lens prescription (which may be different to your glasses prescription) to buy contact lenses and you'll get this after a contact lens consultation which costs between £30 and £35. During the consultation your optician will assess your suitability for contact lenses and advise you on which type of lenses you should wear.  Which contact lenses are best for your and the price you will have to pay will vary.

By law optometrists have to give you a copy of your prescription which will include three key numbers; the base curve, overall diameter and spherical power. Some contact lens prescriptions will also include figures for cylindrical power (for astigmatism) and axis.

Once armed with your prescription and the name of the lenses your optician recommends you are free to buy your lenses and cleaning solutions from wherever you want.

Reputable contact lens websites will want to see a copy of your prescription before selling your contact lenses and you can normally fax or email it to them. Prescriptions are normally valid for a year meaning you'll have to see an optician for a check up annually. Also, bear in mind it's not worth buying more than a year's supply of lenses at a time in case your prescription changes.

More: Cut The Cost Of Your Glasses By 63%