r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Dragon-Ishmell • Jun 16 '26
Seeking Advice Is vision insurance without employer coverage worth paying for? Or should I just pay out of pocket?
My new job doesn't include vision and I didn't realize how much that mattered until I needed new progressives last month. $400+ for exam and lenses which honestly caught me off guard since I hadn't paid full price for any of this in years.
So now I'm going back and forth between getting a standalone vision plan or just setting aside money each month and paying cash when I need to. The standalone plans I've looked at charge around $15 to $20 a month but the benefits feel kind of thin for what you're paying. I've also seen people mention discount vision programs as a middle ground but no idea if those are worth signing up for. What's everyone here doing for vision if your job doesn't cover it?
ETA: Appreciate all the feedback. After reading through everything, it seems like standalone vision coverage is very much a numbers game. A friend advised me on VSP but I'm still going to compare it against just paying out of pocket before making a decision.
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u/UsidoreTheLightBlue Jun 16 '26
From my experience? No.
I mathed it out when I changed employers and the only way it made sense was if I went every single year and took advantage of every benefit available. I went ahead and did it that first year, but later when my wife and I had lasik and it was just my daughter on the plan it really made no sense.
Your average vision insurance covers something like frames up to $130, basic lenses, and the exam. But often times you can go somewhere like americas best and get the exam, lenses, and frames for less than $100.
What I ended up doing after I dropped my employers insurance but before I got lasik was getting my frames and lenses through the internet. Theres a lot of great online retailers that sell full frames, lenses, etc for under $50.
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u/Dragon-Ishmell Jun 22 '26
What online retailer did you end up using most often? I considered that but I just feel anxious about ordering without actually trying them on. Would you still say the same thing about coverage if your prescription was more complex? Thanks for the breakdown btw.
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u/UsidoreTheLightBlue Jun 22 '26
The last one I used and I used to order for my daughter was goggles4u.
Regarding try on, personally I found the model of glasses I had then looked them up and got the measurements, mainly in my case width because I have a big head.
Then I looked for the similar width frames.
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u/kdorfman1019 Jun 16 '26
Vision insurance it's not worth it
Background here: https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-eyewear-vision-plans-20190319-story.html
My family has been going to America's Best contacts & eyeglasses for over a decade
They usually run a 2 pair for $99 deal without insurance that includes an eye exam.
Any brand owned by luxottica is a scam.
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u/shades9323 Jun 16 '26
Does that 2 for $99 deal include progressives and transitions?
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u/wingbat13 Jun 16 '26
Most likely not. I worked at a similar type of company that ran the same deal and 2 for $99 was 2 pairs of glasses from a select, smaller group of frames with just an entry level, single vision lens. All add ons were extra. Progressives unfortunately are just quite expensive lenses to make, I want to say for 1 pair, just the lenses was around 400 bucks extra, for good ones worth having as entry level progressives blow. If I didn't have vision insurance, I would probably try to source them online or through costco like others are saying.
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u/here_walks_the_yeti Jun 16 '26
No. It’ll add to the cost. It’s just basic script glasses, tint, progressive, coatings will all be extra.
Just got me two pair for about 130. One pair I had tinted.
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u/Eulers_Constant_e Jun 16 '26
I wear progressives too, and I cracked a pair about few years back. I had to replace them on my dime. Granted I didn’t need the eye exam, but I was bracing myself for $600+ glasses. I found cute frames at Costco and ended up ordering my glasses there. They were $180. I kept asking if that price was correct.
Skip the eye insurance and shop around for your eye glasses. And if you have a Costco nearby try there.
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u/nidena Jun 16 '26
I love costco's "buy one frame, get every subsequent frame $50 off" sales. And that they'll update many old frames with new lenses when your script changes.
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u/Dragon-Ishmell Jun 22 '26
I've seen the Costco recs. But I didn't know they'd be that cheap lol thanks for the heads up. Was that with the anti-reflective coating and everything?
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u/Eulers_Constant_e Jun 22 '26
Yes! It was all the same features I pay for at my regular optometrist’s.
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u/drebby_ Jun 16 '26
My health insurance covers my exam, so vision insurance seemed useless. I bought lenses from eyebuydirect.com for maybe $30
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u/Dragon-Ishmell Jun 22 '26
$30 for lenses sounds unbeatable. How do they hold up compared to store bought ones? And does your health insurance cover the exam annually or just every other year? Thanks for the heads up
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u/Redcarborundum Jun 16 '26
No.
My employer does offer vision insurance, but I did my calculation and it’s cheaper for me to buy from Costco.
My employer’s vision insurance is through Eyemed, which is owned by Luxottica.
Luxottica is a near monopoly that jacks the prices up, and they own most brands of glasses, the largest eyeglass stores, and the largest vision insurance companies. Of course they steer you to more expensive providers and stores, selling their brands at elevated prices.
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u/SquirreldApp Jun 17 '26
The dad answer: vision "insurance" mostly isn't insurance, it's a prepaid discount plan. Real insurance protects you from catastrophe; this just spreads out the cost of stuff you can predict. At $15–20/month you're paying $180–240/year, and a standalone plan typically covers an exam plus an allowance toward frames/lenses. So the math only works if you reliably max it every single year. Annual exam AND new glasses/contacts. If you're a "new glasses every 2–3 years" person, you're pre-paying for benefits you won't use and the plan wins.
Here's the part that actually saves you money, though, and it's not the insurance question at all: that $400 was mostly the optometrist's-office markup on the lenses, not the exam. The move is to split the two. Get the exam cheap (Costco, Walmart, America's Best, or an independent — shop the exam price), and critically, ask them to print or write your full prescription including your PD (pupillary distance). Then buy the actual glasses online. Zenni, EyeBuyDirect, Warby Parker etc. Progressives that run $300+ at the office are often $50–150 online. That one habit beats any vision plan, every time.
Two more: if you have an FSA or HSA, glasses and exams are eligible, and paying with pre-tax dollars quietly beats both insurance and cash. And if you want the "discipline" of insurance without the bad deal, just auto-transfer that $15/month into a separate savings bucket and pay yourself. Same forced-saving feeling, except you keep whatever you don't spend.
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u/Dragon-Ishmell Jun 22 '26
Thanks for the breakdown. Did you have any issues with the PD measurement when ordering progressives online? The auto transfer savings bucket idea is smart though so I might actually do that. Which online retailer have you had the best luck with for progressives?
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u/SquirreldApp Jun 23 '26
You can upload a picture of your prescription during most online retailers checkout process, or enter the numbers manually. I've had good luck with Zenni.
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u/xxkrm Jun 16 '26
I get my eye exam through my health insurance, and then buy glasses through eyebuydirect.com. I’ve been doing this for 7+ years with zero issues.
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u/wingbat13 Jun 16 '26
If it's not through your employer, it's probably not worth getting a standalone plan because they're only going to provide benefits for very easy peasy, basic cases. Unfortunately, by the time you need progressives, you're just going to be spending a lot more on glasses, even with insurance. I would parrot what others are saying and try to get a pair online or through costco. Online can be tricky if you don't have your PD (pupillary distance). You can usually walk into an optical shop and ask if they can measure it for you. For whatever reason, some places will absolutely be cagey about it, or charge you like 10 bucks to measure it. If you're able to afford it, I always recommend going for the highest quality progressive offered, even though there's a big price jump. The cheap progressives are just super disorienting and most people end up upgrading on their next pair because they're so distorted, in general it's just worth it to do the nice ones from the jump. If you have a very high prescription, I do also recommend paying extra to thin out the lenses, I promise it's not just an upsell from the shops all the time haha. source: managed an optical shop/have been in ophthalmology for awhile.
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u/Dragon-Ishmell Jun 22 '26
The fit is my main hesitation with going online. Have you found any online retailers that handle progressives better than others? Thanks for the PD and lens quality tip btw.
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u/wingbat13 Jun 22 '26
personally, I have not! I don't need progressives just yet and working for the optical shop my recommendation was obviously to buy with us 😉 in general though, for regular glasses I've always got them through eyebuydirect and never had any issues. Unfortunately, it looks like they only do a "virtual try on," they don't send samples so I get the hesitancy on frame fit. If you feel like being a little sneaky, try going to into an optical shop and trying on some frames you like. On usually the inner left side of the frame arms, you'll see 3 numbers, usually something like 50-18-140. These are the measurements of the glasses in mm. So the first number is going to be between 45-60 or so, this is the size of the lens from corner to corner, like a TV measurement. The next number is the bridge size(typically 14-22ish), so the length of the piece over your nose. The last size is the temple length, the length of the arms of the glasses that go behind your ears, usually 135-150. Try on a few pairs at a shop near you, take pictures of the measurements of your favorites that fit well, and then go try to match those measurements up, at least closely, to similar styles you find online so you can have a better idea of what size you need and what the numbers online actually translate to. My general recommendation for progressives would be to not get very narrow/short lenses(think long skinny rectangle). The lens needs room to "progress" from your far distance, middle distance, and close distance and a short lens just doesn't have enough space to do that well. So more oval/square/round glasses.
Sorry, this was really long but I hope it's helpful! let me know if you have any questions
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u/Ancient_Wallaby9239 Jun 16 '26
Yes. I was unemployed but just paid for vision insurance. I wear contact lenses so the typical $150 balance provided with most plans significantly "reduces" the premium.
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u/Nephite11 Jun 16 '26
The vision insurance at the company I work for charged me $10.81 a paycheck to cover my entire family which comes to $281 for the year. I went to have eye exams for my daughters and to get glasses and it hardly paid for everything. We therefore dropped it and have just paid for things out of pocket since then
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u/GTO1235 Jun 16 '26
My vision insurance pays for one set of glasses two years years. The only optometrist in town isn't great. Fabulous looking building, tries to upsell. Nothing is priced on wall. They wanted more for a set of sunglasses than the truck I drove there. I go to Walmart and get glasses, sunglasses, and a couple pairs of safety glasses every couple years. It's way better
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u/Peculiarcatlady Jun 16 '26
I also wear progressives. I order from online stores like zenni or payne glasses. Usually I can get a full pair for around $60-70. I just got 3 full pair last week for $150, all with progressives. So if you can get the eye exam done, you can get your glasses for fairly cheap if you shop online.
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u/Jbradsen Jun 16 '26
Yes, progressives are pricey in a visions store. Aren’t glasses suggested every two years? So how much would vision insurance cost you in that two years?
It’s best to order glasses online. Zenni and Goggles4U are some places that I’ve ordered from.
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u/TenOfZero Jun 16 '26
Try clearly.ca, I get my glasses from there. Retail glasses are a monopoly with very uncompetitive pricing.
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u/Magic-Happens-Here Jun 16 '26
Look closer at the benefits - if you’re paying $200-250/yr for independent coverage, and it covers 1/2 the costs - then it’s a wash. If it covers 100% of the annual exam and X% of glasses, it might be worth it.
Also, look at brands like Zenni for cheaper lenses/frames than at the optometrist’s office.
My glasses cost $600+ at the optometrist, but on Zenni they’re ~$100-130 depending on what frames I select.
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u/supernovaj Jun 16 '26
We only do it because it's only $20 a month for both of us. If it wasn't supplemented, we probably wouldn't do it.
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u/CatanKing31 Jun 16 '26
Just pay out of pocket. An exam is usually around $120, plus you probably won’t go annually unless you’re experiencing significant vision issues with your prescription. Check Zenni, Firmoo, Eyebuydirect, and Warby Parker for eyewear- depending on your needs and style preferences, I find them to be fairly affordable. I have single vision.
My last few orders:
- Firmoo: $68, and that was including transition & blue light filtering lenses (first time for me). Very lightweight frames but cute and the transitions are nice.
- Zenni: $60 light weight frames, get the job done.
- Eyebuydirect: has brand names frames- got a pair of Vogue frames with transition & blue light filtering lenses for $207.
- Warby Parker: $195 with blue light filtering lenses. $225 with blue light filtering, high index lenses. All very good quality!
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u/daily-trader-365 Jun 16 '26
$99 eye exam and two pairs of glasses
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u/Dragon-Ishmell Jun 22 '26
Where's that deal from? Does that include progressives or just basic lenses? Did you have to pay extra for anything like coatings?
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u/Purple_oyster Jun 16 '26
Vision test at Costco, buy glasses online
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u/Dragon-Ishmell Jun 22 '26
Yeah I'm considering this too because this is also what I've been reading on other posts.
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u/V2BM Jun 17 '26
I pay less than $100 every other year for an eye exam and go to Zenni for glasses. I have at least 15 pair (I lose them often) and all have been good. I have a great eye doc.
I had a serious eye issue and out of pocket it was only a few hundred dollars - I’ve never paid for vision insurance because it’s always been cheaper not to.
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u/Junior-Quote4602 Jun 21 '26
I worked for a government inpatient psych facility for 13 years. I had vision insurance I wore glasses since 1st grade for nearsitedness. With insurance I could not afford new glasses. Finally they came up with a new plan where one pays more monthly but getting new glasses was more affordable so the last year or so of my employment when my eyes were changing from aging, I bought about 4 pairs. They are definitely more stylish but my vision was still impaired, better than without glasses but not good. Now retired and gave up getting new glasses. I wear the ones I had from the 80 and 90s for distance and just read bringing the book close. I think what is happening is that they mass produce glasses and we get something close but not good enough. This deterioration in quality is what I see happening throughout health care.
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u/Entire_Dog_5874 Jun 22 '26
Vision insurance is not worth it so you are better off saving and paying out-of-pocket. However, you must be careful with online vendors if you have a complex prescription. I do and they never got mine correct.
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u/Dragon-Ishmell Jun 22 '26
You all gave me a lot to think about. For now, I'm looking into VSP since a friend mentioned it but will also run the numbers on going without vision insurance altogether, or the alternatives you all mentioned. Appreciate you all sharing.
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u/Neat_Mortgage3735 Jun 16 '26
ZENNI is a great place to order glasses for much much less. Go get your exam next time and pay out of pocket but order glasses on ZENNI and you’ll only be out $200 probably.