Wearing contact lenses for better vision began to gain momentum in the 1960s, and that trend shows no sign of stopping. In a competitive marketplace, finding the best contact lenses online in Pennsylvania is more difficult than you may think.
The case for contacts is straightforward: Better vision than eyeglasses with less expense — and risk — than surgery. Nonetheless, differing levels of product selection, customer service and pricing models make choosing a retailer far more complex than simply running a Google search.
To bring (literal) focus to this mission, we’ve winnowed the choices to an elite quintet of online retailers.Con
The Five Best Online Contact Lense Retailers in Pennsylvania: Rated and Ranked
- DiscountContacts.com: Best Overall Online Contact Lens Retailer in Pennsylvania
- Warby Parker: Best Online Contact Site in Pennsylvania for Small Purchases
- Lens.com: Best Online Contact Site in Pennsylvania for Bulk Purchases
- LensCrafters: Best Online Retailer in Pa for Frame and Contacts Purchases
- Costco: Best Online Contact Lenses for Pa Warehouse Club Shoppers
1. DiscountContacts.com — Best Overall Online Contact Lens Retailer in Pennsylvania
Pros of DiscountContacts.com Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- Subscription discount option
- One-year return period
- Wide selection
- Offers RGP lenses
- User-friendly website design
Cons of DiscountContacts.com Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- $99 free shipping threshold
- Lens descriptions omit oxygen transmissibility
With the widest product selection, competitive prices and a compelling return policy, DiscountContacts.com leads among the best contact lenses online retailers. This retailer is part of National Vision, a privately-held company ranked as the nation’s fourth-largest optical retailer by industry news site Vision Monday.
The retailer’s corporate sister, DiscountGlasses.com, markets prescription and non-prescription eyeglasses.
DiscountContacts.com Pa Online Contact Product Range: 5/5
With soft contacts, DiscountContacts.com offerings go beyond the big four — Alcon, Acuvue, Bausch & Lomb and Coopervision — to include Clerio Vision’s Extreme H2O product line.
Among the five best contact lenses online retailers, DiscountContacts.com is one of two sellers that offer rigid gas permeable contacts. RGPs are a tiny fraction of today’s market, but this lens type offers exceptionally precise vision for the customers able to wear them. With its comprehensive soft lens offerings and eight RGP brands, our top pick ties Lens.com for first place on product range.
Pa Price of DiscountContacts.com Contact Lenses: 4.9/5
With one-time orders, DiscountContacts.com is competitive on price. This company charges $6.99 for order totals of less than $99, which penalizes small purchases of less expensive lenses. In our price survey, this retailer consistently ranks third when customers place non-recurring orders.
Alone among the five best contact lenses online sellers, DiscountContacts.com offers a subscription service. Under this arrangement, customers agree to scheduled deliveries and credit card charges upon shipment.
For subscription customers, our top-ranked retailer offers a 20% discount for all brands and waives the shipping fee — even for small orders. A subscription offers much of the advantage of a bulk-purchase discount without having to pony up the full price in one gulp.
Subscription pricing vaults DiscountContacts.com into first place for a wide range of lenses. For example, a one-year supply of Coopervision’s MyDay one-day disposables checks in at $476.77, $5 below Costco’s aggressively priced equivalent. A one-month supply of Acuvue 1-Day Moist lenses rings in at $49.58, a 47% discount compared to Costco.
DiscountContacts.com Website in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 4.8/5
One reason for DiscountContacts.com’s top ranking among the best contact lenses online retailers is the company’s website. Beyond a clean appearance, the sight makes vital info on shipping and returns a breeze to find. Product descriptions are thorough, but do not include oxygen transmissibility numbers, a factor in wearability and comfort for soft contacts.
The site’s search function works the best of all our top picks. The retailer’s search box handles misspellings in stride, and allows users to seek out customer support info as well.
DiscountContacts.com Customer Service in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 4.6/5
DiscountContacts.com offers 12 hours of phone support on weekdays, eight hours on Saturday and seven hours on Sunday.
DiscountContacts.com Pennsylvania Lens Return Policy: 4.9/5
A generous return policy cements DiscountContacts.com’s status as the best contact lenses online seller. With this retailer, customers have up to 365 days from the purchase date to return unopened items.
This return period means customers who purchase in bulk can change brands and receive a refund for their unused lenses. In combination, DiscountContacts.com’s return policy and subscription option build a strong case for the retailer.
Overall Score of DiscountContacts.com Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania: 4.8/5
See what DiscountContacts.com can do for you.
2. Warby Parker — Best Online Contact Site in Pennsylvania for Small Purchases
Pros of Warby Parker Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- Friendly pricing for small purchases
- Highly competitive Scout product
- In-store returns
- Free shipping
Cons of Warby Parker Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- Buried help function
- Short period for returns
Warby Parker is a fast-growing player in the optical retailing industry, joining the New York Stock Exchange in September 2021. Launched as a web-exclusive retailer, the company now operates 180 retail stores, with ambitious plans for more locations.
Warby Parker built its reputation as an eyeglass retailer. In late 2019, the company began selling contact lenses. A solid product range, led by an innovative disposable contact lens, lands this relative newcomer in the second slot among the best contact lenses online retailers.
Warby Parker Pa Online Contact Product Range: 4.7/5
Warby Parker offers the full lines from the big four suppliers, plus the Extreme H20 line. As part of the 2019 contact lens rollout, the company debuted Scout, a rebranding of the Miru product line from Japanese manufacturer Menicon.
Scout is a one-day disposable lens sealed in nearly flat sheets that resemble the packaging used for over-the-counter allergy tablets. Wearers begin by peeling back the flat pack’s upper layer to uncover a lens.
The wearer puts a drop of sterile wetting solution on a forefinger, taps the lens to remove it from the flat pack and then pops the lens into an eye. The process is both quick and sterile. Scout’s flat packs take up one-sixth of the bulk used for conventional packaging, making these lenses ideal for travelers.
Pa Price of Warby Parker Contact Lenses: 4.5/5
Warby Parker offers free shipping, a feature that keeps this retailer’s prices competitive for small orders. A one-month supply of Acuvue 1-Day Moist contacts costs $66.30 at Warby Parker, undercutting the other four best contact lenses online sellers. The company sells a three-month supply of its Scout house brand for $55, an aggressive price for lenses with comparable specs.
Warby Parker Website in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 4.7/5
This retailer’s handsome website is pleasant to view, but exasperating to navigate. Accessing the help page from the home page requires a long scroll to the page bottom and a click on the FAQ icon. On the help page, the dedicated search box will allow you to jump to support topics.
Warby Parker product descriptions are rudimentary, and users must scroll the page before they even become visible. Spell carefully when using the search field; the algorithm needs exact matches for product names.
In addition to a persnickety attitude towards spelling, the search field exclusively accepts product names. You may not use the field to navigate the website.
Did Warby Parker’s web gurus get anything right? Yes – the company’s homepage product filter is tops among the best contact lenses online retailers.
Warby Parker Customer Service in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 4.6/5
Warby Parker’s phone support stands tall among our elite five. The company keeps its support line available 13 hours a day, seven days a week. This policy gives all continental U.S. customers an opportunity to speak with customer support during evening hours.
Warby Parker Pennsylvania Lens Return Policy: 4.6/5
Warby Parker allows returns of unopened boxes for up to 30 days, a policy in line with several rivals. If you live near one of the company’s retail stores, you can drop off your lenses and skip the return authorization paperwork.
Overall Score of Warby Parker Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania: 4.6/5
Compare Warby Parker to the competition.
3. Lens.com — Best Online Contact Site in Pennsylvania for Bulk Purchases
Pros of Lens.com Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- Wide selection
- Group-leading bulk pricing
- 24/7 phone support
- Detailed product specs
Cons of Lens.com Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- Higher pricing for small orders
- Some website entries are out of date
- Relatively short return period
Unique among the five best contact lenses online sellers, Lens.com did not grow out of an eyeglass retailer. This Louisiana, Missouri company opened for business in 1995 with an exclusive focus on contacts. Lens.com claims a first-place tie on one of our benchmarks, and notches an outright win on another.
Lens.com Pa Online Contact Product Range: 5/5
Lens.com runs stride-for-stride with the best contact lenses online champ DiscountContacts.com for breadth of selection. Lens.com carries the full range of soft lenses from the big four, and adds the H2O Extreme line. Among RGP lenses, Lens.com omits the Novawet brand offered by DiscountContacts.com, and instead carries GP Laboratories’ Fluorocon line.
Pa Price of Lens.com Contact Lenses: 4.6/5
Lens.com charges a flat $9.95 shipping fee on all orders of all sizes. Nonetheless, the company remains very competitive on prices, particularly with bulk purchases.
A year’s supply of Acuvue 1-Day Moist contacts from Lens.com bests Costco by $33. More dramatically, a one-year supply of Air Optix Night & Day tallies $192.91 at Lens.com, beating Costco by $80, and DiscountContacts.com’s subscription price by $41.
Lens.com Website in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 4.4/5
Lens.com’s website lacks the posh look found among fellow members of the best contact lenses online sellers club, but the site is user-friendly and easy to navigate. The company’s product descriptions offer encyclopedic detail compared to rivals, and include data for oxygen transmissibility, a comfort factor for wearers.
The site’s search function allows for misspellings — for instance, “oasis” takes you to Acuvue’s Oasys page — and will also transport you to the shipping policy page with “shipping.”
One of our few quibbles with this website involves discontinued lenses. Stocking discontinued lenses helps wearers bridge the transition to a new brand, but Lens.com does not prominently flag this status to users. Alerting customers to discontinued lenses allows wearers to research alternatives for discussion with their doctors.
Lens.com Customer Service in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 4.7/5
Lens.com’s phone support and chat service remain active 24/7, earning the company the highest score among the best contact lenses online retailers.
Lens.com Pennsylvania Contact Return Policy: 4/5
Lens.com offers a 30-day window for returns. This period is in line with competitors, but adds risk for customers who take advantage of the company’s attractive bulk-purchase bargains.
Overall Score of Lens.com Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania: 4.5/5
4. LensCrafters — Best Online Retailer in Pa for Frame and Contacts Purchases
Pros of LensCrafters Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- Discounts for combined frame and contacts purchases
- Free shipping
- Discounts for AAA and AARP members
Cons of LensCrafters Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- Relatively high prices
- Narrower selection
- Website search limited
- Relatively short return period
- No Sunday phone support
LensCrafters is part of the world’s largest eyewear corporation: Luxottica Group. The Italy-based giant annually rakes in revenue exceeding $2 billion, and includes brand names such as Ray-Ban and Oakley. In addition to its online presence, this member of the best contact lenses online sellers operates 934 retail stores.
LensCrafters Pa Online Contact Product Range: 4.6/5
LensCrafters sticks with the big four manufacturers, eschewing the Extreme H2O line and all RGP products. The company also markets several lens brands under its name and sister company, Ray-Ban:
- Coopervision’s MyDay: This one-day disposable sells as Lenscrafters’ Premium.
- Bausch & Lomb’s BioTrue ONEday: A high-moisture UV protective lens, this product sells as LensCrafters OneDay.
- Coopervision’s Biofinity: This monthly disposable sells as LensCrafters Monthly.
- Coopervision’s Clariti: This UV protective lens sells under the Ray-Ban 1-DAY label.
Rounding out the product line, LensCrafters also sells Menicon’s flat-pack, one-day lenses under the Miru brand. These lenses are identical to Warby Parker’s Scout line.
Pa Price of LensCrafters Contact Lenses: 4.5/5
Among the best contact lens online retailers, LensCrafters usually tallied the highest prices, but remained competitive with some product lines. For a one-year supply of LensCrafters Premium, a twin of the MyDay line, only Costco offers a better price among our top picks. The company’s Miru flat-pack lenses retail for about 5% more than Warby Parker’s Scout line.
Shipping is free with LensCrafters. If the idea of the package on your front doorstop worries you, the company offers the option of delivery to a nearby store, where you can pick up the item at your convenience. With the high store count, there is a high probability of a LensCrafters nearby.
With its contact lenses, LensCrafters continually runs a cross-promotion for its eyeglass line. These deals offer substantial savings for customers who buy contacts and frames at the same time. Contact lens wearers who frequently add new frames should calculate the potential savings possible with LensCrafters.
Alone among the best contact lens online retailers, LensCrafters allows AAA or AARP members to enter their membership numbers at checkout, and shave 10% off any contact lens purchase.
LensCrafters Website in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 4.3/5
The LensCrafters website embodies the polish you would expect from a corporation of this size. Product descriptions are brief, and do not include oxygen transmissibility numbers. The shopping cart spells out potential savings with bulk purchases, and a filter makes it easy to zero in on the desired lens type.
To find customer support options, you’ll need to scroll to the page bottom and click on the fine print. Lenscrafters’ search function handles misspelled product names with ease, but will not let you navigate the site, as several competitors do.
LensCrafters Customer Service in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 4.2/5
LensCrafters offers phone support for nine hours on weekdays and Saturdays, with no support on Sundays. Chat support runs on weekdays only.
LensCrafters Pennsylvania Contact Return Policy: 4.2/5
This retailer offers a 30-day window for returns, consistent with two other members of the best contact lenses online sellers.
Overall Score of LensCrafters Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania: 4.4/5
See why LensCrafters has so many satisfied customers.
5. Costco — Best Online Contact Lenses for Pa Warehouse Club Shoppers
Pros of Costco Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- Aggressively-priced Kirkland Signature brand
- Unlimited return period
- In-store returns
Cons of Costco Best Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania:
- Narrower selection
- Shipping costs not transparent
- Requires $60 annual membership
- Website search limitations
- Descriptions omit lens oxygen transmissibility
Costco Wholesale pioneered the big-box membership warehouse store. The company opened for business in 1983, and began selling eyeglasses four years later. 787 Costco stores have optical centers, making this company the nation’s fifth largest eyewear retailer. A Gold Star membership — the least expensive level — goes for $60.
Costco Pa Online Contact Product Range: 3.8/5
While Costco’s contact lens selection is comprehensive, it is also the narrowest among the best contact lenses online sellers. Costco does not carry RGP brands or the Extreme H2O series. The retailing giant also omits Coopervison’s Biomedics line, a specialty product aimed at wearers with astigmatism.
Following LensCrafters’ lead, Costco sells Coopervision’s MyDay lenses under the warehouse store’s Kirkland Signature label.
Pa Price of Costco Contact Lenses: 4.7/5
Costco built its reputation on aggressively-priced merchandise sold in bulk, and the company’s marketing of its Kirkland Signature contact line lives up to that premise. A year’s worth of Kirkland goes for $481.92, undercutting the MyDay price offered by our other top four to the tune of $70 to $110.
Costco’s impressive prices evaporate with small orders. A one-month supply of Acuvue 1-Day Moist lenses purchased from the warehouse club is at least 9% more expensive than any of the other four best contact lenses online contenders.
Costco Website in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 3.9/5
Costco’s no-nonsense website reflects the company’s warehouse stores. Product descriptions offer less information than some other top picks, and lack oxygen transmissibility specs. Watch your spelling with the Costco search function: Typing “clarity” will not lead you to Coopervision’s Clariti line.
Costco Customer Service in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown: 4.3/5
Costco offers 11 hours of phone support every day of the week.
Costco Pennsylvania Lens Return Policy: 5.0/5
Costco’s return policy is tops among the best contact lenses online sellers. The warehouse retailing giant allows returns of unopened contacts with no limit after the purchase date. This means that customers who purchase contacts in bulk can return their unopened lenses if wearing problems dictate a brand change. Best of all, customers can drop off their returns at their local store, and skip the mail-in hassles.
Overall Score of Costco Online Contact Lenses in Pennsylvania: 4.3/5
How We Ranked the Best Contact Lense Retailers Online
By any measure, contact lenses are expensive. With price among every customer’s top concerns, we stripped out temporary promotional pricing to create a level playing field for our contenders. To get a handle on pricing, we chose a trio of high-selling contacts:
- Coopervision MyDay: This one-day disposable lens uses silicone hydrogel, the latest iteration of soft lens materials. LensCrafters and Costco both market this lens under house brand labels.
- Acuvue 1-Day Moist: Hailing from Johnson & Johnson’s eyecare division, this one-day disposable lens — made of traditional hydrogel — is among the highest sellers of all contacts.
- Alcon Air Optix Night & Day Aqua: These silicone hydrogel lenses are suitable for continuous wear for up to one month.
Some contact lens customers prefer to buy in bulk, while other wearers may face a cash-flow pinch and need to buy small quantities. To take account of these differences, we first calculated total costs for a pair of boxes at the smallest available increment for each brand. We then figured out the cost of one year’s worth of lenses bought in a single purchase.
Our price benchmark reflects the average rank of these two metrics. With top pick DiscountContacts.com, the company’s money-saving subscription option served as a tiebreaker.
To rank product range among the five best contact lenses online retailers, we simply counted the products on offer. Similarly, our customer service benchmark ranked available hours for phone and chat support.
For our website ranking, we looked for easy access to vital information such as customer support hours and shipping information. We awarded extra credit to sites that minimized scrolling.
With website search functions, we gave a higher ranking to sites that allow customers to search for customer support issues, not just product names. Finally, we gave extra credit where search functions compensated for customer misspellings.
Beyond Benchmarks: A Buying Guide for the Best Contact Lenses Online
These half-dozen questions and answers will help you form a better understanding of the retailers and your vision needs.
Are Bulk Purchases a Good Idea?
Bulk purchases may be wise under a few conditions. First, you should have several months of trouble-free wear under your belt. Next, it’s wise to have a successful and recent eye exam behind you. If you meet these tests, you and your contacts may have the start of a beautiful friendship.
Successful wear lessens, but does not eliminate, the risk of needing to change brands before your current supply runs out. Among the five best contact lens online retailers, DiscountContacts.com and Costco have the most generous return policies that can further lower the risk of bulk purchases.
Why Not Just Jump to the Retailer with the Lowest Price?
Jumping around among retailers introduces two risks. First, each new vendor brings an unknown customer service experience — you may find yourself wearing those glasses again, waiting for your lens order to arrive.
Second, you miss out on discount offers that retailers reserve for their regular customers. It’s savvy to keep an eye on your chosen retailer’s competitors, but it’s foolish to hop around.
For Contact Lenses Alone, Is a Costco Membership Worth Purchasing?
No. With some contact lens lines, Costco’s pricing is so aggressive on one-year bulk purchases that it indeed overcomes the $60 membership fee with one purchase. Nonetheless, consider that you will change lines and perhaps brands over time, and another member of the five best contact lenses online retailers may offer a better price with these changes.
If you already derive other benefits from a Costco membership, using the warehouse club as your contacts supplier merits heavy consideration.
Can I Pay With My Insurance?
With DiscountContacts.com and Lens.com, you will need to file for reimbursement after your purchase. Warby Parker, LensCrafters and Costco accept several insurance plans. Warby Parker and LensCrafters both have streamlined benefit verifications built into their checkout process.
Are There Any Ways To Evaluate Customer Service Without Ordering?
Yes. Using a disposable email address, log onto the retailer’s chat and pose a question. The quality and timeliness of the answer will give you a read on the retailer.
How Do I Choose Among the Best Contact Lenses Online?
Walk through these steps:
- If your doctor prescribed rigid gas permeable lenses, your choices narrow down to DiscountContacts.com and Lens.com.
- If your prescription calls for the Extreme H2O line, add Warby Parker to the two retailers from step one.
- If you buy frames more than once per year, lean toward LensCrafters.
- If your budget necessitates small monthly purchases, focus on Warby Parker or DiscountContacts.com’s subscription plan.
- If you have sufficient income, turn your attention to the bulk discounters: Lens.com, Costco and DiscountContacts.com’s subscription service.
Checking prices for the retailers that survived the gauntlet is the next obvious move. If your lenses show a promotional price in bright red, look for the gray price — that’s what you will pay when the promotion ends.
Follow that step with a less obvious move: Price-check the same retailers for lenses that you might want to switch to in the future.
Researching other lenses will lessen the need to jump to an untested retailer. Better still, this step will help make you a proactive partner with your doctor towards the goal of preserving your vision.
Top Five Best Contact Lenses Online Quick Comparison Guide
- Best feature: Subscription service
- Shipping: $6.99 / free over $99 orders
- Return Period: 365 days
- Number of Nationwide Retail Locations: 0
- Best feature: Scout one-day lens
- Shipping: Free
- Return Period: 30 days
- Number of Nationwide Retail Locations: 180
- Best feature: Bulk discounts
- Shipping: $9.95
- Return Period: 30 days
- Number of Nationwide Retail Locations: 0
- Best feature: Frame and lens discounts
- Shipping: Free
- Return Period: 30 days
- Number of Nationwide Retail Locations: 934
- Best feature: Discounted house brand
- Shipping: Varies by weight
- Return Period: No limit
- Number of Nationwide Retail Locations: 787
Savings in Sight: The Five Best Contact Lenses Online Retailers
As you work through your contact lens retailer decision, keep both of your eyes on this goal: good vision at an affordable price. With members of the best contact lenses online retailers constantly rotating in and out of promotional prices, you will never be able to snatch every inviting buying opportunity. Aim for good customer service and consistently competitive prices. Follow up by relaxing and carving out a moment of gratitude for your good vision.
