Average Eye Test Cost

The cost of an eye test starts from £25 at one major chain but can rise to £129.95 at another major chain. And in some cases, eye tests are free. Read our research to learn where to find the cheapest eye tests and how much extras like OCT scans and contact lens tests can add to the total cost.

• Eye Test Cost
  • Specsavers
  • Vision Express
  • Boots
• Free Eye Test

Average Eye Test Cost

The typical cost of a basic eye test (with no OCT scan) is £25 - £30 in the UK.

An eye test that includes an OCT scan costs in the range of £30 to £54.95 in most cases, depending on the optician.

A contact lens test typically costs in the range of £25 to £50.

Prices vary from one optician to another.

Cheapest Eye Test

Of the three major chains we investigated, the cheapest eye test was from Specsavers. Their £25 eye test does not include an OCT scan, however, which would cost an additional £5 - £10.

For an eye test including an OCT scan, Vision Express is the cheapest. Vision Express's Advanced Eye Exam includes an OCT scan and costs £30, fixed price. Specsavers can potentially also cost £30 for an exam including OCT, but it may cost £35 in some locations.

If you want an OCT scan, Boots eye tests are the most expensive at £54.95 all in.

The typical household spends £521 a year on health expenditures. Finding ways to save on eye tests is certainly beneficial, especially for larger households.

OCT scan cost

An OCT scan may be included as standard (e.g. Vision Express) or it may be an additional cost. When it's an add-on, an OCT scan can cost as little as £5 - £10 (Specsavers) or as much as £25 (Boots).

"OCT" stands for Optical Coherence Tomography and is a hospital-grade eye scan that helps to view the structures of your eye. This scan can help detect underlying conditions including:

An OCT scan only take a few seconds.

Contact lens test cost

A contact lens test typically costs £25 - £50 from major optician chains. Specsavers offers the cheapest contact lens tests, at £25. Boots was the most expensive at £50 for a contact lens test.

You may be able to get a free contact lens test if you have never worn contacts, or if you haven't worn them for a long time.

Specsavers eye test cost

Specsavers charges £25 for a basic eye test that does not include an OCT scan. Including an OCT scan brings the total cost of a Specsavers eye test up to £30 - £35.

A contact lens test would cost an additional £25 at Specsavers.

Vision Express eye test cost

Vision Express charges £30 for an eye test that does include an OCT scan.

A contact lens test would cost an additional £30 at Vision Express.

Boots eye test cost

Boots charges £29.95 for a basic eye test that does not include an OCT scan. Including an OCT scan (at a cost of £25) brings the total cost of a Boots eye test up to £54.95. (This combination is referred to as an "Advanced" eye test.)

Boots also offers an additional scan called an optomap eye scan, which costs an additional £25. If you get the basic eye test, the OCT scan and the optomap scan, the total cost is £79.95. (This combination is referred to as an "Ultimate" eye test.) What's an optomap scan? It's a photograph of the back of the eye (retina) that shows up to a 82% / 200 degree view of your retina in one single photograph—whereas a conventional photo only shows 15% / 45 degree view of the retina.

A contact lens test would cost an additional £50 at Boots.

Free eye test

Some eye tests are free and some people even qualify for a free voucher to reduce the cost of glasses or contact lenses. Do you qualify?

The NHS offers free eye tests to people who meet the following criteria:

Also, you qualify for a free eye test and voucher if you or your partner (including civil partner) receive, or you're under the age of 20 and the dependant of someone receiving:

Confusingly, while the NHS pays for the cost of the free eye tests and optical vouchers, it's actually independent opticians who carry out the eye tests. So you can go to Boots, Vision Express or Specsavers (or any other optician who accepts the NHS optical vouchers) and get a free NHS eye test. (And then use your voucher, if you got one.)

The rules for qualifying for an optical voucher (to help pay for glasses or contacts) are a bit different (and more restrictive). For example, diabetes or glaucoma get you a free eye test, but no help with paying for glasses or contacts. You can read about the rules on gov.co.uk. There are 10 tiers of optical voucher values, ranging from £42.40 to £233.56, depending on the strength of the lenses you need and other factors. Read more about the voucher tiers here.

Apart from the NHS, you may be able to get a free contact lens test from an optician if you have never worn contacts, or if you haven't worn them for a long time.

Methodology

To uncover the cost of an eye test, the NimbleFins team gathered eye test data from three large, popular, national optician chains: Boots, Specsavers and Vision Express.

Opticians don't seem to disclose their full pricing on their websites, or even via the booking process, so we think it's important to consolidate this data in one place where consumers can learn about the costs of eye tests at competing opticians. Where data was not available on websites, our team contacted customer service via online webchat or telephone to enquire about eye test cost details.