Spoiler: For most people, contact lenses or glasses are equally good options. In fact, many people alternate between the two. Your choice of contacts versus glasses, or when you wear one or the other, is largely a personal decision. Comfort, activity level, vision needs, appearance, convenience, and cost may all affect your decision.
We’ll explain the pros, cons, and costs when choosing between glasses and contact lenses.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Glasses?
Advantages of glasses include:
- Ease of use: No learning how to use them. You just put them on and go.
- No direct eye contact: Some people are squeamish about their eyes and dislike touching or having things in them.
- Suitable for everyone: Contacts may not be an option for people with complex vision, while glasses can generally be made to suit most vision needs.
- Less muss and fuss: No nightly cleaning and storage. (Though if this is your only hesitation with contacts, check out daily disposable contact lenses.)
- Lower eye infection risk: Contacts accumulate buildup of germs and dirt. Plus, regularly touching your eyes to put in and remove contacts increases your risk.
- Protection for dry or sensitive eyes: Glasses can prevent these conditions from getting worse.
- Advanced lens features: All XP Health eyeglasses come standard with various advanced lens features. These include built-in full UV and anti-glare protection, blue light filtering, and dust, smudge, water, and scratch resistance.
- Physical barrier to environmental factors: Glasses can block wind, dust, and debris from entering your eyes.
- Fashion statement: Express yourself with your eyewear! Or change your style with different frames. The best frames accentuate your natural features.
Disadvantages of glasses include:
- Peripheral vision: The prescription won’t correct your peripheral (side) vision because glasses sit slightly in front of your eyes. This can be distracting for some people.
- Self-consciousness: Some people, particularly kids and teenagers, feel like glasses call extra attention to their faces.1,2
- Activity limitations: Glasses can be difficult to use during sports, exercise, and related activities, sometimes requiring special eyewear.
- Weather annoyances: Rain can splatter on the lenses, and glasses can fog up in cold weather.
- Switching to sunglasses: Unless you get light-responsive lenses (lenses that turn a darker shade when exposed to UV sunlight), you’ll have to switch between eyeglasses and prescription sunglasses when going outside. (We offer light-responsive lenses for glasses if you’re interested!)
Cost of glasses
Generally, glasses are much cheaper than contact lenses over the long term. A single pair of glasses can last for years, depending on your vision needs. Even if your prescription changes over time, you can keep the same frames and simply replace the lenses. With contacts, you need to keep a steady supply on hand.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Contact Lenses?
Advantages of contacts include:
- Natural vision: Contacts rest directly on your cornea, giving you a more natural field of vision and clearer peripheral (side) vision.
- Discreet appearance: No one has to know you’re wearing contacts. This can be a particular advantage for kids and teens who feel like glasses make them stand out. Research shows that contact lens wear improves self-esteem in kids and teens.1,2
- Activity-friendly: Contacts are ideal for sports and other activities, avoiding issues like glasses slipping or getting knocked off.
- UV protection: Many brands now come with built-in UV protection.
- Weatherproof: No rain trickling down your lenses or steam fogging them up.
- Easy pairing with sunglasses: No need to juggle between prescription eyeglasses and prescription sunglasses. It’s easy to have multiple pairs of sunglasses.
- Low maintenance: You don’t need to worry about nightly cleaning and storage if you wear daily disposable lenses.
- Easily replaceable: If you lose a contact, simply open a new pack and pop it in.
Disadvantages of contacts include:
- High maintenance: Unless you have daily disposables, you must disinfect and store your lenses every night and invest in contact lens cleaning products. (See if daily disposables are right for you.)
- Travel considerations: You’ll need your cleaning supplies and extra lenses, which can be inconvenient.
- Adjustment period: Contacts require some getting used to as you learn how to put them in and remove them.
- Additional doctor visits: Contact lenses may require more trips to the doctor to get the right fit and function. Some people develop contact lens intolerance and other issues after extended wear. You’ll need to see your eye doctor to treat these issues.
- Risk of eye infections: Improper care or extended wear increases your risk for eye infections.
- Dry eye issues: Contacts can make conditions like dry eye worse. Contacts may also not feel comfortable if you have dry eye.
- Limitations on activities: You shouldn’t sleep or swim in contacts. And while you can’t really do those things in glasses either, contacts take more effort to remove and safely store.
- Higher cost than glasses: You need an ongoing supply of contacts but only one pair of glasses, depending on your vision needs. And frames can usually last for years, even if your prescription changes.
- Need for glasses and contacts: Once you need reading glasses, usually in your 40s, you’ll either need glasses and contacts or switch to multifocal contact lenses.
Cost of contacts
Over the long term, contacts are typically more expensive than glasses. The exact cost depends on the type of lens you wear, how often they need to be replaced, and what cleaning products you use.
When Both Is a Great Choice
Who says you have to choose? In fact, even if you prefer contacts, you should keep a backup pair of glasses on hand — with your current prescription — in case of an eye infection, running out of contacts, or when you’re ready for bed.
Shop Our Glasses and Contacts
We make it easy and affordable to find the right eyewear for you. If you need help, our Member Experience team is always eager to assist you!
1Dias L, Manny RE, Weissberg E, Fern KD. Myopia, contact lens use and self-esteem. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2013 Sep;33(5):573-80. doi: 10.1111/opo.12080. Epub 2013 Jun 13. PMID: 23763482; PMCID: PMC3743944.
2Walline, Jeffrey J.; Jones, Lisa A.; Sinnott, Loraine; Chitkara, Monica; Coffey, Bradley∥; Jackson, John Mark; Manny, Ruth E.; Rah, Marjorie J.; Prinstein, Mitchell J. PhD, the ACHIEVE Study Group. Randomized Trial of the Effect of Contact Lens Wear on Self-Perception in Children. Optometry and Vision Science 86(3):p 222-232, March 2009. | DOI: 10.1097/OPX.0b013e3181971985
