Contact Lens Cost Calculator

This calculator works out the annual and monthly cost of wearing contact lenses from the box price, how many lenses are in a box, and how often you replace them. Solution is an optional extra line.

Two costs it deliberately leaves out, because they vary too much to guess at: the annual contact lens fitting and eye exam, which runs somewhere between $50 and $200 depending on where you are and whether insurance covers it, and cases, which come free with most solution bottles anyway. Add the exam fee to whatever the calculator gives you and you have the real figure.

The core formula is:

Daily Cost = (Annual Lens Cost + Annual Solution Cost + Annual Exam Cost + Annual Case/Accessory Cost) / 365

Annual Lens Cost depends on lens type:

Annual Lens Cost = (365 / Days Per Pair) × Cost Per Box ÷ Pairs Per Box

• Daily disposables (1 day/pair): 730 lenses/year ÷ 30 per box × price/box
• Bi-weekly lenses (14 days/pair): 26 pairs/year
• Monthly lenses (30 days/pair): 12 pairs/year (one for each eye, so ×2)

Worked Example: Monthly contact lenses at $35/box (6 lenses per box):

• Pairs needed per year: 12 (both eyes) → 2 boxes/eye × 2 eyes = 4 boxes minimum
• Annual lens cost = 4 × $35 = $140
• Solution: $12/bottle × 6 bottles = $72
• Annual eye exam: $100
• Cases: ~$10
• Total annual cost = $322 → $0.88/day

The calculator’s own part of that is the lenses and the solution, $212 (enter 6 as the monthly solution cost). The exam and cases are the $110 you add yourself.

Boxes are counted per eye, because the two eyes usually take different powers and a box holds one. Two-week lenses come to 26 per eye, which is 5 six-packs per eye and 10 a year; if both eyes take the same power you can share and get by on 9.

Comparison (approximate US prices in 2026):

• Daily disposables: ~$400–$900/year
• Bi-weekly: ~$200–$400/year
• Monthly: ~$150–$350/year
• Glasses (amortized over 3 years): ~$80–$150/year

To weigh contacts against glasses, including keeping a backup pair, use the contact lens vs glasses cost calculator linked below.

Note: Wearers who sleep in lenses risk corneal infections. The CDC estimates around 1 million US doctor visits a year relate to contact lens misuse, which is a cost no calculator here can predict for you.