Glasses quote from an optician: how to read it and compare

Your prescription is yours. Take it away, compare, and only pay for what helps your eyes.

The answer in 2 lines. After a sight test, the optician must give you your signed prescription. You are free to buy your glasses anywhere, and you don't have to buy them where you had the test. Ask for an itemised written price: the frame, the lenses (type and thickness), each coating or extra, any NHS voucher taken off, and the total you pay. Compare quotes for the same prescription and the same options. If something goes wrong, go back to the practice first, then the free Optical Consumer Complaints Service.

The 4 steps

Take your prescription after the sight test, even if you plan to buy there.
Ask for a written, itemised price before you decide. You don't have to order on the spot.
Check whether you qualify for an NHS optical voucher and make sure it's taken off the total.
Compare two quotes line by line, for the same prescription and the same options.

The quote, line by line

Line	What it means	The question to ask
Frame	The price of the frame on its own.	"Is this price with or without lenses?"
Lenses	Type (single vision, bifocal, varifocal) and index (how thin the lens is).	"Do I need thinner lenses for my prescription?"
Coatings and extras	Anti-reflection, scratch-resistant coating, blue-light filter, photochromic (darkening in sunlight), tint.	"What does each one cost? Which do I actually need?"
NHS voucher	Amount taken off if you qualify.	"Which voucher am I entitled to, and is it taken off here?"
Total to pay	What you pay yourself.	"What would it cost with a cheaper frame and the same lenses?"
Guarantee and aftercare	Breakage cover, adjustments, help if you can't get used to varifocals.	"What's included, for how long? Can I have that in writing?"

NHS help with the cost (England)

Free NHS sight test: for example, if you're under 16, or 16 to 18 in full-time education, aged 60 or over, registered sight impaired, have diabetes or glaucoma, hold an HC2 certificate, or get certain benefits. The full list is on the NHS page Free NHS eye tests and optical vouchers: go through the lists to see whether you're covered, and say so when you book.
Optical voucher: similar rules, but being 60 or over, or having diabetes or glaucoma, doesn't qualify you on its own. The voucher's value depends on how strong your lenses are. The NHS page NHS voucher values for glasses and lenses currently lists amounts from £42.40 to £233.56 (checked November 2026). Find your voucher letter (A to H) on the quote and compare it with the table. If the glasses cost more than the voucher, you pay the difference.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules for free eye tests and vouchers.

Comparing quotes properly

Same prescription, same options: otherwise you're comparing different things.
Useful extras: an anti-reflection coating and a scratch-resistant coating are often worth it. Thinner lenses mainly matter for strong prescriptions: ask the optician.
Blue-light filters: the College of Optometrists says there is no strong evidence that they improve vision, ease eye strain or improve sleep.
"Second pair free" offers: look at the price of the first pair, and what the second pair really includes.
Buying online: you'll need your prescription. Check the seller first, see our guide on checking an online shop before you buy.

What not to do

Leaving the practice without your prescription.
Accepting a bundle of extras without knowing the price of each one.
Judging an offer on the headline discount instead of the total you'll pay.
Forgetting to mention that you're entitled to an NHS voucher before you order.

Good to know

You don't have to buy glasses, or use your NHS voucher, where you had your sight test.
Problem with new glasses? Wear them for a few days, then go back to the practice that supplied them and ask for the dispensing optician. If the test and the glasses came from different practices, start with the one that supplied the glasses.
Still not sorted? The Optical Consumer Complaints Service is free and independent. Use it after the practice's own complaints process: you can contact it online, by phone or in writing, and it mediates between you and the practice.

Helen, 52, from Sheffield, needs varifocals. The first quote comes to a high total that includes a blue-light filter and a tint she never asked for. She takes her prescription, asks for each item to be priced separately, and gets a second quote somewhere else for the same lenses with an anti-reflection coating only. She picks a cheaper frame and pays far less.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 6 November 2026, for England. Confidence: high for your right to a prescription (Opticians Act 1989) and for who qualifies for NHS help (NHS); medium for voucher amounts, which can change each year (check the NHS page before you order); whether thinner lenses and coatings help depends on your prescription: ask your optician. Guarantees vary from one practice to another.