How to Get Free Contact Lenses

Medically reviewed by Shaune Wallace, OD

Last Updated: October 25, 2022 References

Contact lenses can be expensive (about $200 to $500 per year) depending on the brand and type of lens.^{[1]
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Research source} There are ways to get free contact lenses, although it may take a little extra work. It is important to balance the cost savings with the amount of time and energy it will take to track down free lenses.

Things You Should Know

Ask your doctor for a free contact lens trial and when you run out, consider deceiving them to receive more afterward.
Get your contact prescription and shop around for other optometrists who might provide you with free trials.
Online, look for promotions and reach out to contact lens distributors to ask for a free trial or test pair of contact lens.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Seeing an Optometrist

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Optometrists will often have free trial lenses that they can give you following your eye exam. There are different brands and types of contact lenses (ex. Daily’s, two-week lenses, etc) and your optometrist should be able to provide you with a trial pair for the different types/brands.^{[2]
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Be creative. If you keep asking your optometrist for free trial contacts they may become suspicious after a while, so you may want to come up with other reasons why you need a free pair. Before trying this, understand that it requires you to lie to your doctor about your comfort or vision. Lying to your doctor is not a good idea for a number of reasons, one being that it creates conflicting data that makes it harder to be fit properly with lenses. Your optometrist will likely be happy to give you some free contacts to try and find the perfect fit for you, and after that, you should accept that you need to pay for them. If they are too expensive, ask your doctor about coupons, less expensive brands, or stick to glasses. If you do decide to go this route, however, here are a few reasons you may need to test out new contact lenses:
- You can tell your optometrist that your last trial pair did not fit properly and bothered your eyes.
- You could say that your current contacts are prone to rips and tears and you want to find a more durable lens.
- You are interested in testing out prescription color contact lenses to freshen up your look and want a trial pair.
- You find the daily contact lenses you currently use a bit of a hassle and would like to test out the two-week lenses (or vice versa).
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Ask your optometrist for a copy of your prescription. In order to get contacts from another optometrist or online, you need to have a copy of your prescription. If you don’t have your prescription you may need to pay for another eye exam. Your eye doctor should readily give you a copy of your prescription upon request — providing a copy of your contact lens prescription is required by law.^{[3]
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Shop around. Once you have your prescription you can shop around to different optometrists and retailers for free trial contact lenses.
- It works best with contacts that are at least two-week wear. Think about it — is it really worth it to do a round-robin with seven different opticians for one free trial pair of dailies?

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Searching Online

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1
Look for coupons and promotions. Some contact manufacturers will offer coupons online for free trial lenses. Once you have printed the coupon you can take it to an optometrist along with your prescription to receive free contact lenses.^{[4]
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- For example, Acuvue often gives out free trial lenses.^{[5]
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Complete an online search for free contact lenses. You will find many different rebates and coupons to help you access free contact lenses.
- For example, some retailers will offer a promotion for a buy one and get one free on contact lenses. Although this will require a payment you will still receive some contact lenses for free.
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Contact the manufacturer directly. It never hurts to send an email to a specific manufacturer asking for a trial pair of contact lenses. Even if you can not find a promotion online you can always try contacting the manufacturer. You never know they may send you a few free pairs to test out.
- Remember, however, that contact lenses are considered medical devices and must be prescribed by a licensed physician. The manufacturer will need your prescription to do this.

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Tips

Acuvue is the biggest "giver" when it comes to trial pairs. Ciba and Bausch and Lomb are also pretty good. They frequently give offers for free trial supplies of their daily lenses (but if the trial supply is not for at least seven days, it's not worth it.)

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Warnings

Beware that coupons for dailies may only be for one pair. These really are not worth the hassle.

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Lying to your doctor can damage your relationship with your doctor and, simply, is not ethical. Avoid this and understand that contact lenses, like most things, cost money and should be paid for.

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Contact lenses are classified as a medical device by the FDA and a prescription is required. Do not use any contact lenses that are acquired through a website or store that does not require a prescription.^{[6]
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